For Teachers

Hosting an ICSP member in your classroom can be an enriching experience for your students with potential for affective and cognitive growth while reducing ethnocentrism (Campbell, J., 1987). There is an overwhelming array of possibilities and themes that can be explored.

 

WorldOregon's Culture Box Program is a great resource for teachers who wish to incorporate cultural artifacts in their lessons, and ICSP members can make them come to live!

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If you are not sure how you might like to incorporate ICSP speakers, here are some of our suggestions:

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1 - Consider your group, their age, the number of students and the time available. Depending on these factors, you can decide if you'd like to host a single ICSP guest or a panel of speakers. Also consider whether or not artifacts from the Culture Box Program would be beneficial.

 

2 - Decide on a format. Think about your students and what might be more appropriate for your purposes. For example, it can be either a short presentation about one topic or a longer presentation about several topics. Let the ICSP presenter(s) know what kind of resources are ideal as well (audio-visual, artifacts, games, etc.).

 

3 - Choose a topic that connects to what your class is covering this year. This will make the visit more meaningful to your students. Here are some of our suggested topics.

 

4 - Turn it into a cultural exchange rather than a one-way presentation. Prepare your students by talking to them about the visitor and the topic. They can prepare questions for the visitor, have a show and tell, prepare a table with artifacts of their choice, etc.

 

5 - Be present for the whole presentation. You are the link and the mediator between your students and the ICSP visitor. Model tolerance and interest in other people, places, and global issues. Give the presenter your full attention and respect and encourage your students to do the same.

 

6 - We suggest also that you do a follow-up activity such as an essay, class discussion or any other project. This is a nice way to wrap up the whole experience and connect the visit to your subject. Do not be afraid to request a speaker to visit more than once! Students and presenters alike will find it beneficial to go beyond the initial stage of interaction. 

 

7- After the presentation, we would love to hear your feedback about our visit so that our program can keep improving. Our students read the evaluations carefully and look forward to specific suggestions that will help them improve their presentations. You can find our feedback forms here.

 

We look forward to visiting your school! If you have any questions, please contact our coordinators at icsp.psu@gmail.com and we will be glad to help. 

 

"The ICSP program is a wonderful resource! The ICSP student panel provided a terrific learning opportunity for my class! Specifically, my students had the experience of listening to students from a different cultural background. Then, the class was able to engage in an informative discussion about culture and expression in a constructive and respectful fashion. Overall, collaborating and working with ICSP was valuable learning experience which I plan to continue to utilize. The panel provided a unique opportunity to enhance cultural awareness and psychological understanding of subcultures within the PSU community. ICSP is a great program to celebrate the diversity within the college environment. "

- Dr. Karen Chenier, Psychology, Portland State University