Abstract
Virtual Exchange (VE), a pedagogy that uses technology to facilitate online, collaborative work among students and their peers in other countries, is viewed as a high-impact practice contributing to engaged learning and student success in higher education. This study investigates the impact of various types of VE on the intercultural effectiveness skills of undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses across disciplines. The relationship between VE and intercultural skills for minority and non-minority students was also investigated, along with the relationship between dosage (length and duration) of VE and intercultural skills. Results indicate VE positively impacts the development of intercultural skills of students and that there were no differences when the data are disaggregated by individual classes or disciplinary areas. There were no significant differences for minority and non-minority students and for the impact of dosage, but further research is recommended for these two important topics. Findings of this study underline the generalizability of VE across disciplines and its suitability for providing wider access to international experiences for all students.
Highlights
Virtual Exchange (VE), a pedagogy that uses technology to facilitate online, collaborative work among students and their peers in other countries, is viewed as a high-impact practice contributing to engaged learning and student success in higher education
This study explores the impact of VE on minority and non-minority participants’ development of intercultural effectiveness
This study focuses on what gains were made in students’ intercultural competence as measured by the Intercultural Effectiveness Scale (IES) before and after participating in VE
Summary
Participants were 101 undergraduate and 30 graduate students (N=131) at a large research university in the Southeast region of the United States. Sixty-eight percent of participants (N=90) self-identified as an ethnic minority, 25% (N=33) self-identified as Caucasian, while eight students chose not to respond to this question on the survey. Students engaged in discussions and asked and answered questions pertaining to their thoughts, ideas, and feelings about topics such as race and culture; how students interacted with their family; and COVID-19 and the shutdown. Students used a blog to share thoughts and ideas about education in different countries; reviewed and discussed education resources shared by partners; and shared class projects with partners. Characteristic Identify as an ethnic minority Between 20 and years old, inclusively At or above years old Participated in study abroad through a university Participated in extended international work travel a few months at a time Never worked or studied abroad Never lived in a foreign country Lived in at least one foreign country Fluently speaks at least one language other than English Consider themselves as bicultural Not permanent residents of the United States Nationalities represented n
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