The Culture Collab
An exploration of intercultural and interdisciplinary student exchange experiences through the lens of Learn.On 2023
Problem Solving
Methods & Timeline
1 / Participate in Learn.On
This involved the asynchronous component, exchange to Germany, and portfolio completion.
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Timeframe: February - July
Hours: 90 hours
2 / Informal Interviewing
This involved asking stakeholders about the perceived benefits and weaknesses of participating in Learn.On 2023.
The themes of cultural competence and teamwork were brought up by the majority of stakeholders during this time, hence why the focus of this project is centred around those areas.
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Timeframe: February - July
Hours: 2 hours
3 / PEEK Proposal
The proposal to create a digital resource that explored culture, teamwork models, and the potential impacts of exchange experiences through the lens of Learn.On 2023 was finalised and accepted.
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Timeframe: July - August
Hours: 14 hours
4 / Literature Database Search
Literature databases (including MEDLINE, Google Scholar, and CINAHL), professional codes of conduct, and United Nations’ publications were searched.
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Timeframe: August-September
Hours: 15 hours
5 / Cultural competence training module
Completion of a cultural competence training module, through the National Centre for Cultural Competence: The University of Sydney.
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Timeframe: September
Hours: 40 hours
6 / Tutorial on utilising Wix Website Builder
A tutorial on using Wix Website Builder was reviewed via the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIKbN5pBSXo.
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Timeframe: September
Hours: 1 hours
7 / Draft Website Completed
Using Wix Website Builder, a draft of 'The Culture Collab' was completed.
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Timeframe: September
Hours: 40 hours
8 / Feedback Survey to Stakeholders
Utilising SurveyMonkey, a feedback survey along with the draft website was sent to all stakeholders. The feedback they provided concerned both content and design features and asked stakeholders to provide both positive and negative comments for improvement and adjustment. A three week period was allocated for stakeholders to return their feedback on the project and allow time for revisions.
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Timeframe: October - November
Hours: 3 hours
9 / Abstract & Summary Completed
For assignment submission, the PEEK abstract and summary were completed.
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Timeframe: November
Hours: 8 hours
10 / Final Website Completed
This involved applying the feedback received from stakeholders to make modification and improvement to the website from both a design and content point of view.
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Timeframe: November
Hours: 10 hours
11 / Exchange of German Student to Australia
A series of activities have been organised for the arrival of the German students to Australia. These include tours of La Trobe University and Melbourne, a trip down the Great Ocean Ocean Road, and a visit to the La Trobe Communication Clinic. The exchange will culminate in the closing ceremony where an event will be held to present our project at La Trobe University.
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Timeframe: November-December
Hours: 35 hours
12 / PEEK Conference Presentation
This will involve putting together and rehearsing the content for the presentation, as well as the final presentation at the PEEK Conference itself.
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Timeframe: December
Hours: 12 hours
Evaluation
Informal Interview
Conducted before the PEEK proposal was submitted, this interviewing involved asking participants for their opinions on the strengths and weakness of Learn.On 2023. It was during this interviewing that the themes of culture and teamwork were mentioned and thus, the focus of the project centred around this.
Informal Survey
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Conducted via SurveyMonkey, this survey was distributed to stakeholders to provide feedback on the draft version of 'The Culture Collab' website.
One of the more valuable pieces of feedback collected at this stage related to ensuring that this website was accessible in both desktop and mobile versions.
Ongoing Feedback
A feedback page has been embedded within this website so readers can choose to leave more structured feedback (via a Google Form), or informal feedback (via a 'Contact' box).
The aim of this ongoing feedback is continued improvement of the resource.
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A Challenge and The Gibbs Cycle
(Gibbs, 1988)
Description:
As anticipated, the major challenge faced in the completion of this PEEK project was maintaining open channels of communication in order to receive commentary on the Learn.On experience and feedback on the draft website. This was due to the fact that 50% of my stakeholders live in Germany and were about to commence their summer holiday period. The other 50% of stakeholders were predominately allied health students who would be undertaking clinical placements and thus, have a high study load at the time I was allocated to complete this task.
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Feelings:
This made me feel anxious about the timeframe it would take to complete my project and allow adequate time for my stakeholders to be able to provide me with invaluable feedback with which to make alterations and adaptions to the draft website.
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Evaluation:
The major positive to come out of this situation was that I was able to improve my skills in time management and communication.
The negative of this situation is that the creation of the PEEK product was a stressful period given I only had 3-4 weeks to complete my research and create the website draft to enable enough time for stakeholders to provide feedback.
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Analysis:
I believe that my anticipation of this as a challenge was helpful in my management of the situation. It lead to discussions with stakeholders and staff members and provided me with strategies with which to approach this challenge.
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Conclusion:
There is little else I could have done to have achieved a completed product within the timeframe provided, given the sheer volume of work that needed to completed for both my PEEK project and Learn.On itself.
Whilst my PEEK project creation was a stressful period, I believe that skill development in time management and communication will assist me as I head into a professional allied health career. I learnt that using my time efficiently can still result in the production of a high quality product; as the adage goes, it is about quality not quantity. Furthermore, I explored how effective communication can take many forms and sometimes this is via email or WhatsApp message.
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Action Plan:
In the future, it will be helpful to reflect on the timeframes of an upcoming project before commencing. In this situation, feeling prepared and being able to discuss strategies for potential problem solving before an issue arose was paramount. This will help to manage my own stress in these situations and enable me to work efficiently and effectively to produce high-quality work.