Reflective Journal

Assignment 2: Reflective Journal

Related Course Outcome: Assignment 2 addresses the course outcome that students should: “recognize the sources of cultural identity and articulate how cultural identity influences communication situations, conversational style and perceptions of others.”

You will describe and analyze 3 recent (to this course) intercultural experiences in journal form. You should record a variety of experiences (professional, personal, academic, social, and so on) in which you are engaged in some type of multicultural experiences. The experiences may occur in the course of your professional, personal, academic, social lives. The experiences may initiated for the assignment, such as initiating a conversation with a person of a different culture, or attending a worship service of a religion different than your own --or can be based on authentic, non-scripted interactions that occur in the course of your life. We will define cultures/sub-cultures quite defined broadly for this assignment, including, but not limited to: race and ethnicity, religion, county of origin, disability status, geography, gender orientation, political membership, socioeconomic status and/or vocation or profession. These entries should reveal your understanding of competent communication behavior and demonstrate your ability to apply the concepts, principles, and techniques presented in the course. Verbal and nonverbal aspects of each l experience should be shared.

Each journal entry should be approximately one page in length, single-spaced, and should include the following information in an organized manner:

the date of the experience

a detailed description of the cultural experience (including where, who, what, how, and so on), with an emphasis on the verbal and nonverbal aspects of the episode

your purpose(s) and behavior as a listener

a descriptive evaluation, supported by specific examples, of your strengths and weaknesses as a culturally competent behavior

what you learned about your cultural competence

Students may also be assigned self-assessment surveys.

Provide a concluding summary section (1-3 pages) of what you learned from this assignment (reflections and surveys) concerning your strengths and weaknesses about your cultural competence.