Our Classrooms GlobalizedTeaching & Learning with International Students

Alistair Howard, Temple UniversityAACU Global Learning Conference, Minneapolis, October 16-18 2014

About this presentation Very wide ranging… Some background on international students in the USA Alternative ways of thinking about the issues, plus a new

conceptual approach Some practical suggestions

Who’s here? How many are… Chiefly in teaching/faculty roles? Primarily administrators? Veterans of studying abroad? From schools with many international students? Recruiting international students? Aware of campus discussions on these issues? Has your school’s teaching & learning center worked on it?

And who am I? What informs my perspective?

International students in the US

Where are they from? 2012-13

International students in US, 2012-13

Top US States hosting int’l students

Universities w/ highest int’l students %

Colleges w/ highest int’l student %

Minnesota

Minneapolis-St.Paul-Bloomington

Minneapolis-St.Paul-Bloomington

Minneapolis-St.Paul-Bloomington

Philadelphia

And at Temple University Very active recruitment Undergrad int’ls nearly doubled in 3 years to 1,339 Total int’l students now 3,213

Our preconceptions about int’l students? They’ve chosen to leave their home system Or their parents made them

They’re successful They’ve performed well in their systems, are adjusted to that system

They’ve chosen our system Tho’ they may be misinformed about it

They’re highly motivated Or at their parents are overbearing

They’re spending a lot of money (they have a lot of money) Failure can be catastrophic to them (seriously) We don’t really know much about them They have baggage…BUT maybe not the baggage we think And they may have meant to leave it on the plane

We found students struggle with: Language Academic success Unfamiliar institutional

requirements Understanding American

higher education, esp: Its logic, purposes & styles

Front-line staff Links with other students Finding help on campus

And faculty were concerned about…

Language Expectations Student learning? Pedagogy? Classroom style? Assessment items? Plagiarism issues Uncertain administrative

imperatives Time…and new effort

Language is an issue Students will need help learning local language This is a well developed area of scholarship, initiative And not my central focus for that reason alone

Resources & assistance must be added Advising Writing Centers Teaching Assistants Others…

But note…many challenges are disciplinary, not general Disciplinary vocabulary won’t be familiar to any student Analytical & critical academic writing also unfamiliar Creating context for all to learn is the key Faculty should move beyond emphasizing poor linguistic skills Of course, there are exceptions…

What students need Student services Advance preparation & orientation Structured intercultural opportunities Careers & internship support Attention to housing needs—esp to live on campus

Academic support: help with Writing English Research methods Plagiarism

Better teaching But then…which students DON’T need these things?

What faculty need Preparation and training Time to reflect on what they do and why Time to adjust objectives, teaching modes, assessments Guidance from administration For example, about standards of grading, plagiarism, etc

In my view… Rethink our image of international students

We should… See students as individuals adapted to different institutional

environments rather than representatives of different national cultures or (worse) characters

Big picture questions raised by int’ln Who universities & colleges should be serving & why Resource competition within universities

Community based learning versus internationalization? Local & non-traditional students needs versus international student services?

International/global diversity versus local inclusion The ‘diversity’ project more broadly

Multi-culturalism Inter-cultural communications Universalism Shared humanity Individual vs. collective

The political economy of higher education: Neo-liberal (corporate, marketized) Post-colonial and critical Cosmopolitan Nationalist

Pedagogy in higher ed American / “Western” Others?

Thinking about our new students First: The student deficit model

Second: The faculty deficit model

Third: ‘Clash’ of civilizations & inter-cultural communications

Fourth: Meta-cultural or (preferably) meta-institutional approaches

First: Student deficit? Overall attitude We teach what we teach Students have a problem, we don’t

Diagnosis Students are ill-equipped to be here

Prescription A course of remedial academic therapy

Esp linguistic Punitive action to get them into line

Plagiarists!

Alternative: refuse to treat? Not my problem…

Second: Faculty deficit? Overall attitude We’re here to serve students, we need to change

Diagnosis We’re ill-equipped to teach them We don’t know who they are, where they come from

Prescription Teaching & learning first aid Figure out their national background & get ready!

Alternative: ignore the condition, plow on!

One response: learn about their homes!

Third: Clash & Communication of cultures Or is it…civilizations? Overall attitude The world is wonderfully/horribly diverse

Diagnosis Individuals are products of ‘cultures’ esp nationalities

Students come with ‘software’ Variation poses problems and opportunities on campus

Prescription: We should acknowledge cultural variation, develop inter-cultural

communication techniques, learn about student culture; adapt what we’re doing.

Alternative? Turn inwards? Emphasize local diversity?

