Dragvoll, Gløshaugen, or just NTNU?

Dragvoll, Gløshaugen, or just NTNU?

– Exploring intergroup beliefs and communication

PSY3808 info

Illustration

This village is themed around the concept of intergroup communication and beliefs. It will touch on the topics of how we perceive ourselves and others as group members, and how this affects communication between different groups. This topic is useful to society as it will provide students with a deeper understanding of how different groups both perceive and choose to interact with each other. This is important as often in society intergroup interactions can be marred by misunderstandings based on false stereotypes. This theme is well suited for interdisciplinarity because it provides a lot of the tools needed to encourage communication between communities, academic and otherwise, that would otherwise not communicate.

Relevant competence

Any academic background is appropriate, as long as the student is interested in learning more about the practical and research-based applications of intergroup beliefs and communication.

About the village 

Specific topics discussed during the village will be in-group and out-group perception, intergroup communication, cultural competence and safety, and will touch on intergroup mediation. While these topics may seem daunting to those unfamiliar with them, they will be discussed during the village so that everyone feels comfortable with them. As such, this course is absolutely accessible for everyone, regardless of your academic background. Indeed, this course benefits greatly from students coming in from a wide range of backgrounds, as it allows for students to more easily see how the topics taught can apply in a real-world setting.

Teaching will be done in English, and will be primarily conducted from a social psychological viewpoint. However, this does not mean that the theories etc. of other social science disciplines will be ignored, just that the village supervisor is from the psychology department.
 
As this is intended as an international village, students are expected to speak English when possible in the classroom, so that no one feels excluded from conversation. Students are also expected to listen to the village supervisor and village facilitators, as we are here to help you, which can only happen with open and clear communication. Further, students are also expected to discuss with us when there is a problem, either from the teacher/facilitator side or within your group, so that any issues can be resolved early and easily.
While the village title focusses on students at NTNU, it is absolutely possible to examine non-student groups as part (or in totality) of the process your group chooses to follow over the course of the semester. 
 
Examples of topics that have been examined in the past:
 
1) Comparing and contrasting the beliefs that students at Dragvoll and Gløshaugen hold about each other, about themselves, and about an NTNU student without specifying a campus.
 
2) Encouraging intergroup dialogues between native Norwegian students and foreign students living at Moholt through organising a social event and recording beliefs held by the groups towards each other before and after the event.
 
3) Passively growing knowledge of different cultural groups beyond stereotypes through a quiz held at a social event, with questions that were designed to be attention-grabbing but not buy into existing stereotypes of the cultures examined.
 
4) Learning Esperanto, cataloguing the process, and discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the language with strangers, then preparing a video showing the overall process as a means of discussing the possible application of Esperanto for enhancing intercultural communication. 

PSY3808 course info

Course code: PSY3808
Village: Dragvoll, Gløshaugen, or just NTNU? Exploring intergroup beliefs and communication.
Type: Semester
Language: English
Village supervisor: Jonathan Kim
Contact information: Jonathan.Kim@ntnu.no
Semester: Spring 2019

Important information about EiT

Important information about EiT:

  • The focus on teamwork skills and group processes is the unique feature of Experts in Teamwork (EiT)
  • EiTs teaching methods depend on the contribution and presence of every participant throughout the semester. For this reason, attendance is compulsory on every village day.
  • In contrast to many courses, the first few days are especially important in EiT. During this period, get to know each other and discuss what each individual can contribute. You will also draw up the compulsory cooperation agreement and start preparing a shared research question.
  • For additional information about Experts in Teamwork, see page for students