(The) International Classroom

Transcription

1 (The) International Classroom Achievements and challenges Some principles of good practice Kevin Haines and Franka van den Hende

2 Challenges: Spaces, places and learning (Kitto et al 2013)

3 Perspectives on English Medium Instruction (EMI) Pedagogical, didactic and intercultural issues ( ) will be at least as important as the language skills. Lauridsen 2013: 135

4 Perspectives on English Medium Instruction (EMI) We believe that changing the lecturing language merely accentuates communication problems that are already present in first language lectures. Airey (2006: 559)

5 Perspectives on English Medium Instruction (EMI) International classroom as catalyst: To the academic staff, internationalisation thus appears as a change process, which may fuel the development of more reflective teaching practices or indeed lead to the formation of new academic identities. Tange (2010: 139, citing Hellstén 2008)

6 Contents 1. Starting points (English Medium Instruction) 2. Zooming out: Some perspectives on Internationalisation of the Curriculum 3. Zooming in: Some principles of good practice in the International Classroom (from our pilots) 10/7/2014 6

7 University of Groningen, the Netherlands Population:197,823 (Trondheim: 181,513) Research-based university, founded in ,000 students inc. 5,000 international 100 English-taught Master s, 21 Bachelor s 23 double degree programs 20% academic staff international 25% students study abroad

8 International Classroom project What makes our programmes international? How is internationalisation of added value? How to adjust our policies to realise our vision on internationalisation? How to use diversity as a resource and facilitate interaction and integration? How to realise fit for purpose support for our students and staff?

9 Wilkinson (2012): English Medium Instruction: Policies & Motivations Phases Motivations Cross-border 1987 Europeanizati on 1991 Consolidation 1995 Globalization 2002 Monetization 2007 Practical geography recruitment (international & exchange students) Idealist multilingualism internationaliza tion-at-home recruitment (student expertise) recruitment (money) Educational new programmes new programmes new programmes Survival home market too small/too saturated profiling institution as bilingual profiling institution as international profiling institution (rankings) Financial cost of bilingual options recruitment (bring in money) Wilkinson, R. (2012: 9): English-medium instruction at a Dutch university: challenges and pitfalls.

10 International Classroom project at University of Groningen Institutional Objective To contribute to the University of Groningen application for NVAO Distinctive Quality Feature Internationalisation (DQFI) by demonstrating the added value and clarifying institutional conditions of the International Classroom, in relation to both staff and students. 10/7/

11 International Classroom project The wider perspective CeQuint (Certificate for Quality in Internationalisation) Assessment standards and criteria for certification include: The learning environment is suitable for achieving the intended international and intercultural learning outcomes. (European Consortium for Accreditation, Aerden & Weber 2013: 24) 10/7/

12 International Classroom project at University of Groningen The wider perspective CeQuint (Certificate for Quality in Internationalisation) Dimensions for institutional internationalisation plans: - International and intercultural learning outcomes - Teaching, learning and research - Staff - Students (European Consortium for Accreditation, Aerden 2014: 24) 10/7/

13 International Classroom project Ambitions (bottom up/top down) - Integrating internationally/culturally diverse students in a single learning environment - Achieving higher educational standards using the diversity of backgrounds of students - Preparing students for a life and career in a globalizing world 10/7/

14 Good teaching across cultures (principles) 1: Focus on students as learners 2: Respect and adjust for diversity 3: Provide context-specific information and support 4: Facilitate meaningful intercultural dialogue and engagement 5: Be adaptable, flexible and responsive to evidence 6: Prepare students for life in a globalised world Based on Carroll (2015); Leask & Wallace (2011); and IEAA (2013). 10/7/

15 International Classroom project Integrated Activities 1. Pilot projects describing existing good practice and defining principles for the international classroom that may guide practice across faculties 2. Development of an over-arching implementation framework incorporating these principles 3. Development of an institutional language policy: An Inclusive Dual Plus Approach to facilitate implementation 10/7/

16 International Classroom project Pilot projects International Bachelor's in Medicine Groningen (IBMG), Faculty of Medical Sciences (2013) 2. Master s in Environmental and Infrastructure Planning, Faculty of Spatial Sciences (2013) 3. Bachelor s in Computing Science and Industrial Engineering & Management Science, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences (2014) Detailed observations, interviews with stakeholders, review of key documents and reference points. 10/7/

17 International Bachelor s in Medicine (IBMG) Student composition: Cohort 2012: 76 students / 19 nationalities Dutch: 30 European: 23 Middle East: 16 Other: 7 Cohort 2013: 90 students / 18 nationalities (first semester) Dutch: 38 European: 24 Middle East: 19 Other: 9 10/7/

