How can you develop a curriculum or course with focus on internationalisation?

  • A. Processing the development

    The international classroom differs from a domestic one, and existing manners of teaching might not work for students with a different cultural background. Integrating the domestic and the international students requires special attention.

    A second challenge lies in preparing (all) our students for an international labour market and workplace where they probably will have to work with colleagues from different cultures. This is something they have to be taught during the study programme, for instance, competences in intercultural communication and an international view on the subject of study. This is not something that will happen automatically and there is more one should take into consideration when one really wants to develop a curriculum or course with an internationalisation focus.

    Solutions

    1. There are many ways to help developing this internationalisation focus in the curriculum or course. A well-known model for working on internationalisation is developed by Betty Leask and others and available via their website on Internationalisation of the Curriculum in Action. This could guide you in making a plan for the curriculum/course review and redesign process.
    2. In the GIHE Good Practice guide to Internationalising the curriculum from Griffith Institute of Higher Education (2011) several practical questions a programme director and/or a lecturer has to think about when working on internationalisation of the curriculum are addressed. Appendix 1 is a very useful hand-out: Tip sheet on internationalising the curriculum – classroom strategies. This hand-out contains a flowchart with practical strategies and ideas on for instance learning outcomes, literature and teaching methods.
    3. The article of Haigh (2002), Internationalisation of the curriculum: designing inclusive education for a small world,  reviews the strategies suggested by Western universities to achieve internationalisation of the curriculum. It reports the trials and errors to effect and manage change at five levels: the class, the course, the staff, the department and the university (p.11-15).
    4. The Centre for Teaching Excellence from the University of Waterloo (n.d.) wrote about some Strategies for Course Internationalization and gave tips for lecturers how to design internationalized courses. It offers examples from a variety of disciplines.

    Resources

    1. Leask, B., Whitsed, C. and Green, W. (n.d.). Internationalisation of the Curriculum in Action
    2. Griffith Institute for Higher Education (2011). The GIHE Good Practice Guide to Internationalising the Curriculum. Griffith University.
    3. Haigh, M.J. (2002). Internationalisation of the curriculum: designing inclusive education for a small world. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 26(1), 49-66.
    4. University of Waterloo - Centre for Teaching Excellence (n.d.). Strategies for Course Internationalization.
  • B. Choosing a form of internationalisation

    “An internationalized curriculum will engage students with internationally informed research and cultural and linguistic diversity and purposefully develop their international and intercultural perspectives as global professionals and citizens.” (Leask, 2015, ch.1 ).

    The University of Waterloo (nd) distinguishes three forms of Internationalisation which build upon each other in their Strategies for Course Internationalization:

    1. Add-on: Add elements to the curriculum which have an international perspective.
    2. Curricular infusion: Re-designing the curriculum of the course or the programme in such a way that international, intercultural and/ or global dimensions are incorporated into the curriculum.
    3. Transformation: or comprehensive internationalisation: Defining an internationalisation policy at institute level and work this out in all aspects of the organisation. This is also discussed by Beelen and Jones (2015) in their article on Redefining Internationalization at Home.  

    Depending on the circumstances, you can choose one or more forms using the following solutions and resources.

    Solutions

    1. The Centre for Teaching Excellence of the University of Waterloo offers examples of internationalisation of their courses in their document on Strategies for Course Internationalization..
    2. Atkin et al. (2015) have developed a developmental resource that you can use to think about and discuss the desired way of internationalisation in your course or programme.
    3. Haigh (2002, p.10) describes 5 models for curriculum internationalisation which might be interesting to look at.

