In this article, the authors report on a study of 59 undergraduate students who completed a survey assessing aspects of openness to experience, race and cultural understanding, and critical thinking before and after they studied abroad for 3 months. Results showed an increase in students’ knowledge of and ability to comprehend new cultures, particularly among those who initially indicated a low openness to experience. However, there was a decrease in critical thinking skills in students who reported high levels of openness, a finding that was contrary to our prediction and recent research. Possible explanations are discussed regarding the seeming lack of study abroad benefits among students who reported high levels of openness to experience.
W e're gonna have a contest," the teacher announced as the kids filed into the classroom after playing outside. "The one who builds the tallest tower gets to pick the book for today's reading circle." Piles of blocks of various sizes, shapes, and colors were already set around the classroom waiting to be thoughtfully arranged into structures by a dozen excited 4-and 5-year-olds. "Ready, set, go!" The work of building proceeded quickly and efficiently, and, in only a few minutes, the foundations were laid and towers were built. There were thin towers and there were thick towers. Most were stable and a few were barely standing. But they all had one very visible characteristic in common: They were roughly the same height. This is not surprising, in hindsight. Wanting to be fair, the teacher gave everyone about the same number of blocks. Realizing what had happened, the teacher announced, "You all built amazing towers, but you really made it hard for me to see which is the tallest one! Let's make this easier. I give you permission to use something else in the room to create your tallest tower. But you can use only one thing," as he held up one finger in front of him to really emphasize one. "Go!" It took about a minute of wandering and looking around before one child took one of the boxes that was used to hold the blocks and brought it back to her tower, which she knocked down with great intent. She proceeded to rebuild her tower-on the box this time. Seeing the strategy's potential, the others followed until all of the remaining boxes were all claimed, leaving a
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