Participatory Learning: Educators Designing Media to Expand Global Perspectives
Abstract: This study examined the implementation of a professional learning series designed to develop educators' intercultural competencies, global and digital literacies by creating Virtual Field Experiences (VFEs). VFEs are immersive digital, multimodal, and multisensory learning experiences. The study examined how the design of VFEs can offer opportunities to globalize the curriculum. The study was conducted in the Southwestern US. Data were collected from a 3-session online professional development series. Data collection and analysis included pre- and post- surveys, observations, semi-structured retrospective interviews and the analysis of educators’ VFE projects. Data explored how implementation in educators’ teaching practices affected themselves and their students. Researchers examined educators’ reflections as well as stories of implementation of student-created VFEs projects. Findings suggest that the process of designing VFEs encourages educators and their students to create culturally responsive materials that are inclusive of multiple perspectives. Educators appeared to gain a deeper understanding of culture and intercultural teaching as they explored concepts like the cultural iceberg, essentialism, and identity complexity. Designing VFEs sparked educators’ reflective thinking on their teaching practices and involvement of their students in creating their own VFEs. VFEs can be used flexibly to experience cultures, identities, languages, and global communities.