Engaging home and international students: a practical theory

1. Engaging home and international students:a practical theory • Dr Rachel Scudamore

2. Intended outcomes • By the end of the workshop participants will be able to: • explain how previous educational experience can impact on student expectations; • identify their own assumptions and preferences; • plan for introducing new teaching strategies in their own practice.

3. Timetable 1.30 Introductions Internationalisation Teaching, learning and diversity “Culture” and students 3.00 Tea 3.15 Practical teaching strategies Assessment and feedback 4.15 Summary and conclusions 4.30 Close

4. Internationalisation: meanings More / different students Changes in who you’re teaching, how they learn and what they expect from a UK education Internationalising the curriculum Putting the discipline in a wider context (broader sources, application in a range of contexts) Graduates with a “global outlook” An outcome of studying an internationalised curriculum in an internationally mixed student / staff body

5. International students in the UK https://www.hesa.ac.uk/sfr210

6. A “practical theory” P3 Ethical / political justification Teaching practice Values Practical theory Experiences, transferred knowledge etc. P2 Theory-based / Practice-based reasons Action in teaching P1 Action From: Handal & Lauvas (1987) Promoting reflective teaching. SRHE & OUP

7. Internationalisation: questions What do we mean by “International” students & “Home” students International students = more diversity (true?) Why do students go to University? What does learning mean?

8. GeertHofstede

9. Hofstede’s“value dimensions” of culture Identity collectivism / individualism Hierarchy larger / smaller “power distance” Gender masculine / feminine approach to role distribution Truth uncertainty avoidance / uncertainty tolerance Virtue long-term orientation / short-term orientation Separating observation and interpretation

10. GeertHofstede

11. Individual studies

12. www.heacademy.ac.uk/international-student-lifecycle

13. Culture as values Culture as behaviour Culture and teaching? Communicate about: • Learning outcomes • Assessment • Examples • Perspectives • Talk about: • Previous experiences • Expectations • Groundrules • Collaboration

14. High / Low context cultures High context Low context Focus on relationships Tasks separate from relationships Greater use of non-verbal communication and implicit meanings Highly structured and detailed messages Values individual initiative and decision-making Values group sense The purpose of communication ? After Hall (1977)

15. Politeness and “face” Face: a public identity Brown & Levinson (1978) Positive Negative Politeness strategies Express interest, approval, sympathy Seek agreement Use in-group identifiers Raise common ground Show knowledge of others’ concerns Assume / assert reciprocity De-personalise the participants Give deference Declare an indebtedness Minimise any impositions After Brown and Levinson (1978)

16. Culture shock, learning shock “a sudden immersion into a non-specific state of uncertainty where the individual is not sure what is expected of him or her, nor what to expect from other people. It can occur in any situation where an individual is forced to adjust to an unfamiliar social system where previous learning no longer applies” Hofstede, Pedersen & Hofstede (2002)

17. Culture shock, learning shock

18. A “practical theory” P3 Ethical / political justification Teaching practice Values Practical theory Experiences, transferred knowledge etc. P2 Theory-based / Practice-based reasons Action in teaching P1 Action From: Handal & Lauvas (1987) Promoting reflective teaching. SRHE & OUP

19. Approaches to engaging students Principles drawn from theories of learning • Students taking ownership • Use of previous knowledge • Social interaction

20. Constructive learning

21. A “practical theory” P3 Ethical / political justification Teaching practice Values Practical theory Experiences, transferred knowledge etc. P2 Theory-based / Practice-based reasons Action in teaching P1 Action From: Handal & Lauvas (1987) Promoting reflective teaching. SRHE & OUP

22. Evidence-based teaching From: Hattie (2009) cited in Atherton (2011)

23. Evidence-based teaching After Hattie (2009) cited in Petty (2009)

24. A “practical theory” P3 Ethical / political justification Teaching practice Values Practical theory Experiences, transferred knowledge etc. P2 Theory-based / Practice-based reasons Action in teaching P1 Action From: Handal & Lauvas (1987) Promoting reflective teaching. SRHE & OUP

