Pedagogical Mentoring During Virtual Exchange: What Can We Learn from Critical Incidents?

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the degree to which pedagogical mentoring during a three-country virtual exchange supported the development of langua-technocultural competence among participants during the virtual exchange. To do so, we examine three incidents which resulted in varying degrees of success following pedagogical mentoring. We conclude that a sole focus on developing langua-technocultural competence during pedagogical mentoring, while helpful in some situations, was not sufficient in dealing with every critical incident. The reasons for this include an overarching emphasis on cognitive processes and insufficient time and focus on the development of emotional empathy. In addition, several features of virtual exchange may hinder the development of true empathy including the tasks students are required to complete as well as an insistence on a neutral facilitator role for the VE practitioners, which does acknowledge that they themselves are products of the social, political and historical forces that shape their own contexts.