Integrating the international dimension: implications for teaching and learning

Innovative Doctoral Education for Global Food Security: Workshop for teachers organizing thematic doctoral coursesOctober 18, 2013

Alexandra D’Ursoalexandra.durso@slu.se

Learning outcomes

• Continue to reflect upon the pedagogical considerations involved in teaching in an internationalized (glocal) classroom

• Discuss role as educators and cultural beings in different contexts

• Integrate glocal perspectives into doctoral course content

Acknowledging & removing our blinders

• What do we take for granted when we step into an educational setting?

• How might having previous international experience help us or hinder us?

• What are we unable to see when we wish to evaluate the needs of doctoral students in an international context?

Reflecting about glocal dimensions: discussion questions• Is scientific education and research in your field the same no

matter where one lives?

• What are teacher and student roles like in different places?

• What does it mean to internationalize doctoral courses?

Intercultural awareness

Cultural rules and biases Empathy Intercultural experience (see Jackson, 2009) Suspending judgment

What about Language?

Source: http://www.aacu.org/value/rubrics/pdf/InterculturalKnowledge.pdf

Questioning assumptions: glocal learning and our own roleEmic/etic perspectives: teaching as partnership

Considering cultural patterns: generalizations versus stereotypes (Bennett, 2009)

YOU!

family, ethnic,religious background

home region, peers, country

academia: local, national, international

gender, social class

Who are we? Tuning in to our different selves

“Rather than taking culture and identity as given, social constructionism insists that it is

linguistic and social practices that bring culture and identity into being.”

(Piller, 2012, p. .25)

language and cultureculture in language

language AS culture

E-communication challenges

Integrating international dimensions into teaching and learning• SLU and ”global learning”

• New literacies related to global/glocal learning: “scientific, technological, ethical, environmental, global” cultural??

• Intercultural success more than just time abroad or language competence

• Cross-cultural coursework

Integrating international dimensions

• Without adequate preparation, study-abroad students’ potential to have “entrenched negative stereotypes” (Jackson, 2009, p. S59)

• “attitude and empathy towards the whole idea of cultural difference” more important than gathering cultural knowledge (Louie, 2005, p. 17)

• Curiosity: investigating what else works

Possible teacher tasks for doctoral courses

• Reflective journals

• Check-ins with / soliciting feedback from fellow course coordinators

Reflective journaling*“What happened?”

● How do I feel about this?

● What do I think about this?

● What have I learned from this?

● What action will I take as a result of my lessons learned?

Directly cited from Shepherd, M. (2006), p. 336.

Check-ins with fellow course leaders

• Comparing reflective journal entries

• Culturally situating pedagogical choices when designing tasks

Thank you!

References

Bennett, M. J. (2009) Defining, measuring, and facilitating intercultural learning: A conceptual introduction to the Intercultural Education double supplement. Intercultural Education, 20:sup1, S1-S13, DOI: 10.1080/14675980903370763

Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence. Clevedon, England:Multilingual Matters.

Jackson, J. (2009) Intercultural learning on short-term sojourns. Intercultural Education, 20, Suppl. Nos. S1–2, 2009, S59–7, DOI: 10.1080/14675980903370870.

References, cont. Louie, K. (2005) Gathering cultural knowledge: Useful or use with care? In Carroll, J. & Ryan, J. (Eds.) Teaching international students. Improving learning for all, pp 17-25. London: Routledge.

Piller, I. (2012) Intercultural communication: An overview. In Paulston, C.B., Kiesling, S.F., & Rangel, E.S. (Eds). Blackwell Handbooks in Linguistics Handbook of Intercultural Discourse and Communication. Hoboken, USA: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 3-18.

Shepherd, M. (2006). Using a learning journal to improve professional practice: A journey of personal and professional self‐discovery. Reflective Practice, 7(3), 333-348. doi: 10.1080/14623940600837517