Intercultural Teaching Competence in the Disciplines

Author(s):  
Nanda Dimitrov ◽  
Aisha Haque

As universities continue to internationalize their curricula and recruit a growing number of international students, instructors facilitate learning in increasingly diverse classrooms. This chapter explores the application of Intercultural Teaching Competence (ITC) by faculty members across the disciplines at a large Canadian research university. Based on focus group interviews with instructors in eighteen disciplines, it provides varied and concrete examples of how instructors mobilize intercultural teaching competence to navigate diverse classrooms, promote perspective-taking and global learning goals among students, practice culturally relevant teaching, and validate different ways of knowing and communicating among students through assessment practices. Placing disciplines at the centre of the discussion in this way elucidates the extent to which ITC may be adapted to fit the contours of the academic field and allows readers to explore best practices for facilitating the development of intercultural competence among students in their disciplines. Finally, the implications of disciplinary differences in ITC are discussed for faculty development and curriculum support.

Author(s):  
Nanda Dimitrov ◽  
Aisha Haque

As universities continue to internationalize their curricula and recruit a growing number of international students, instructors facilitate learning in increasingly diverse classrooms. This chapter explores the application of Intercultural Teaching Competence (ITC) by faculty members across the disciplines at a large Canadian research university. Based on focus group interviews with instructors in eighteen disciplines, it provides varied and concrete examples of how instructors mobilize intercultural teaching competence to navigate diverse classrooms, promote perspective-taking and global learning goals among students, practice culturally relevant teaching, and validate different ways of knowing and communicating among students through assessment practices. Placing disciplines at the centre of the discussion in this way elucidates the extent to which ITC may be adapted to fit the contours of the academic field and allows readers to explore best practices for facilitating the development of intercultural competence among students in their disciplines. Finally, the implications of disciplinary differences in ITC are discussed for faculty development and curriculum support.


2019 ◽  
pp. 197-240
Author(s):  
Richa Nagar ◽  
Sangtin Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan ◽  
Parakh Theatre

Can the ways of knowing and being co-developed with SKMS and Parakh be reworked pedagogically in a public research university? This exploration births a combined undergraduate and graduate course, 'Stories, Bodies, Movements,' which unfolds in the form of fifteen weekly 'Acts' and uses storytelling, writing, and theatre as modes of collective relearning. In absorbing the writing of W.E.B. Du Bois, June Jordan, Nina Simone, Sujatha Gidla, Om Prakash Valmiki, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and others, the Syllabus asks: What of ourselves must each member of the class offer in order to become an ethical receiver of the stories we are reading? And how might this commitment to ethically receive stories translate into an embodied journey that seeks to transform the self in relation to the collective?


Author(s):  
Sven Tuzovic

Study Abroad (SA) education has become an increasingly important educational program for teaching global learning and intercultural competence, maturity, and sensitivity of students. Since the price tag attached to SA programs can be daunting, the question arises how value can be defined and, more importantly, how value is created. Some scholars have used the principles of service-dominant logic proposed by Vargo and Lusch (2004) to suggest that students should be engaged as an active co-creator of the university experience. Utilizing a qualitative research approach this chapter proposes that the value process of SA programs consists of three stages: (1) value proposition and potential; (2) resource integration and value co-creation; and (3) value realization evaluation. This study identifies key roles of the participants and their operand and operant resources that guide the value co-creation process. The framework provides faculty with a way to understand, adapt, and manage resource integration and influence students' SA value realization processes.


Author(s):  
Firas Moosvi ◽  
Stefan Reinsberg ◽  
Georg Rieger

In this article, we examine whether an inquiry-based, hands-on physics lab can be delivered effectively as a distance lab. In science and engineering, hands-on distance labs are rare and open-ended project labs in physics have not been reported in the literature. Our introductory physics lab at a large Canadian research university features hands-on experiments that can be performed at home with common materials and online support, as well as a capstone project that serves as the main assessment of the lab. After transitioning the lab from face-to-face instruction to a distance format, we compared the capstone project scores of the two lab formats by conducting an analysis of variance, which showed no significant differences in the overall scores. However, our study revealed two areas that need improvements in instruction, namely data analysis and formulating a clear goal or research question. Focus group interviews showed that students in the distance lab did not perceive the capstone project as authentic science and that they would have preferred a campus lab format. Overall our results suggest that the distance project lab discussed here might be an acceptable substitute for a campus lab and might also be suitable for other distance courses in science.


