SLS-9c1a - Teaching Socially Responsible Leadership (SLR) - jointly with University of Maryland through the Global Classroom.

In 2016, our team started working together on a joint course with a team led by Natasha Chapman and Anne Spear at the Leadership and Community Service Learning (LCSL) Office of the University of Maryland.  The Maryland team created a course HESI 418T: "Technology Beyond Borders: Service-Learning and Leadership across Cultural, Ethnic and Community Lines” at University of Maryland, to match and run jointly with our own course COMP2S01, with the same title.  Several classes of the two courses are taught jointly, interactively, online, as a Virtual Global Classroom.  The PolyU and Maryland teachers take turns to teach the joint class, with lots of small group discussions.  The PolyU team and the U Maryland have been offering a joint course annually since then, continuously developing and revising the content on Socially Responsible Leadership (SRL). Later on, a new subject COMP3S02 was developed incorporating the new leadership material. The current set of content consists of four major modules. 

A Global Leadership Module discusses: (1) Leadership as a Social Construct: What is leadership and how do you become a leader; (2) Intercultural Competencies: intercultural models, particularly Bennett’s Developmental Model of InterCultural Sensitivity (DMIS) (Denial, Defence, Minimization, Acceptance, Adaptation & Integration); (3) Leadership Styles and Cultures;  (4) Dangers of a Single Story - essentially warnings against stereotyping.  These are some of the most important preparations for cross-cultural service-learning.  In fact, for any kind of cultural exchange.  Time and again, we witness and heard about students from one country visiting another, expecting the other to live, talk and behaviour just like themselves, and getting disappointed.  

A second module discusses Leadership in Virtual Global Teams, with lots of readings, discussions, and opportunities for practice. The PolyU and Maryland courses are organised into small groups for a lot of class discussions, activities, and projects, providing many opportunities to learn the material together, and then to experiment and practice.  This kind of practice is also very important.  Being aware of differences among individuals cognitively is one thing.  Being able to deal with the differences and work together effectively is something quite different.  

The Socially responsible Leadership module explore important issues such as: (1) is leadership a process or a position? the DePaul University Framework, the Maryland developed skill set and practices, and the Social Change Model; (2) The Cultural Connection - culture at your university, culture at your host country, and interacting with other cultures through the service project; (3) SRL in business: corporate social responsibility, case studies, trends.  We have learned from experience that students do not learn social responsibility automatically through exposure alone.  Purposeful reading and discussions are necessary.   

The Digital Divide Module cover the technology content of the course:  (1) What is the digital divide? (2) Divide of Access - to computers, connectivity, speeds, volume, price, … (3) Divide of Content - languages, … (3) Usability and Accessibility.  (4) Divide of Empowerment - ability, information accessible, …  (4) Samples of interesting solutions.  These form the basis for the students to start to develop appropriate solutions to address real world problems.  

These modules form the core academic content of the subject. Then there are projects for practice.  For PolyU students, the study continues with a serious service-learning project, in Hong Kong, Cambodia or Rwanda.  Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, the projects have mostly moved online.   More on that later.