Teaching culturally Teaching culturally diverse groupsdiverse groups

Jude CarrollJanuary 2014

Presentation at the University of Sheffield

Here’s what I was told about Here’s what I was told about aims for the sessionaims for the sessionhands-onprimarily for teaching staffFaculty of Sciencefocus on ‘international students’integrating multi-cultural cohorts

‘.... cross-cultural communication and cultures of learning’

My big question for My big question for teachersteachers

How do their students’ educational mobility

cultural diversityskill at learning in English global perspectives

impact on classroom practice?

What are the links? What are the influences?

‘Teaching culturally diverse groups’

‘Introducing an international and intercultural perspective into how you teach & what you teach .....’

‘Thinking about what you are trying to achieve / produce.....’

Foreign…. overseas …. offshore ….‘The students who don’t pay home fees’‘The students who are not from [here]’‘Students who speak a

language other than [national language] at home’

Students who travelled by a plane to study’Anyone who calls themselves ‘international’‘We are all international’

There’s no such thing: students are students.

‘‘International students’: International students’: who are they?who are they?

‘cultural’distance travelled

capability with English

-unfamiliar with ‘how it works here’-’strange’ expectations-inappropriate skills

far from supportfar from familyfar from help

‘‘Diverse students’: many factors you Diverse students’: many factors you might includemight include

I suggest a focus on 1. Educational mobility

Students moving across [national] boundariesProgrammes moving to students (Transnational

Education)Students returning ‘back home’

2. Pedagogic variation [academic cultural differences]‘Same words, different meaning’

3. Learning and teaching in EnglishStudents: variable levels of competence and confidence[some teachers, too]Not the same as ‘learning English’

These factors inter-relateThese factors inter-relate

Students’ key Students’ key learninglearning issues: issues:

Language [learning in English]

Transition to new learning culture

Having appropriate academic skills

Engagement and participation. ‘Taking part’’

Collaboration, mixing. Intercultural communication

Relevance. ‘A useful piece of paper’

Issues for studentsYour role?Adaptation …. adjustment ...... accommodation

developing language capability

New academic culture

building necessary skills.

participation [‘Getting the most from ……’]

collaboration & mixing

checking (where are they so far?); enhancing students’ language learning

Mediating between pedagogic cultures

Coaching, providing practice, giving feedback

Choreographing. Structure. prepare and plan.

Designing & supporting tasks and group work

Focus on students’ transition to [this Focus on students’ transition to [this place] ways, [this place] assumptions, place] ways, [this place] assumptions, [this place] expectations[this place] expectations

From what to what?

Where are the predictable ‘sites of conflict’?

How can teachers help students recognise ‘new game, new rules’ …. then ensure they have the skills to play that new game?

Transition: from what to Transition: from what to what?what?

‘Students expected a different culture …. but not a different culture of teaching and learning. They didn’t expect a different meaning for the word ‘examination’.

Poulton, 2009

.... ‘the challenges of adapting to a different academic culture appeared to be more acute than adapting to a different cultural and social environment’. Gu et al 2010

I call my teacher Dr. xxx

A good teacher notices I need help and offers it.

A good teacher tells me good answers to good questions.

To learn, I must listen to the teacher. Really listen.

I read the textbook many many many times. Exam questions and answers are from the textbook.

When students ask, I help with study-based issues.

I select the issues but the students must find their own answers

I want students to discuss, argue, solve problems. What’s their conclusion?

I want students to read around, to choose good bits ….and to weave them together to make an answer. I want their answer …. not the answer

‘I call my teacher Dr. X’ I say, ‘Call me Jude’

‘ ‘previous educational previous educational experiences’experiences’

1. Teaching methods

2. Relationships between teachers & students

3. Assessment

4. Writing

5. Reading

Discussion of the rationale

Experience and reflection

Explicit guidance

Practice and feedback

‘‘The cultural onion’ The cultural onion’ (Schein 1990)(Schein 1990)

1. Artifacts

2. Rules and norms

3. Beliefs, values, attitudes

The outer signs and signals of differences

‘How we do things’

‘How we communicate’

‘How things should be done’

Rationale for why things are as they are

How we see and experience the world and each other

2

3

1

Teachers as academic cultural mediators: Teachers as academic cultural mediators: same words, different meaningssame words, different meanings

TeacherStudentRead WriteExaminationDissertationSupervisor

HelpGood work9:00 AM‘my own work’‘logical case’

No: desc

ribe th

e artifact

No: desc

ribe th

e artifact

Ye

s: e

xplain th

e rule

Yes:

exp

lain the ru

le

No: desc

ribe th

e artifact

No: desc

ribe th

e artifact

Ye

s: e

xplain th

e rule

Yes:

exp

lain the ru

le

the artifact

the rationaleFirst names for teachers

Reading list

Word limit on essays

Specific times to see teachers

group work

70% as a top mark

Teacher-supported skill Teacher-supported skill developmentdevelopment

What generic skills?Teacher support?

Learning from lectures

Self-management

Criticality ‘taking an evaluative, evidence-based, personal stance…..’

Academic reading

Academic writing

Language auditor / enhancer

Cultural mediator

Skills coach

Choreographer of participation

Making students interact

Curriculum designer

informationexamples

tools and equipment

Practice of the ‘sub-skills’

feedback

working with an expert to aim high

motivating reasons

Putting sub-skills together. Practice

feedback

time

practice

Teacher-supported Teacher-supported skill skill developmentdevelopment

Programme-level planning and delivery

Early checking [‘Where do I stand against the standards?’]

Design in practice and feedback

Practice, practice, practice ….. over time

Skills learned as an integral part of content learning

Participation: taking partParticipation: taking part

Language auditor / enhancer

Cultural mediator

Skills coach

Choreographer of participation

Making students interact

Curriculum designer

In lectures: listening, thinking, making notes, making connections, making sense ....

In interactive sessions and labs:talking, working with ideas, making meaning, solving problems, practical work

In supervision and one-to-one: dialogue, planning, agreeing and disagreeing, asking / providing information

What can teachers do?

1.Lighten the language load

2.Make structure obvious and explicit; use structure to organise contributions

3.Require preparation and require planning

4.Use techniques to value and welcome contributions

5.Ask questions to check understanding

Making groupwork work: Making groupwork work: How?How?

Language auditor / enhancer

Cultural mediator

Skills coach

Choreographer of participation

Making students interact

Curriculum designer

1. Prepare students

2. Plan a collaborative task

3. Project manage: observe and monitor the process; intervene carefully to manage conflict(s)

4. Process the experience: force students to reflect on their experiences; Think about assessing the process as well as the product

INTEGRATION INTEGRATION COLLABORATIOCOLLABORATIONNINCLUSIONINCLUSION

What more could you do?

Which change(s) would make a difference?

Summing upSumming up