25. Lectures What are lectures for?

26. What’s important? How do I do it? Lecturing: a performance • Explicitness • Structure • Clarity • Variety • Challenging • Responsiveness • Learning outcomes • Signposts, framing • Pace, glossary • Audiovisual mix • Questions • Answers

27. Questions and activities in lectures http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/largegroup/question698/

28. Participation in large groups • Plan your reading • Fill in the graph • Label the diagram • Find an example • Propose your action • Draw a concept map • Compare/contrast • Sequence/flow • Identify main points • Write a question • Do a calculation • Decide your opinion • Match/group/rank • Propose hypotheses • Analyse a situation • Suggest reasons

29. Asking questions in lectures http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/largegroup/askingqu287/

30. Using student response systems to improve interaction in lectures http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/largegroup/usingstu175/ See also: Altering lectures in response to student input http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/largegroup/altering064/

31. Questions in large groups Whole group or sub-groups (structure) Public/private? (method) Patterns for answering (method) Open vs closed questions (task setting)

32. Idiomatic language in teaching http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/internationalisation/video/browse/title/idiomatx891/

33. Bloom’s taxonomy

34. Enquiry-based learning: Task: Explore  Describe  Apply Oliver, R. & Herrington, J. (2002).

35. Intercultural competence UKCISA (2009) Discussing difference, discovering similarities • Cross-cultural exchange activities: getting students started: • discuss your name: who gave it to you, what does it mean? • sit next to someone “different” (discuss cognitive dissonance) • line up (by distance from home, experience, English skills, views.) • topics in a bag (experience, expectation, surprises – student Qs) • identify ways to learn more about other cultures

36. Successful groupwork • Preparatory exercise on challenges/scenarios of working together: • Communication preferences • Use of native language • Approach to time, planning, and punctuality • Status and group contributions • Assumptions of agreement / expression of disagreement • Concepts of humour • Vocal dominance • Educational philosophies

37. Successful groupwork • A clear task • Assigned roles • Manager • Researcher • Scribe • Reporter • Checker • Reporting on process and product

38. A collusion continuum (Jude Carroll) See also: Jude Carroll on plagiarism http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/resources/assessment/judecarr898/ You have asked your students to write an individual report on one of three companies that you name. Three of your students do the following. Where do they cross the line between collaboration and collusion? 1. Come and see you to discuss what the coursework brief means. 2. Discuss the coursework brief with other students. 3. Look at how others have done similar coursework in the past. 4. Discuss the good and bad points of how others have addressed the task in the past. 5. Discuss the best way to tackle the assignment. 6. Decide to all choose the same company to write about. 7. Decide what research needs to be done on the chosen company and how to do it. 8. Decide to all do a bit of research on everything but to have specialists who really go into depth on one aspect. 9. Brief each other on what they found and on useful sources of information for others to check out. 10. Discuss what their individual research/investigation revealed and what it all means. 11. Copy each others’ scribbles and library notes. 12. Identify the arguments or points that need to be made in the report. 13. Structure the arguments; agree which are the strongest points. 14. Share out the writing task and correct each other’s drafts. 15. Pool the sections then each take the compiled first draft away and write an individual version as the final draft. 16. Submit the individually written version for a mark.

