Working in teams implies that students must communicate with each other, in a spoken or written form.
Communication enables knowledge exchange within the team. Communication is also required in the project planning, project management, and project implementation phases of the project.
When it comes to solving academic problems within the project, communication facilitates the potential for the team to become innovative. This is because students do not only learn together, they also learn from each other within the team. The exchange of ideas produces innovation.
So, there is a lot of communication within the team in a PBL project. This means that a breakdown in communication will result in the dysfunction of the group.
The communication problems may become bigger if students within the group come from different backgrounds, etc. Problems related to cultural identities can escalate if the teacher and students lack cultural sensitivity, intercultural awareness, and intercultural communication skills.
Let’s take a look at some intercultural problems that may arise in PBL groups.
According to the authors of the book Communicating effectively, Saundra Hybels from Lock Haven University and Prof. Richard Weaver, a retired professor of Intercultural communications at Bowling Green State University USA, there are four barriers to Intercultural communications. These are:
- Ethnocentrism
- Stereotyping
- Prejudice
- Discrimination
Ethnocentrism is the belief by one set of people that their culture is better than other cultures. Ethnocentrism becomes a problem when it is taken for granted to judge or treat people from another cultural background. In a PBL group, negative ethnocentrism will manifest itself as cultural favoritism. It may mean favoring ideas of students from the same background and ignoring good ideas from students from other cultures. Favouritism could also occur in a group discussion, by switching to a language that only some students know. It can also occur as a subconscious requirement for students to adapt to the dominant culture before they can be accepted.
Stereotyping is the mental categorization or a general, often inaccurate, representation of a particular group of people depending on one’s observations and experiences in interacting with its members. Ethnocentrism and stereotypes operate in similar ways.
Just like everyone in society, students are learn stereotypes at home, the institutions they are part of, and from their environment. These stereotypes exist in students when they join PBL groups. Negative stereotypes about the laziness, lack of intelligence or communication skills, etc. of a particular culture could trigger a defense mode in students holding that stereotype when they are paired with the stereotyped student. The stereotyped student will feel unwelcome within the group.
Students that depend on stereotypes do not always express them. However, they may express dissatisfaction about collaboration with their team members for a number of reasons.
Prejudice is the feeling that arises from negative stereotypes, while discrimination is the behavior that acts out the negative stereotypes. Discriminatory behaviors may be covert or overt. Overt behaviors could be in the form of verbal insults or physical violence. More subtle discrimination manifests itself as avoidance or bias.