A Comparison of Three Visual Tools to Prompt Cultural Reflection During Study Abroad

• In Event: 73.054 - Instruments, Tools, and Measures in Instructional Technology

Abstract

Sixteen teachers from one U.S. state were competitively selected for a professional development study abroad program in England that sought to improve teacher writing competence, technical competence for integrating digital tools in writing instruction, and cultural competence prompted by writing and reflecting on culture in multimodal forms. This study investigated how effectively three visual tools prompted teacher reflections on culture during study abroad, with comparisons made across the tools. Findings suggest all three tools effectively elicited impressions of culture with some differences by tool, and all three tools elicited the first three of Moffett’s (1992) four topical levels, while two tools were more likely to elicit cultural instances through teacher-selected imagery and a more open-ended task design.

Authors

• Kevin M. Oliver, North Carolina State University

• Mike P Cook, Auburn University

• Ruie J. Pritchard, North Carolina State University