INTERNATIONALIZING TEACHING & LEARNING

Intercultural, international, and global flows of technology, economy, knowledge, people, values and ideas

Individual level

National level

Sector level

Institution level

Regional level

Global level

Breadth dimension of the reach of internationalisation

Faculty/Department level

Depth dimension of the reach of

internationalisation

Supranational level

Within-institution level

Limits of Knight’s (2004) depth

dimension

WHY DO IT?

It encourages students to seek out international and diverse experience

It provides students who have had international experience an opportunity to use and expand their international/intercultural skills & experience

It enhances international student opportunities to contribute and make connections

Not all students will have a chance to study abroad – it may be their only exposure

• Strategic planning for internationalizing teaching, learning, curriculum

• Teaching Fellows• Structured programs and cohort

model• Consultations• One time workshops• On-line resources

A CONTINUUM OF FACULTY AND STAFF DEVELOPMENT

IDEALLY, INTERNATIONALIZING THE CURRICULUM IS NOT…

Adding a unit on international or cultural topics

Assigning a book or article on an intercultural subject or by a “culturally different” author

INTERNATIONALIZED CURRICULUM

Has intercultural & international issues & perspectives integrated throughout the course.

Can cause students to experience culture-bound resistance as they encounter course content.

Moves students toward a more ethnorelative mindset by:

• Integrating theory & practice• Providing cognitive, behavioral &

affective learning experiences

INTERNATIONALIZING CAN INCLUDE…

International: regarding national cultures, may be social or political

Cross-cultural: comparative of 2 or more cultures

Multicultural: most often used to refer to domestic diversity (racial, ethnic, religious, etc.)

Intercultural: What happens when people from different cultures interact. It assumes negotiation of meaning across difference.

Global: Supranational forces that impact on regions, nations and localities

POTENTIAL IMPACTS

A fully integrated curriculum will affect students and faculty on two levels:

• Content: Provides international resources, models, and perspectives

• Process: Facilitate growth and development of an international perspective and the skills to use it.

Each is necessary but not sufficient

PROCESS CAN BE THE TRICKY PART

Student interpretation and evaluation of course content may be culture-bound

Faculty need to be prepared to engage with them intellectually, psychologically, and emotionally in the process of learning

IT IS TRANSFORMATIONAL LEARNING IN 3 DIMENSIONS

Affective: drives student engagement, motivation to learn, and valuing of knowledge

Behavioral: development of the skills and behaviors required to use and apply what is learned.

Cognitive: integration of knowledge into ones world view

IN A CULTURALLY COMPETENT CLASSROOM THIS LOOKS LIKE…

An openness to engage and value new perspectives (affective)

The development of skills for critical analysis of the knowledge and perspectives encountered (cognitive & behavioral)

The ability to observe, participate in, and reflect on the information encountered (cognitive & behavioral)

ACQUIRING MULTIPLE INTERPRETATIONS

• Culture Specific and Cultural General Knowledge

• Understanding the ways cultures can differ and being skilled at recognizing these differences as they are experienced

• Values, Communication Styles, Problem-solving Preferences, Nonverbal Communication, Stereotyping, etc.

D.I.E.

D.I.E.

•Describe

•Interpret

•Evaluate

TRANSFORMATIONAL LEARNING MODEL

1. Generating Consciousness: (unconscious incompetence -> conscious incompetence)

2. Transforming Consciousness (conscious incompetence-> conscious competence).

3. Expanding Consciousness (building conscious competence).

4. Adapting Behaviors that Reflect Change (unconscious competence).

BENNETT’S DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL OF INTERCULTURAL SENSITIVITY

• Sensitivity is a philosophical stance that makes engaging the difficult work of culture learning easier and more appealing.

• Does not measure intercultural knowledge or experience but one’s willingness to engage and explore differences

IN A NUTSHELL….

DefenseDenial

Integration

Acceptance Adaptation

Minimization

Monocultural/Ethno-centric

Multicultural/Ethno-relative

INSTRUCTORS’ ETHICAL TASKS

Help students • In their struggle with reorienting their assumptions

about “rightness” and “wrongness”• In understanding that context and cultural realities

must be considered before information and behaviors can be evaluated

• Develop awareness and mindfulness about• their own cultural perspectives• ability to make choices in developing an ethical

structure to guide them in their journey to cultural competence