As a teacher, what can you do in a PBL setting, especially in STEM-based courses, where collaboration is often required? You can imagine the outcome of a Physics experiment where there is a breakdown in communication within the group due to any of the 4 factors.

Spotting these challenges is not easy. The teacher runs the risk of misdiagnosing the intentions behind the actions of a student if the problems are to be diagnosed and treated at the macro-level. The teacher may end up stereotyping students and that should be avoided at all cost. Hence it is important for the teacher to understand why these problems exist in the first place.

In a PBL group, the students have to speak to one another, so language is important. Students do not only have to convey meaning effectively. The style and mode of communication are also important. To communicate, they have to be willing to listen and engage with each other. So, the attitude towards others is important. In the group, they have to make decisions, so decision-making styles are important. In order for the group to learn from each other, the members of the group should be willing to share knowledge with each other, so trust is important. Finally, the students have to learn together, hence adaptation to learning style is important.

Different cultures differ in terms of language, style and mode of communication, attitude towards others, decision-making styles, attitude towards disclosure, style of learning, etc. 

For an ethnocentric prejudiced student, their thinking is that their language, the style and mode of communication, the attitude toward others, decision-making styles, the attitude toward disclosure, and the style of learning, is better than others’. This belief will inform prejudiced behaviours, or even discriminatory behaviours.

Having to interact with other students and deal with PBL challenges, puts the student on the path towards eventually facing issues regarding ethnocentrism, stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. Thus, the teacher’s role is to facilitate an environment where students see the advantages in embracing their differences with respect to learning goals, future employment, and the development of their intercultural competence. 

So how do we facilitate such an environment?

1. Raise awareness about the problem. 
   The teacher should not assume that students are aware that they have these problems. Some students, oftentimes, have not had the opportunity to collaborate with foreign students. So, pointing them to the potential challenges they might face is important.
   The teacher should avoid lecturing students and putting them on the spot. Rather, provide the students with different intercultural communication tools, armed with topics around the intercultural communication problems, to help them learn about themselves and each other.
   Intercultural communication tools such as “Jigsaw classroom” and storytelling activities, such as “Abigail’s story”, “Fairy tale evening”, “managing individual differences” by Toughnickel.com and “my history” are good awareness creation are good tools for indirectly creating awareness about differences in culture with respect to language, style, and mode of communication, attitude toward others, decision-making styles, attitude toward disclosure, and/or the style of learning. You will also find additional tips in the first course Introduction to Intercultural communication.
2. Organize exercises dealing with the problems that require the most attention. 
   It may not be practical to bombard students with tools that will solve any problem possible. So, as a teacher, you have to prioritize which tool you present to students. It is recommended to start from an exercise that promotes collaboration in a PBL environment. These are tools that support decision-making, mode of communication, attitude towards others, and style of learning. Tools relevant to fostering collaboration skills can be found here.
   In this module, you will find resources to deal with stereotypes, ethnocentric behaviors, prejudice, and discrimination.
   The problems related to the language barrier, and attitude toward disclosure, can be dealt with if they are a problem. PISH toolkit includes several exercise suggestions. To learn more about the effect of language barrier, take this module of this course.
   The perceived engagement of fellow students can be a source of conflict. Students may have different ideas about power dynamics in the group. Some people may prefer not to take initiative, and rely on the group lead unless they are group leads. That can be misinterpreted as a lack of participation. This course includes a module on mismanaged cultural differences.