2007 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 155-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gili Marbach-Ad ◽  
Volker Briken ◽  
Kenneth Frauwirth ◽  
Lian-Yong Gao ◽  
Steven W. Hutcheson ◽  
...  

As research faculty with expertise in the area of host–pathogen interactions (HPI), we used a research group model to effect our professional development as scientific educators. We have established a working hypothesis: The implementation of a curriculum that forms bridges between our seven HPI courses allows our students to achieve deep and meaningful learning of HPI concepts. Working collaboratively, we identified common learning goals, and we chose two microorganisms to serve as anchors for student learning. We instituted variations of published active-learning methods to engage students in research-oriented learning. In parallel, we are developing an assessment tool. The value of this work is in the development of a teaching model that successfully allowed faculty who already work collaboratively in the research area of HPI to apply a “research group approach” to further scientific teaching initiatives at a research university. We achieved results that could not be accomplished by even the most dedicated instructor working in isolation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 162 (25) ◽  
pp. 978-987
Author(s):  
Nóra Faubl ◽  
Zsuzsanna Pótó ◽  
Erika Marek ◽  
Béla Birkás ◽  
Zsuzsanna Füzesi ◽  
...  

Összefoglaló. Bevezetés: A 21. századra a multikulturális társadalmi közegben az interkulturális tudás, mint készség, fokozott mértékben válik kulcskompetenciává. E társadalmi kompetencia elsajátításának egyik lehetséges területe a nemzetközi hallgatói mobilitás, mely világszerte, így hazánkban is, egyre nagyobb jelentőségű. Célkitűzés: Magyar és külföldi hallgatók körében folytatott vizsgálatunk fókuszában a beilleszkedési folyamatoknak, valamint az interkulturális kompetencia és érzékenység kialakulásának és fejlődésének vizsgálata állt, a Pécsre érkező mintegy 60 különböző kultúra, valamint a magyar befogadó közeg vonatkozásában egyaránt. Kutatásunk során többek között arra kerestünk választ, hogy az eredeti és a befogadó kultúra közötti különbségek mely területeken nyilvánulnak meg a leginkább, illetve egy másik kultúrához történő alkalmazkodás során milyen beilleszkedést lassító vagy támogató tényezők tárhatók fel. Módszer: Kutatásunkban kvantitatív és kvalitatív módszereket alkalmaztunk, önkitöltéses kérdőíves felmérés, valamint fókuszcsoportos interjúk formájában. A PTE ÁOK német, angol és magyar nyelvű általánosorvos-képzésében részt vevő hallgatókat a 2010 és 2018 közötti időszak tavaszi szemesztereiben saját fejlesztésű, anonim, önkéntesen kitölthető kérdőívvel kerestük meg (a kitöltött kérdőívek száma: n = 13 084 kérdőív). A kérdőíveket három tanévben hét, félig strukturált fókuszcsoportos interjúval egészítettük ki (n = 92 fő). Eredmények: A hazánkba érkező külföldi orvostanhallgatók számára a befogadó közeghez való alkalmazkodást tekintve a kapcsolódás elsősorban a szocializációs, nyelvi, kommunikációs különbségek miatt bizonyult kihívásnak. Megállapítható azonban, hogy a képzési idő előrehaladtával a különbözőségekből fakadó nehézségek csökkentek, így a hallgatók egyre inkább képessé váltak az etnorelatív irányba történő elmozdulásra, valamint a multikulturális közeg pozitív aspektusainak értékelésére. Következtetések: A multikulturális környezetben folytatott tanulmányok alatt a kultúraközi kapcsolódási pontok és együttműködések kialakulása és fejlődése lehetővé teszi és támogatja az interkulturális kompetencia elsajátítását, annak minden résztvevője számára, akár az egyetemi képzésen túlmutatóan, a későbbi orvosi pályát tekintve is. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(25): 978–987. Summary. Introduction: In the increasingly multicultural social environment of the 21st century, intercultural knowledge as a social skill is gradually becoming a key competence. One of the possible areas of acquiring this competence is international student mobility, which is of increasing importance worldwide, including Hungary. Objective: The focus of our study was to examine integration processes and the development and improvement of intercultural competence and sensitivity among Hungarian and international students, both in relation to the approximately 60 different cultures arriving in Pécs and in relation to the Hungarian host environment. In the course of our research, we sought – among other factors – areas, in which the differences between the original and the host culture are the most prominent, and we aimed at identifying those factors that are slowing down or supporting the integration during the adaptation period to another culture. Method: In our research, we used both quantitative and qualitative methods, in the form of a self-administered questionnaire and focus group interviews. General medical students of the University of Pécs studying in the German-, English- and Hungarian-language programmes participated in the survey during the spring semesters of the academic years between 2010 and 2018. We used our self-developed questionnaires (number of completed questionnaires: n = 13 084), which were filled in on a voluntary basis and anonymity was ensured. The questionnaires were supplemented with seven semi-structured focus group interviews over three academic years (n = 92 students). Results: Regarding the adaptation to the host environment of foreign medical students studying in Hungary, relationship building arising from socialization, language and communication differences, proved to be a challenge. However, it can be stated that as the training time progressed, the difficulties arising from the differences decreased, so that the students gradually became more able to move towards an ethno-relative direction and evaluated the positive aspects of the multicultural environment. Conclusion: During studies in a multicultural university environment, the emergence and development of intercultural connections and collaborations enable and support the acquisition of intercultural competence for all of the students, which will be of great benefit for them, even beyond the university, in their future medical career. Orv Hetil. 2021; 162(25): 978–987.


