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Valerie Clifford Juliet Henderson Catherine Montgomery Internationalising the Curriculum for all students: the role of staff dialogue Slide 2 The problem? Slide 3 The solution? Fully online one month course with weekly readings and tasks assigned with discussion forums. 1 Personal stories of becoming international 2 Reading of range of theoretical perspectives on critical reading of IoC 3 Explore positioning of IoC in own institutions and disciplines 4 Action plan Slide 4 Advantages 1. Creates a safe space for staff to explore and experiment with : new troublesome concepts (Clegg et al. 2004; Meyer & Land, 2003) 2. Staff explore alternative ways of internationalising themselves by: expanding pedagogical repertoire (Gough, 1999); flexing creative imagination (Rizvi, 2002) 3. Staff can access course when they have time 4. Brings voices from range of global locations together 5. Well-designed online discussions and dialogue can: Encourage collaborative work (Laurillard, 2002) Accommodate heterogeneity in learning styles, epistemologies and goals (Britan & Liber, 1999) Slide 5 What is internationalisation of the curriculum (IoC)? Troublesome new knowledge to embed in curriculum Under-resourced A radical pedagogy involving a transformative process aimed at developing global citizens Slide 6 So IoC goes beyond Modernist liberal discourses which fail to address global structural inequalities Celebrations of diversity in cultural artefacts Encouraging home and international students to work together Slide 7 Instead, as a radical pedagogy it Encourages students active engagement with real world issues e.g. sustainability, equality, justice Moves into the realm of values and ethics (Haigh & Clifford, 2011) Slide 8 How can universities embed IoC? Provide staff with support to explore what new ideas mean in their disciplines Create a space for staff to explore alternative ways of internationalising themselves by: expanding pedagogical repertoire (Gough, 1999) flexing creative imagination (Rizvi, 2002) Slide 9 Ideal conditions for staff development in IoC? A safe space to explore and experiment with new troublesome concepts (Clegg et al. 2004; Meyer & Land, 2003) Staff can access course when they have time Brings voices from range of global locations together Slide 10 Course design and data collection Fully online, one month course Weekly readings and tasks assigned with discussion forums Online discussions and dialogue can: Encourage collaborative work (Laurillard, 2002) Accommodate heterogeneity in learning styles, epistemologies and goals (Britan & Liber, 1999) Texts from discussions analysed in terms of focus and depth of discussion over 4 iterations Slide 11 Course participants over 4 runs 73 participants overall, including 48 academics and 21 academic developers Some from leadership positions - responsible for progressing IoC 15 disciplines represented most populous Health (14) and Business (8) 1 st iteration of course 10 participants, last iteration of course 27 Participants mainly from around UK, but also from Australia, and, in last iteration, from South Africa Slide 12 Vital role of dialogue what Im finding so great about this course is that Im not alone in trying to wade through all of this the reading, the experience and comments of other students on the course has reinforced just how complex this area is. learning from others is really great, and I love looking at ideas and resources in disciplines different from my own because even though they are clearly different, it doesnt mean that they cant be applied in a way that works for my discipline it has been an interesting week! Every morning (and sometimes late at night) I log-in to read and reflect on what has been discussed in your time zone. Slide 13 3 key uses of discussion by participants 1. To explore meaning of IoC as transformative 2. To develop internationalised self or intercultural self 3. To understand crucial role of developing community to share journey of IoC Slide 14 Exploring IoC as transformative The dilemma is how to formulate a counter-narrative from within. How legitimate would it be? What alternatives are there? We need to formulate transformative agendas but be cognisant of our own locations and how they have shaped and are still shaping us In striving for it [transformative education] there will be setbacks and there will be uneven development Slide 15 internationalising the self We have a tendency to talk about internationalisation as something that is out there rather than within ourselves Its a new idea that rather than internationalising others e.g. students, we need to start internationalising ourselves DEFINING THE PROCESS Read, discuss, do. Read, discuss, do. Slide 16 Struggles with internationalising the professional self Nagging thoughts of how I might do this better in a practical sense I feel a certain anxiety at the change required I am always struggling with how to balance a truly international approach without [creating] a learning environment which seems racist and/or patronising Some of the obstacles to IoC are to do with a nervousness in academic identity within a new model of learning and teaching Slide 17 Bringing values and ethics into the curriculum For me, the carrot is about not just elaborating on the same old bullet points (stick) but looking forward to explore issues I deeply care about with a different set of people every time I teach a class (ideally) Should we be assessing values per se. On the face of it, doesnt this infer that if you (student) dont accept the values I (teacher) promulgate, youll fail. What we should be assessing is the extent to which students have the critical facility to challenge values including their own...which is itself a value of western education. Conundrum. Slide 18 Building communities of practice The reading has brought home to me that IoC is a journey rather than necessarily a destination and that I will need to work with colleagues over a period of time to develop their ideas on how to bring about change I am actively considering how I may go about facilitating change within my own sphere, which may become contagious to those around insights of colleagues need to be harnessed real challenge is building communities of practice with shared commitment and vision Slide 19 Development of IOC literacy over 4 iterations of course Iteration 1 Ioc read as: teaching international students; east/west student differences; focus on acceptance of difference and moving away from own ethnocentrism Response to reading in discussion I have only thought of internationalisation as a liberal term before, not as a radical one Slide 20 Iteration 2 Beginning to question traditional pedagogies associated with own disciplines Discomfort felt at new ideas and work needed to embed IoC Emerging discourse of internationalisation at home Concern that colleagues might misinterpret efforts to internationalise as racist or colonialist Slide 21 Iteration 3 Broader outlook with which to understand own and other cultures Saw IoC as a debate on educational theory and pedagogies Awareness of own historical and geographical situatedness and impact on own assumptions e.g. democracy is universal good Openness to discussing global citizenship as goal of higher education for students Concern over tokenism Slide 22 Iteration 4 Articulate expression of IoC as transformation: challenges hegemonic ideas and practices; ongoing and requiring involvement and action Africanisation idea: local, subjugated knowledges as hegemonic practice IoC discussed as western discourse Slide 23 Conclusion Participants embraced the opportunity to explore a wider, and more radical vision of IoC and to explore the implications for themselves and their teaching Communal nature of exploration allowed them to appreciate benefits of building transdisciplinary communities of practice and gaining increased institutional support Wider vision fitted with increasing institutional strategic development and structures