Advanced training and international educational exchange: learning, overcoming and experiences

ABSTRACT Objectives: to report my experiences as a researcher during the course of advanced post-doctoral training abroad. Methods: theoretical and methodological option for Max van Manen’s phenomenology of practice. The activities were developed in the Health Sciences Research Unit: Nursing, in Portugal, Université Catholique de Louvain, in Belgium, and in Escuela de Enfermería y Fisioterapia de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, in Spain. Results: participating in a multicenter international research project enabled the acquisition of new scientific knowledge, personal and cultural gains. From a broader perspective, the international graduate and undergraduate nursing networks were strengthened through the mobility of researchers, and overcoming of the “status quo” by the formation of a critical mass environment indispensable for scientific advancement. Final Considerations: sharing the experience that you appropriate is about the power of grasping possibilities of a practical experience, in the context of the world, and going through it, motivated by the desire to make internationalization feasible.

Research on the International Exchange and Cooperation in Education under the BRI Based on Review of the Documentary Materials

Based on case analyses of educational exchange between China and the Soviet Union in 1950s recorded in documentary materials, this study probes into the ways to establish, under the guidance of “the Belt and Road Initiative”, cultural diplomatic relations and educational cooperation among countries and regions along the Belt and Road by giving a chronological study of China’s cultural diplomacy. And on that basis, it further explores how cultural exchange and international relations connect and influence each other with an analysis from both diachronic and synchronic perspectives. This study will provide academic support for the Belt and Road countries to carry out cultural exchanges, and it is particularly instructive for them to explore new ways and countermeasures of educational exchange.

The Use of Educational Exchange and International Education to Improve U.S.-Sino Relationship

As political scientist Graham Allison argues in his book, Destined for War, the United States and China “are currently on a collision course for war” (Allison, 2017, p. vii). Drawing on government reports and academic global education studies, this paper evaluates whether educational exchange and global education are plausible ways to de-escalate political tensions between the United States and China. This review indicates that studying abroad and educational exchange may de-escalate political tensions on a long-term horizon because of improved cultural understanding, foreign language acquisition, and students’ potential of making an impact after gaining new perspectives. After comparing case studies of educational exchange programs, I concluded that a balanced, government-funded, long-term exchange program between high school students will be the most effective in de-escalating political tensions between the U.S. and China. High schoolers are the best candidates because they are more likely to accept new perspectives and take less time to acquire a foreign language. Cultural understanding and respect facilitate diplomatic relations, and high schoolers in exchange programs will provide that cultural understanding in the future. Many people may think that political, economic, and military compromises are the only ways to de-escalate political tensions, specifically between the U.S. and China. However, this paper proves that the impact of educational exchange should not be underestimated, and this proposed plan of using educational exchange programs to strengthen U.S.-Sino relations is an actionable step towards solutions both countries can take up now with few significant barriers to entry.

Effectiveness, efficiency, engagement: Mapping the impact of pre-lecture quizzes on educational exchange

Our study addresses a systemic issue facing higher education – a lack of rigorous educational research alongside new technology-assisted ways of teaching and learning. The issue highlights the disciplinary disconnect as many academics do not research outside their discipline, yet are tasked with educational modernisation through trying out new educational technology. Addressing this issue, we present our conceptual framework, the course transaction space (CT-space), and use it to analyse the impact of an intervention we designed that involved the use of regular online pre-lecture quizzes in a university mathematics course. The aim of the intervention was to optimise the effect of distributed (spaced) practice on long-term retention. Our findings suggest that a relatively small change in course instruction can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of educational exchange. Our analyses of data from multiple sources provide evidence that our intervention resulted in a sustained increase in the frequency of students’ engagement with the content, increased attendance of lectures, and improved grades. Additionally, we discuss the impact of our intervention on the quality of student engagement with reference to competence related beliefs and self-efficacy. Finally, we discuss how our intervention can be used in other contexts for supporting an evidence-based approach to teaching and learning. Implications for practice or policy For teachers designing an intervention with the aim of improving students’ learning engagement during a course of tertiary study, we advise incorporating a series of frequent low stakes online quizzes with low level of difficulty. For students, these will act as an incentive, enabling improvement in the frequency of their learning engagement and its quality. The course transaction space (CT-space) model can be used to explore and analyse the impact of a variety of interventions introduced in tertiary courses through the lens of engagement.

Socio-community practices as bridges of encounter between knowledge

Within the framework of Community Practices and the Field of Practices, we initiate learning spaces, among bakers, students and teachers, in the search for practical and theoretical knowledge; academic and empirical, with concrete actions for the recovery, assessment and visibility of the work in artisan brick kilns. Likewise, we coordinate this meeting space with the Technical Secondary School to generate a meaningful educational exchange for students where academic and popular knowledge are combined with interdisciplinary knowledge of secondary education in order to express its practical application in the community.