Author(s):  
Mouhssine Echcharfy

<p><em>Intercultural learning is a new pedagogy that encourages learners to establish relationships between their own culture and the other culture, managing dysfunctions and mediating differences. These skills and others will enable learners to develop intercultural competence and help them become intercultural speakers/mediators (Byram, 1997). However, learners’ intercultural competence cannot be developed without an appropriate intervention and guidance on the part of the teacher who represents a central element in the intercultural learning process. Thus, the issue at stake is the degree to which teachers demonstrate knowledge of skills and competencies they need for the development of students’ intercultural competence and awareness. In this respect, the present study is an attempt to </em><em>explore the extent to which </em><em>the teachers’ competencies and skills meet the specifications formulated in the literature regarding intercultural teaching competence</em><em>. It included 25 Moroccan university teachers who have already taught culture at the university. In line with the objective of the study, a five-point Likert scale questionnaire was adopted as a major data collection procedure. The results revealed that the majority of Moroccan university teachers demonstrated negative attitudes towards and lack of awareness regarding the intercultural teaching competencies provided. It also turned out that the majority of teachers’ competencies do not meet the specifications formulated in the literature, regarding intercultural teaching competence. In light of the results obtained, several implications are derived from the study for decision makers and teachers.</em></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 152-166
Author(s):  
Minah Harun ◽  
◽  
Syarizan Dalib ◽  
Norhafezah Yusof ◽  
◽  
...  

This paper discusses how Malaysian university students relate to the culture of others on campus based on sensemaking. More specifically, it articulates the sensemaking idea of self-other relations in which the individuals make sense of their experiences as they interact with others, how they view others around them and the others’ responses through socialising and their reflections of such acts. The paper is driven by the idea that to be effective global citizens, students should acquire intercultural competence by understanding their own social acts through interacting with others. Such competence is witnessed and enacted during interactions with culturally diverse others. The interactions are often taken for granted given that these acts are observable only among the interlocutors. The self-other understanding in interpersonal interaction requires people to understand not only what is said and meant in the process but also how to display proper conduct in performing the acts. Drawing from a series of focus group interviews with students in three Malaysian universities, the findings reveal that these students comprehended interaction with others using the language that reflects mindful acts, varied accommodating moves and appropriate cultural mannerisms. Such findings reflect the students’ meaning making of the interactions. It reveals the ways in which the students make sense of how the interactions influenced them and the conversant partners. The paper provides some implications including the need to embrace proper communication competencies in intercultural interactions in the campus and in other social or public spheres. Keywords: Sensemaking, self-other relations, mindful language, intercultural competence, Malaysia.


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