39. Learning to write “Academic language… is no one's mother tongue” (Bourdieu et al., 1994) Conventional academic writing Plagiphrasing Patching Repetition

40. Preparing to write Teach students about academic writing and plagiarism discipline-specific examples practice exercises peer review Teach about the assessment criteria Students to mark old essays and give feedback to the author Create exercises that give you samples of the students’ writing for giving feedback for later comparison with submitted work The assessed task Assessment design • Require an personal approach • Give unique data / situation • Use novel formats • Relate directly to class activity • Assess in stages • Literature selection with reasons • Article analysis • Aim and plan • Draft(s) with feedback request • Redraft with commentary on how feedback is addressed • Check author knowledge of work • Don’t permit late topic changes

41. Feedback

42. Feedback

43. Feedback Timely ? Specific ? Constructive ?

44. Feedback

45. Feedback techniques Make the learning outcomes and your assessment criteria clear Make the feedback relate to the criteria Use a range of sources for generating feedback Identify what’s done well and what to improve Set formative tasks that build towards the summative task Build in use of feedback as part of improvement

46. Approaches to engaging students Principles drawn from theories of learning • Students taking ownership • Use of previous knowledge • Social interaction

47. Principles for action Conversations Social contact Active participation

48. How do your students spend their time? • Listening in class • Planning their own learning • Finding answers to questions • Teaching each other • Discussing with tutor/students • ?

49. References Atherton, J.S. (2011) Teaching and learning: what works best. http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/what_works.htm Barrett, T. & Cashman, D. (Eds) (2010) A Practitioners’ Guide to Enquiry and Problem-based Learning. Dublin: UCD Teaching and Learning http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/UCDTLI0041.pdf Black, P.J. & William, D. (1998) Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice. 5(1):7-74. Bourdieu, P. et al. "Introduction: Language and the relationship to language in the teaching situation" in Academic Discourse: Linguistic Misunderstanding and Professorial Power. Cambridge: Polity Press.. Brierley, G., Hillman, M., Devonshire, E. & Funnell, L. (2002). Description of Round Table Exercise: Environmental Decision-Making about Water Resources in Physical Geography. Available from Learning Designs Web site: http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/exemplars/info/LD26/ Brown, P. & Levinson, S.C. (1987) Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dolan, M. & Macias, I. (2009) “Motivating international students” in The Handbook for Economics lecturers. HEA Economics Network . http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/international Hall, E. T. (1976) Beyond Culture. New York: Anchor Press Handel, G. & Lauvas, P. (1987) Promoting reflective teaching. Milton Keynes: SRHE & OUP. Hattie, J. (2009) Visible learning: a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London: Routledge. Foster , E. Et al (2012) Higher Education: retention and engagement. HEFCE funded project. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/what-works-student-retention/HERE_Project_What_Works_Final_Report Hofstede, G. (1980) Cultures consequences: : International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills CA: Sage Publications Hofstede, G.J., Pedersen, P and Hofstede, G. (2002) Exploring Culture. Exercises, Stories and Synthetic Cultures. Boston: Intercultural Press Lysgaard, S. (1955) Adjustment in a Foreign Society: Norwegian Fulbright Grantees Visiting the United States. International Social Science Bulletin 7:45-51. Montgomery, C. (2010) Understanding the international student experience. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan PESL (2009) Promoting Enhanced Student Learning. University of Nottingham. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/pesl/ Petty, G. (2009) Evidence-based teaching: a practical approach (2nd ed.). Nelson Thornes. Petty, G. (2011) Teachers toolbox. http://www.teacherstoolbox.co.uk/ Oliver, R. & Herrington, J. (2002). Explore, Describe, Apply: A problem focussed learning design. Learning Designs Web site: http://www.learningdesigns.uow.edu.au/guides/info/G4/index.htm Surgenor, P. (2010) Teaching toolkit: Large and small group teaching. UCD Teaching and Learning resources. http://www.ucd.ie/t4cms/UCDTLT0021.pdf Thomas (2012) Building on student engagement and belongiing in Higher Education at a time of change: a summary of findings and recommendations from the What Works? Student Retention and Success programme. HE Academy. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/documents/what-works-student-retention/What_Works_Summary_Report.pdf UKCISA (2009) Discussing difference, discovering similarities. http://www.ukcisa.org.uk/files/pdf/about/material_media/discussing_difference.pdf

50. Additional material Second language issues More complex curriculum design options Developing academic writing skills