18 International University project (IntlUni) Some initial findings (WP3 2013: challenges) Though responses differ, students are generally considered able to function informally, but their academic skills are perceived as quite limited. Students, on the other hand, perceive lecturers academic knowledge as adequate, but lacking in informal and colloquial L2 instruction. (Cogo & Westerholm 2013: 2) 10/7/

19 Teaching & Learning: What occurs? Students: read, summarise, discuss in pairs, present, discuss in group, read more, present again, discuss with expert, receive feedback (listen), write draft, etcetera Teachers: provide access to expert knowledge, facilitate the group process, act as sounding board (listen), give constructive feedback, assess, etcetera Observations of learning/teaching activities in two EMI sites at University of Groningen(Medical Science Groups/Product Design Groups) /7/

20 Is Katerina in No-Man s Land? Christina s World: Andrew Wyeth 10/7/

21 Student perspectives on academic skills: Stories from No-Man s Land? I m wondering to which extent I can just produce a good paper. I want it, but I don t know where to get help how to make it. (Katerina) I m not going to be in Holland, not going to be in Germany, I m going to be in Spain. So basically all on my own (Katerina) Haines 2012: 14 10/7/

22 Lost in translation? For a long time, I ll thrash around like a fish thrown from sweet into salty ocean waters. Hoffman, Lost in Translation, 1989: /7/

23 Student perspectives: International Classroom (IBMG) In the International Baccalaureate I had learnt to write essays, to structure essays, to express myself in essays. So since I had done the IB I knew how to write an essay and I knew how to put my ideas down nicely. And I thought here was quite some discrepancy in the quality of the essays. (Vincent, Graduate Lithuanian IBMG student) 10/7/

24 Principles of good practice # 1 Be aware of culture in the widest sense of the word, and be explicit about expectations: e.g. What is/is not considered academic? What does a Dutch grade 7 mean in terms of quality, and what signal does it communicate to a student? How is silence perceived? 10/7/

25 Principles of good practice # 1 e.g. How is silence perceived? The Chinese learner has been very much considered a passive learner who does not contribute during lessons. But now, I know that silence is also very important for learning in some cultures. It is learning for me actually now, I learn to be silent sometimes. University Teacher (Welikala 2012: 52) 10/7/

26 Principles of good practice # 1 An interesting observation is that diversity comes not only from nationality or cultural background but much more from educational background and differences in experience, competences, characters and personality. Initial findings at Computer Science Sept /7/

27 Culture in the internationalisation of higher education Based on Räsänen, A. (2011), after Flowerdew & Miller (1995)

28 Principles of good practice # 2 Use diversity as a resource to generate understanding, scope and innovations for societal problems: Whenever I learn anything about myself or about my friends, it is never when we are agreeing on subjects or when we share the same experience. You always learn about other cultures and other perspectives when you discuss it from different angles. (2 nd year IBMG student) 10/7/

29 Principles of good practice # 3 Provide examples which extend the context and show differences (not only Dutch or European experience): Things they have been teaching us here ((Groningen)) came back there ((Ethiopia)). For example, it is not appropriate to send expensive equipment to locations where there isn t a reliable electricity supply. And people there don t know how to work with or interpret a CT scan for instance. This is what we have been learning in Global Health. (3 rd Year IBMG student) 10/7/

30 Principles of good practice # 3 When you need to work together with the clients, the different educational and cultural background and experiences and skills that people have acquired start to play a relevant role. Initial findings at Computer Science Sept /7/

31 Principles of good practice # 4 Facilitate broader and informal interaction at class level The results indicated that the more learning content was covered in lectures instead of in Problem Based Learning (PBL) sessions, the less likely students were to engage in critical and in-depth discussions during the PBL sessions to construct their own knowledge. Frambach 2014: /7/

32 Principles of good practice # 4 Facilitate broader and informal interaction at class level I really liked the whole integration of culture along with the really real medical issue. It s the end of life, how are you supposed to treat people, etcetera. Especially with the discussion later in the coach group meeting with all the different opinions, you really do realize, it s true I am in a really international group right now. 2 nd year IBMG student: Focus Group IBMG /7/

33 Principles of good practice # 5 Allow for flexibility and adaptation time, and local discretion for lecturers and students to facilitate freedom of choice. Now I feel like I m part of a team and we also talk with some faculties in the US. And this could lead to an MD PhD in the long-term, but I thought let s start with the elective period. And now I am trying to write up an article for publication with another student with the support of the supervisor. (3 rd Year IBMG student) 10/7/

