“GLOBALIZING THE CLASSROOM”:

INNOVATIVE APPROACH TO NATIONAL AND

INTERNATIONAL LEARNING

Sarah Hernandez Patricia BellRodney CoatesCorey Dolgon

Enzo ColomboAdey Nyamathi Carol PavlishHarriett Romo

Presenter: Matias E. MargulisHistory and Politics, University of Stirling

Globalizing the classroom

Goals of the course How it is structured Benefits for students Challenges for teaching staff

Presentation Outline

The module

Globalization, Social Justice and Human Rights

Started in 2011, now into 5th year 2011 pilot to 15 partner institutions and

over 200 students 2013 13 global partners and over 150

students, both graduate and undergraduate

Partners across US, Canada, UK, Europe, and Latin America

Goals of the moduleOverall Goal Develop cross-cultural and interdisciplinary learning

and collaboration

Module Objectives/Student Learning Outcomes Communicate and act respectfully across linguistic

and cultural differences. Explore and understand ones place and influence in

the changing world Understand relationships among societies, institutions,

and systems

How the module is structured

Four basic premises for staff collaboration: Follow most of the core curriculum Readings readily available on-line Half class time for in-class /in-person and other

half of class time for on-line communication Lingua franca is English No additional resources/costs to students or

universities

How it is structured

Expectations from students: Attendance Weekly blogs (500-750 words) Weekly commentary on other students’ blogs

(250-300 words) Group project for assessment (service learning,

case study, or Wikipedia ).

‘Tech’ stuff: NING Dropbox, iCloud, and Googledocs

NING

Benefits for students

Interdisciplinary content Learned to accept and accommodate diverse

educational needs and approaches Learned to communicate and collaborate with

an interdisciplinary team Local and global contact with other individuals

and groups holding similar interests Wider exposure to intercultural communication,

collaboration, and negotiation Skills, international networking

Challenges for teaching staff

‘Syncing up’ institutions across different academic calendars, forms of assessment, and course expectations

Facilitating transnational group projects Time and labour intensiveness Institutional aattitudes toward pedagogical

experimentalism Access to common readings, copyright

Conclusion Novel approach to international teaching and learning Enhances student experience Professionally rewarding Recognized by peers G,SJ & HR in 5th year

Matias E. Margulis

m.e.margulis@stir.ac.uk