BrandiHillmon

TigerPride
03/04/16
Dr.Wyant

Intercultural communication is defined as a form of communication that

aims to share information across differentculturesandsocialgroups.Aninability
to obtain the development of intercultural communication can lead to lack of
knowledge of another culture which can also lead to embarrassing, amusing, or
detrimental mistakesincommunication.Attheworst,suchmistakesmayconfuse
or even offend the people wewishtocommunicatewithinaneducationalsetting.
This is the main reason personally for me why it is important to develop ones
intercultural competence. Intercultural competence is the capability toaccurately
understand and adapt behavior to cultural difference and commonality.
The best
way to assess intercultural competence is through the InterculturalDevelopment
Inventory (IDI) test/ assessment. The IDI is a crossculturally valid and reliable
assessment of intercultural competence. In completion of the IDI test/assessment
the individual will receive an IDI Individual Profile Report which provides
valuable information about the individuals own orientations toward cultural
difference and commonality. It also can help individuals reflect on their own
experiences around cultural differences and similarities and give them a plan to
improve their development of their intercultural competence. In addition, The
main focus of this paper will be on my personal results of my IDI test and my
personalthoughtsonthesubject.

The Purpose of the IDI profile presents information about how an

individual can make sense of and respond to cultural differences and
commonalities. The IDI profile presents a demographic and statisticalsummaries
in which it presents the following information of different orientations assessed.
The first is the Perceived Orientation (PO) which reflects where I place myself
along the intercultural development continuum. My Perceived Orientation score
was 142.07 which indicates that I perceive my self as understanding and being
able to appropriately adapt to cultural differences, to deeply understand and shift
cultural perspectives, and able to adapt behavior across cultural differences My
Developmental Orientation (DO) score was 141.60 indicated my primary
orientation toward cultural differences and commonalities along the continuum.
My Orientation Gap (OG) which is the difference between my Perceived
Orientation score and Developmental Orientation score is 0.48 points. A gap
score of 7 or more points is considered meaningful difference between where I
perceive where I am on thedevelopmentalcontinuum andwheretheIDIplaces
my level of my intercultural competence. Becausemyscorewasbelow7ormore
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BrandiHillmon
TigerPride
03/04/16
Dr.Wyant

points that means that my perception and my IDI level were very close or the
same. My Trailing Orientation are those orientations that are in back of your
Developmental Orientation (DO) that are not resolved. Due to my score there
are no trailing or secondary orientations for me. Lastly, My leading Orientations
for me to continue adaptation is around a3.4whichmeansthatitwilldevelopin
time and with practice to achieve full cultural competence. that In summary I
scored inthecategoryofadaptationwhichmeansthatIhaveanorientationthatis
capable of shifting cultural perspective and changing behavior in culturally
appropriateandauthenticways.

In relation to education, intercultural communication is an important skill

to posses as a teacher especially if your Developmental Orientation is at
Adaptation. In having a high intercultural communication it is likely that the
instructor efforts at building crosscultural understanding and awareness within
the school environment across diverse administrators, faculty, staff and students
are more effective. Mainly due to the fact that that instructor is able to both
recognize commonalities across diverse groups and also values cultural
differences. This is important because it transitions in theabilityfortheschoolto
be an inclusive and multicultural environment. Which is important to create a
successfulenvironmentforstudentsandteacherstoworkandlearneffectively.
In relation to my personal experiences, I have been exposed to many
different cultures and cultural perspectives through studying abroad,working in
Pacific Multicultural Center, and being a member of Tiger Pride. I worked,
assisted,andattendedtheLGBTconferencewhichexposedtoalotofinformation
about gender issues and how to be an ally. I also was in charge of Native
American Student Association (NASA) which I got to meet , great, and plan the
POW WOW event with fellow tribe members in Stockton. Also, in working
with Tiger Pride I amexposedtomanystudentswithdifferentbackgroundsandit
gives me the practice I need to use my intercultural communication skills...and
more.
In regards to the scoring for IDI as previously mentioned there was no
score of significancebetweenmyperceivedandactualorientation.Duetothelow
scoretherewasnotrailingorsecondaryorientationsforme.
In receiving my IDI I was very excited and proud that I improved a lot. I
started out in Minimization and moved to Adaptation. Which is a really big
accomplishment. In meeting with Mrs. Smith for my IDI she explained thatIdid
very well in improvement from the first time that I took the IDI in 2013. She
explained further ways to increase my adaptation in order for my to improve
further
Overall, my strengths in the IDI were very great. In that I learned that I
have the potential to create an inclusive and multicultural environment. But my
weakness is that I have aweakorhighculturaldisengagementwithinmyselfthat
needswork.InregardingTigerPride, Icandevelopavarietyofstrategiesthatare
based on a recognition that students often participate in class discussions and
learn through different methods depending on the cultural frameworks they have
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BrandiHillmon
TigerPride
03/04/16
Dr.Wyant

gained from their cultural community. Through Tiger Pride I may be able to
abridge cultural commonalities and differences in was that encourages mutual
adaptation in my classroom in the future. However, in order to do that I believe
that if I improve on my inclusive language, adapt more to individuals, and
improve my cultural disengagement, this will definitely help in aiding me in
reaching my overall goal of increasing my intercultural communication
development.