34 Principles of good practice # 6 (students) Direct language support towards qualitative measures and contextualised needs e.g. academic writing (students), They expect you to be able to do academic writing, but you have never done it before. There s also a lot of diversity in what has been done before. It would be the first time for me to do it in Dutch too, although the language would be a lot better. (2 nd Year Dutch IBMG student) 10/7/

35 Principles of good practice # 6 (staff) Direct language support towards qualitative measures and contextualised needs e.g. facilitating individual needs (staff) Most important is that lecturers feel that they are in control of their own trajectory. They are in a better position than anyone else to tell you what they need. Sara, Block Coordinator, IBMG 10/7/

36 Follow-up for IC project Similar pilots in other faculties Development of IC framework (vision, learning outcomes, learning, teaching and assessment, staff, students) and implementation in all international programs Adjustment of policies (e.g. language/culture policy) based on institutional vision on education and internationalisation Realise consistent fit-for-purpose support for staff and students

37 Some references Aerden, Axel and Maria E. Weber Frameworks for the Assessment of Quality in Internationalisation. European Consortium for Accreditation. Aerden, Axel A Guide to Assessing the Quality of Internationalisation. European Consortium for Accreditation. Airey, John and Cedric Linder Language and the experience of learning university physics in Sweden. European Journal of Physics, 27, Carroll, Jude Tools for Teaching in an Educationally Mobile World. Routledge. Frambach, Janneke M., Erik W. Driessen, Philip Beh and Cees P.M. van der Vleuten Quiet or questioning? Students' discussion behaviors in student-centered education across cultures. Studies in Higher Education. Volume 39, Issue 6, 2014, Haines, Kevin Stories from No-Man s Land? Situated language learning through the use of role models in the context of international Higher Education. In Journal of Applied Language Studies 6(1) Haines, Kevin, Franka van den Hende and Nico Bos. (forthcoming) In Green, Wendy & Craig Whitsed (Eds). Internationalising the curriculum in disciplines: Stories from business, education and health. Vita e Pensiero Press, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan. 10/7/

38 Some references Herwaarden, van C.L.A., R.F.J.M. Laan and Leunissen, R.R. M. (Eds) The 2009 Framework for Undergraduate Medical Education in the Netherlands. Nederlandse Federatie van Universitair Medische Centra. Hoffman, Eva Lost in Translation. New York: E.P. Dutton. International Education Association of Australia Good Practice Principles in Practice: Teaching Across Cultures. IEAA. Johnson, O., S.L. Bailey, C. Willott, T. Crocker-Buque, V. Jessop, M. Birch, H. Ward and J.S. Yudkin Global health learning outcomes for medical students in the UK. The Lancet, 379, Kitto, Simon, Jonas Nordquist, Jennifer Peller, Rachel Grant and Scott Reeves The disconnections between space, place and learning in interprofessional education: an overview of key issues. Journal of Interprofessional Care, 27(S2), 5-8. Lauridsen, Karen M Higher Education Language Policy. Working Group under the European Language Council. European Journal of Language Policy, 5(1), Leask, Betty and Jan Wallace Good practice report learning and teaching across cultures. AGOLT: Australian Learning and Teaching Council. Leask, Betty & Christopher Bridge Comparing internationalisation of the curriculum in action across disciplines: theoretical and practical perspectives. Compare, 43(1) /7/

39 Some references Räsänen, Anne International classrooms, disciplinary cultures and communication conventions: a report on a workshop for content and language teachers. Quality Assurance Review for Higher Education, Bucharest: ARACIS, 3(2), Smiskova, Hana, Kevin Haines & Estelle Meima Key considerations for the quality of language provision for academic staff in the English-medium programmes (EMI) at a Dutch university. In Fremdsprachen und Hochschule 83/84, Tange, Hanne Caught in the Tower of Babel: university lecturers experiences with internationalization. Language and Intercultural Communication, 10(2), Vermunt, Jan D. & Nico Verloop Congruence and friction between learning and teaching. In Learning and instruction 9, Welikala, Thushari Inter-Perspective Pedagogy: rethinking Culture and Learning in Multicultural Higher Education in the United Kingdom. In Lixian Jin & Martin Cortazzi (eds), Researching International Learning: Investigations in Language and Education, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Wilkinson, Robert English-medium instruction at a Dutch university: challenges and pitfalls. In Doiz, Aintzane, David Lasagabaster & Juan Manuel Sierra (eds.): English-Medium Instruction at universities: Global Challenges, Clevedon: Multilingual Matters. 10/7/

40 Purposeful interaction

41 Purposeful interaction

42 Purposeful interaction

43 Purposeful interaction

44 Purposeful interaction (Kevin Haines 2014)