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A.M. Cox Information School, University of Sheffield P . Chiles and L . Care

Exploring students’ group work needs in the context of internationalisation using a creative visual method. A.M. Cox Information School, University of Sheffield P . Chiles and L . Care School of Architecture, University of Sheffield.

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A.M. Cox Information School, University of Sheffield P . Chiles and L . Care

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  1. Exploring students’ group work needs in the context of internationalisation using a creative visual method A.M. Cox Information School, University of Sheffield P. Chiles and L. Care School of Architecture, University of Sheffield

  2. Starting point 1: Chinese students’ experience in the UK • Anecdotally we notice them sitting and working apart • Only 15% of Chinese students have UK friend (UKOSA, 2004) • Avoid assumption of unitary, “other” Chinese student (Clark and Gieve, 2006) or recreating a problem in the research

  3. Culture shocks • Drinking and party culture among students; dress codes; food and drink (Philo, 2007; Tianand Lowe, 2009) • Academic culture shock (Edwards and Ran, 2006) • Marking systems • Use of evidence and “unfair means” • Expectation about tutor’s role • Class room participation • Stress on group work

  4. Becoming enclaved • Largest group of international students on campus • Some cultural norms about behaviour of the group; the greater importance of networks with fellow Chinese than UK people • Accommodation enclaves • Time zone • Use of QQ or a weibo not Facebook and Twitter

  5. Students prefer group work with co-nationals Why? • Cultural-emotional connectedness • Language • Pragmatic reasons • Negative stereotypes • UK students feeling “swamped” and exhibit “passive xenophobia” (Peacock and Harrison 2009) Why do we still use group work intensively? • Enriches the group work experience • Cultural agility is a good learning outcome for ethical/citizenship reasons and employability “Completion of collaborative learning activities in culturally diverse small groups is a highly complex, socially and emotionally demanding experience” (Kimmel and Volet, 2010, p.3)

  6. Starting point 2: Space and place • Spatial design and use embody structural features of HE • A lecture theatre or seminar room embodies assumptions about how learning will take place • University as mass institution • Hidden curriculum is visible (Costello 2000)

  7. New learning spaces • Information Commons concept • “Flexibility, comfort, sensory stimulation, technology support and decentredness” (Chism 2006)

  8. How would you enhance campus design to promote effective group work?

  9. Method of our study • Participants given material to design a small model of good group work space • Written reflections • Focus group • Participants were iSchool students from China and home students Why “creative methods”? • Appropriate to spatial question • Language skills less central • Can explore emotional and controversial issues safely • Model making must be understood as a process of representation – requires analytic method • May produce anxiety around design skill

  10. Findings • No stark contrasts in the representations • Natural light • Pleasing aesthetically

  11. Anxiety control and task focus Chinese students • Simplicity = stress free • “My ideas come about making people peaceful and calm[ed] down especially for groups of four people [or] above. This is because when more students get together, they tend to talk [about] something else rather than their work. Therefore, simpl[e] colours and furniture are used, which may cause less distractions.” UK students • Task focus • “The idea here was [...] you just had different sorts of spaces for different points of time of group work. So you might obviously need to get around a table. It might be to break out or you just go and relax. [...] If one was doing a long session where you were getting together and then going off individually. [...] Or people just need to get in touch with something they have to get on with but being in a space that let’s you just get together again.” Emergence of a punitive discourse, that “privileged emotionally restrained, task focussed, competitive behaviours”(Turner 2009, p.252)

  12. Conservative designs? • Did not offer radical proposals • Designs were often office-like • They were not personalised, marked or owned • Links to students lacking a home on campus (Cox 2012)

  13. Should we do more to celebrate diverse cultures on campus – and how?

  14. Reflections on the method • Very narrow sample; • Should have captured the discussion and process more; • Would a practice-based approach (such as walking tour or shadowing) be better?

  15. Reference and contact details • Cox, A.M., Chiles, P. and Care, L. (2012) Exploring Students’ Group Work Needs in the Context of Internationalisation Using a Creative Visual Method, International Journal of Higher Education, 2 (1) http://www.sciedu.ca/journal/index.php/ijhe/article/view/1065 • Andrew Cox, a.m.cox@sheffield.ac.uk

  16. Which group work tasks have you found integrate students well?

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