Identity Wheel: Preparing Clients to Go Abroad
Our intersecting identities shape our experiences, not only at every stage of bringing my students into the funnel and sending them abroad, but they shape the way we navigate our day-to-day lives and perceive other people different from us.
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This gap of understanding has become a catalyst as to why I work in international education and why I think the identify wheel is a critical learning tool for intercultural competency development.
Identity Wheel – What is it?
The identity wheel is a visual tool that illustrates the various sectors of our identity (ex: race, sexuality, language, education level, dietary needs, etc) but not necessarily how each of us shows up in each identity (ex: Caucasian, heterosexual, English with Southern dialect, Master’s degree, vegetarian, etc.)
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BACKSTORY
Studying abroad in Granada, Spain, was a pivotal moment that shaped my journey into international education. As a Chinese-American female adoptee, I was confronted with questions about identity that were both uncomfortable and enlightening: “Where are you from?” “Are you American or American American?” “Do you speak Chinese?” These interactions revealed cultural assumptions about national identity, sparking my fascination with understanding the curiosity behind such questions.
I’ve come to see this curiosity as an opportunity for growth. By fostering introspection, we can help students explore their own intersectionalities and better understand the identities and complexities of communities both outside and within our country. As educators, it’s our responsibility to guide students in developing critical self-awareness, equipping them to engage with our global and local communities with empathy, curiosity, and understanding.
My Model
I wanted to create my own model for our students to use and engage with for discussions, identifying various identities that could create commonalities, introduce students to differences, and spark curiosity for diverse identities.
Suggestions for Reflection
In practice, I enjoy students reflecting on the following questions while looking at the wheel:
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What is one identity that you feel shapes the way you perceive yourself?
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What is one identity that you feel shapes the way other people perceive and treat you?
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Which identity(s) are you curious in learning if they experience the world differently?
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Which identity(s) are you curious in learning how your host country perceives or treats differently?
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What is an identity that is not listed on this wheel that you would add that shapes the way people perceive or treat you?
Suggestions for Peer Discussion
Apart from answering each question above, if students are then to discuss their answers to the questions with each other, I create open prompts to help facilitate a conversation. These questions are only for prompting a discussion, but if the students are having a natural conversation it is important to give them that space to discuss freely.
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What about this identity resonated with you in answering this question? Do you have a story or personal experience that supports this?
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What commonalities do you see with your peer? What differences showed up?
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What additional questions might you have about this identity after speaking with your classmate?
Methods of Facilitation
Depending on the size of the group and time restraints, educators must think appropriately about which method of presentation might be best for their students.
Presented are examples of what I have tested.
Engaged Reflection with Peer-Peer Discussion Time
In-Person Wheel
Size Recommendation: 30 students or less with a lot of space in the room
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Facilitation Summary:
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Decorate the room with various identity wheel markers
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Prompt students to silently walk over to the identity that answers one of the prompts (examples above)
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Facilitate a timed discussion for students to talk with others that chose the same identity as them
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Pros:
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Allows students to move around!
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Encourages students to meet new people
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Allows students to find commonality over an intimate subject
Cons:
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Without careful facilitation and monitoring, students may go off topic during discussion time
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The visible nature of seeing how students answer loses a layer of confidentiality and a safe space for student to disclose their true answers
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Zoom Breakout Rooms
Size Recommendation: 50 students or less
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Facilitation Summary:
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Present each question as a Zoom poll and allow students to answer each question through a poll
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Open Zoom breakout rooms to place students that answered similarly together
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Facilitate discussion in breakout rooms
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Pros:
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Remote-friendly and interactive
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Encourages students to meet new people
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Discussions are private and within the breakout room
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Cons:
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Team number capacity to monitor each breakout room
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Educators may not have training on how to facilitate sensitive conversations and engage timid students
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Possible limitations on the identities presented based on the number of team members you have to facilitate each breakout room
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Zoom Breakout Rooms
Size Recommendation: 50 students or less
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Facilitation Summary:
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Present each question as a Zoom poll and allow students to answer each question through a poll
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Open Zoom breakout rooms to place students that answered similarly together
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Facilitate discussion in breakout rooms
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Pros:
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Remote-friendly and interactive
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Encourages students to meet new people
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Discussions are private and within the breakout room
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Cons:
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Team number capacity to monitor each breakout room
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Educators may not have training on how to facilitate sensitive conversations and engage timid students
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Possible limitations on the identities presented based on the number of team members you have to facilitate each breakout room
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Engaged Reflection without Peer-Peer Discussion Time
Zoom Polls
Size Recommendation: large crowds
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Facilitation Summary:
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Present each question as a Zoom poll and allow students to answer each question through a poll
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Present answers of the poll while protecting the identities of students that answers
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Continue with presentation on identity
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Mentimeter
Size Recommendation: large crowds
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Facilitation Summary:
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Present each question as a Mentimeter “Pin the Image” activity and allow students to answer each question via their phones
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Students can visually see in real time each student’s (anonymous) pin dropped on the wheel
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Continue with presentation on identity
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Removing Peer-Peer Discussions
Pros:
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Meets the time constraints when needing to fit in a lot of content
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Creates a nice introduction to the concept while putting students in a low-pressure environment to engage
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Awakens curiosity amongst students by seeing how their peers answered in the polls​
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Cons:
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Prevents the opportunity for students to have a meaningful conversation with their peers on this topic
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Prevents students from hearing different experiences of their fellow students, which is a critical component of understanding intersectionality
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Presenting Concept without Active Engagement
Presentation Slide
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Facilitation Summary:
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Present the concept of identity using rhetorical questions and giving students a few seconds to self-reflect on them before moving on to next point
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Removing Engagement All Together
Pros:
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Meets the time constraints when needing to fit in a lot of content
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Creates a nice introduction to the concept without pushing students to disclose personal answers
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Cons:
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Prevents students from being able to see how their peers would have answered to feel a sense of belonging or curiosity about those in the room with them
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Prevents the opportunity for students to have a meaningful conversation with their peers on this topic
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Prevents students from hearing different experiences of their fellow students, which is a critical component of understanding intersectionality
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CONCLUSION
The Identity Wheel is one of my favorite tools to introduce such an abstract yet critical concept to foster more understanding for diversity and to support students before they go abroad to face a new culture that could have completely different ideologies and perceptions of their identities.
I hope to continue iterating the way the Identity Wheel can be integrated into intercultural competence development.