Phase 3: Optimizing

During phase 3, the focus is on optimizing every students’ learning process by capitalizing on different perspectives. During the previous phases, the stage has been set, and measures have been taken to create and reinforce a safe and inclusive learning climate. Students have reflected on their own frame of reference, and are aware of the assumptions underlying them (phase 1). They have practiced interacting with perspectives different from their own (phase 2). In phase 3, students actively share their perspectives, and unique and differing perspectives are invited, encouraged and offered, and student engage with them in enriching ways. By actively combining and integrating perspectives in phase 3, the added value of differences among students, provided that the interaction around these differences is guided well and continually, is acknowledged and leads to more creativity in the area of problem solving (Nakui, Paulus & Van der Zee, 2009).

Furthermore, not only interacting with other perspectives but actively switching between them helps students display more cognitive flexibility when performing tasks that demand higher thinking levels (Hong et al, 2000; Benet-Martinez et al, 2006). Interventions during this stage are now explicitly focused on reaching the formulated learning goals for learning in diversity, as well as learning from diversity (Radstake, 2017). Although these learning goals can be assessed during all three phases, formatively as well as summatively, in phase 3 summative assessment is an expected part of the programme. This does not mean that by reaching this phase, the strategies used for phase 1 and 2 cease to be of importance. Some strategies, especially those that stimulate a safe and inclusive learning environment, require a permanent focus.

By focusing on different academic (content) perspectives instead of solely personal perspectives, in this phase students learn to see the relevance of diversity for their academic skills. Following phase 2, this phase further strengthens their academic integration. In addition, the strategies in this phase support the Dublin Descriptor/Framework for Qualifications of European Higher Education 3: “To have the ability to gather and interpret relevant data (usually within their field of study) to inform judgements that include reflection on relevant social, scientific or ethical issues” on BA level, and to “have the ability to integrate knowledge and handle complexity, and formulate judgements with incomplete or limited information, but that include reflecting on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgements” on MA level (Bologna Working Group (2005).