TOE Timeline Germany

From AFSWiki

Our first meeting with the entire German-American group was held in Bad Hersfeld, Germany from September 15-22, 2007. Most members of the American team arrived on September 14th. The early arrival enabled the members of the American group to adjust to the time difference.

During the first day we set group norms, discussed our hopes and fears, and engaged in several ice breakers. Each individual was asked to bring a cultural item to the meeting and discuss its significance in front of the entire group. This culture-sharing activity enabled the participants to learn about each other. All of these activities contributed to an atmosphere of trust and support among the various group members. The leaders provided the participants with a schedule for the week, but also explained that changes would be made, if necessary.

During the second day we engaged in presentations on topics that had been assigned to both a German and American participant prior to the meeting. The German and American “team” had, in most cases, prepared the presentation together. Presentations incorporated a variety of learning and teaching styles. Lively discussions ensued both during and after the presentations, and the larger group agreed that two versions of the handbook would be created for host families. During these discussions and later in the week, we decided which topics would be definitely be included in the handbook and made initial decisions about the order that these topics would be presented. We also decided that certain topics would appear in the American handbook and not in the German handbook and vice versa. We found that some topics that were important for the handbooks had not been part of the initial presentations. These topics were also discussed, e.g. traditions and rituals such as birthdays and holiday celebrations. At the end of each day, the presentation materials that had not already been saved on computers were photographed , saved, and stored in our soon-to-be-created Google group.

Throughout the first two days, we had a variety of cross-cultural activities and team-building exercises. These experiential activities, which provided a change-of-pace every few hours, often brought to the surface some of the cultural differences between the German and American participants. One example of this was direct and indirect communication.

During the first 1 ½ days, most of the meetings were in larger groups, but as the week progressed, smaller group meetings occurred. Some of these meetings were organized by country, i.e. all the Germans formed one group and all of the Americans formed another group. Other meetings were organized by topic. In order to have an outside perspective during the country meetings, in some situations, 2 Americans were asked to participate in the German group and two Germans were asked to participate in the American group.

One of the most instructive exercises in terms of learning about different approaches to problem solving was a situation in which each country was asked to engage in the same task. The volunteers were divided by country and each group worked independently. After the German and American group had completed the task in separate rooms, the groups came together and discussed each smaller group’s approach to the task. It was during these exchanges that we were able to learn and talk about how we worked differently to get results. Each individual was asked to bring a cultural item to the meeting and discuss its significance in front of the entire group. This culture-sharing activity enabled the participants to learn about each other.

Towards the end of the week we wrote guidelines for writing the handbook entries so that they would be consistent. We identified objectives and individual work tasks for the next meetings and drafted a newsletter article to be sent out on AFSwiki.org.

Contents 1 Event Activities 2 Evaluation 2.1 Positives 2.2 Recommendations 3 Resources

Event Activities

• Icebreakers - Activities to get to know each other – bingo, etc.
  • My Hopes / My Fears for the week
  • Group Norms
• Group presentations – defining important topics, putting topics in order of importance for the handbook
  • This is where we decided that the result would be a handbook and some associated activities
• As a group we identified which topics would be needed in our handbook, identified the importance and order they would be in the handbook.
• Used topics and activities to “force” cultural clash between participants so we could learn from each other
• Cultural outings
• Media research (teen magazines)
• Including AFS Orientation Framework (should that be part of pre-meeting?)
• Discussion of how orientations work in each country (should be part of pre-meeting as well?)
• Some meetings were by country and others by topic. When meeting in our country groups a representative from the other country sat in to provide the other perspective.
• It was during these exchanges we were able to learn and talk about how we worked differently to get results.
• Toward the end of the week we wrote guidelines for writing the handbook entries (so they would be consistent), identified objective and work tasks for the next meetings, and drafted a newsletter article to be sent out on AFSWiki

Evaluation

Positives

• The original schedule was flexible to allow for changes. Evaluation and daily well-being check
• Daily schedule was helpful – Colorful “movable” agenda was nicer than just a written one and having it visually to keep on task
• Making everyone an active part of the event is important
• Presentations on current topics such as learning styles, the millennium children, helicopter parenting, added another layer of concerns
• Practicing what we preached – all different types of presentations
• Created a parking lot to avoid getting off topic.

Recommendations

• Participants would have liked time in which to collaborate with their German partner to finish preparations on presentations. Although we added the time it was essential to allow time for discussion of topics after each presentation. Having a “parking lot” and consistently following through with items sent to the parking lot is important.
• It is also recommended to have a person responsible for keeping notes, taking pictures, etc.
• Having a technology expert is essential.
• Should we take jet-lag into account in the schedule
• Also the continual translation is difficult for some
• (Americans should travel first since the jet-lag and having to speak in English balance out)
• Orientation to site is needed (cultural issues), different travel schedules
• Balance of activities between day and night (having time to shop!)
  • different people run on different types of schedules

• Good idea for all members to keep a journal so we can remember our feelings and can recount them later.

Resources

• Copy of agenda and summary report
• Where do powerpoint point presentations go? Here, in working together, etc?
• Event evaluation
• TOE American Values
• TOE Cultural Tip Sheet CB
• TOE Evaluation Summary Bad Hersheld
• TOE German Lesson
• TOE Berman in 21 minutes
• TOE Peach Coconut
• TOE Power and Respect
• TOE Speak German
• TOE Table Manners
• TOE When hosting Germans
• TOE worksheet differences in culture
• TOE topics German handbook
• TOE Turkey and Greece