Finally…a meta-institutional take Overall attitude: Better to think of the issues as institutional than cultural

When I say institution, think ‘system’ or ‘organizational’

Diagnosis: Faculty & students are adapted & adapting to organizational contexts

that vary Note that these vary across borders, but also within borders and

over time… Prescription: Acknowledge & explain the variation Agree and make explicit our expectations, ways of doing things Adjust our teaching as needed Help them adjust their learning as needed

Why meta-institutional? Let’s get ‘meta’ Meta-cultural, or even better… Meta-institutional

‘Meta’ is about more than contrasting contexts Us and Them

It’s acknowledging fundamental contingency & variability We’re all Them

What we do isn’t the only way… it’s not the way things were…and it’s probably not the way things will be And again…the key fact may not be national

They are constantly being reproduced, while changing too

Why not ‘culture’? Or ‘nationality’? It reinforces unfortunate national stereotyping Not all Chinese students are alike, folks

It can lead us to embarrass them They’re not here to ‘represent’ (or at least it’s up to them)

We miss other significant influences Class, anyone?

There are institutional differences within nations Some kids are ‘supra-national’ Trained in uber-bourgeois international schools for cosmocrats’ kids

And anyway, why emphasize difference over shared humanity? In this context…

…They’re individuals (and so are we)

A digression into culture as a variable ‘Culture’ is too big a category to be useful in teaching & learning It’s hard to define. What do we mean, exactly? Cultural categories are too large to be meaningful

Nation? Region? Ethnicity? Civilization? Religion? What? It bundles together many different phenomena

Not least, ideas and behaviors It’s politically loaded It results in stereotyping It can reify apparent differences as defined by observer or participant Cultural analysis can be tautological Cultures change, or they do not. Which is it? The past is being remade constantly, as is culture It distracts from individual students It distracts from hybridity (which itself assumes purity) It distills essence from circumstance

Why ‘institutional’ Institution in the sociological sense The ‘rules of the game’

Formal and informal ‘ways we’re expected to do things’ Roles and relationships determined by organizational context Institutions shape and organize

Our interests Our expectations Our agency What we do

So too does the broader ideational context (‘culture’) But institutions are more tractable

In theory and in practice For example, in many higher ed systems

The prof stands at the front of a lecture hall The prof pours forth Students sit, listen quietly and respectfully And then write exams reproducing what they’ve absorbed.

Is this a national or cultural system?

So what are the variations? How to approach listening and participating in classes of

various kinds (lectures, seminars, etc) Homework Cooperation on studying and assigned tasks How to treat texts and authorities, including how to use

them in our own work The proper relationship between faculty and students

OK, enough theory. We need help now!

If my meta-institutional analysis is correct… You should ensure that your students understand What’s expected & why Identify key academic terms, rules, assumptions

Create a website or app that lays these out for students—using video explanations if possible Reproduce the videos in student’s home languages

Ask your faculty what they’re seeing And sensitize them to the issues & possible responses

Coordinate response across programs, departments so there’s consistency of expectations (eg: on plagiarism)

General suggestions Don’t frame difference as profoundly cultural Be clear about expectations, and make expectations clear! Explain the rationale for all learning activities Offer models of self-directed learning, if that’s what you want Learn how to pronounce students’ names Don’t embarrass them Speak clearly, using transitional phrasing Avoid idiomatic expressions or slang Explain cultural & historical references Infuse foreign content to show common humanity in the disciplines Allow extra time for test taking and assignments Track the students personally Document difficulties & successes

General suggestions, cont’d Meet with international students during first week of semester Use a website to host materials that will be useful across

courses Tailor materials to your discipline Always giving examples of GOOD and BAD output/performance

Understand profile of international students generally, but think about them as individuals first and foremost

Develop a network of int’l students by discipline or course

Suggestions for lectures Ensure accessibility! Make outlines available ahead of time Make recordings available afterwards Explain background info or provide briefing Use a glossary online Use international examples

Participation Introduce class participation gradually Start with short answers or factual/text-based questions Pair and share Move on to follow-up questions Move on to opinion or evaluative questions Reassure students Explain why you’re doing this

Suggestions for small group participation Make expectations clear and offer models Create interactive climate early in the semester Ask about international experiences… Phrase questions carefully… What more can I tell you about?

Anticipate discussions Use guided, specific questions tied to readings early in the

semester, perhaps being less specific later Wait before moving on to students Rephrase answers and questions Summarize discussions periodically Pair and share

Going further Academic research on international students Universities practical resources Other online resources

Academic research

Academic research & guidance

Universities’ practical resources

Other online resources

Online glossary of higher ed terms

UK Resources

Thanks! Please let me know what you think! And your suggestions…

Alistair Howard (Alix) alistair@temple.edu