    Resources

    1. Leask, B. (2015). Internationalizing the Curriculum. London and New York: Routledge
    2. University of Waterloo - Centre for Teaching Excellence (nd). Strategies for Course Internationalization.
    3. Beelen, J. & Jones, E. (2015). Redefining Internationalization at Home. In: A. Curaj, L. Matei, R. Pricopie, J. Salmi & P. Scott (Eds.) The European Higher Education Area. Cham: Springer.
    4. Atkin, C., Rose, A., Sharp, J., Hill, Y., Adams, K. & Sayers, R. (2015). Internationalising the curriculum: a developmental resource for initiating transformational change. New York: Higher Education Academy.
    5. Haigh, M.J. (2002). Internationalisation of the Curriculum: designing inclusive education for a small world. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 26(1), p. 49-66.
  • C. Internationalising the learning outcomes of a programme or course

    To develop an internationalised curriculum or course it is important to have explicit learning outcomes on internationalisation. These can be used to implement internationalisation strategies at every stage of student learning. Learning outcomes need to be well formulated and assessed.

    Solutions

    Start with developing learning outcomes at programme level. What is it that graduates need to be able to do, know or demonstrate after graduation according to the work field?sThe content of the intended international and intercultural learning outcomes defined by the programme should be a clear reflection of its internationalisation goals. An example for the competence in “Culturally Diverse and International Environments”, is described in the GIHE Good Practice Guide to Internationalising the Curriculum, p. 11. From these learning outcomes at programme level one can develop learning outcomes at programme level. These outcomes should align to the program learning outcomes.

    Good Learning outcomes are SARA: Specific, Achievable, Referenced and Assessable; they could start with the phrase “After successful completion of this programme, students will be able to...”:

    The publication An introduction to international and intercultural learning outcomes from the European Consortium for Accreditation, describes constructing learning outcomes by aligning:

    1. What do we want to achieve with our students by the end of the programme?
    2. How can we enable this achievement through teaching and learning?
    3. Which assessments will demonstrate that students achieved the intended learning outcomes (all learning outcomes need to be assessed, otherwise achievement cannot be demonstrated)?

    Resources

    1. Aerden, A. (2015). An introduction to international and intercultural learning outcomes. European Consortium for Accreditation in Higher Education.
    2. Griffith Institute for Higher Education (2011). The GIHE good practice guide to internationalising the curriculum. Griffith University.
  • D. Assessing, marking and feedback in an international classroom

    When assessing international students, the cultural differences must be taken into consideration. For instance when deciding on: time a lecturer should schedule for explaining and practising an assessment; the assessment method (individual and/or group work); objective grading criteria (what are you going to assess: product and/or process, only content or also language skills), giving feedback and grades to students, especially when there is much at stake, how to deal with fraud and plagiarism, how to get students to work together on a group assignment, etc. Also, the assessment should measure the skills, knowledge and values associated with the international learning outcomes of the study programme and/ or course.

    Solutions

    1. The Assessment and feedback report developed by the Higher Education Academy (2014) concentrates on how lecturers can assess students’ work, using practices that are fair, reliable and efficient. This includes how to connect to students’ prior experiences, clarification of what is expected, marking criteria, and feedback strategies.
    2. Plagiarism amongst international students can be a problem. In western countries it is important to be creative and unique, while in other cultures it is more normal to use ideas of others without reference. Bethany Hall (n.d.) shows why students plagiarise and how to deal with it in her publication International students and plagiarism: A review of the literature.
    3. Jude Carroll provides tips for managing assessed, collaborative group work involving diverse student groups in chapter 11-13 of her book ‘Tools for Teaching in an Educationally Mobile World (2015). She provides backgrounds information on issues that may arise when assessing and she gives practical solutions for making assessment accessible, authentic and sustainable.
    4. See the handout developed at the University of Twente about group work in culturally diverse groups, about working on open assignments, with an example of the International Business Administration programme of working with group work contracts and an example of the Faculty ITC of using Web-PA for the individual assessment of group work.
    5. In the book of Kurucz (2006), Chapter 5 ‘Assessing international students’ and chapter 6 ‘Common Challenges’ contain information and practical tips for lecturers on assessing international students with recognisable situations and how to deal with those.

    Resources:

    1. Kurucz, P.J. (2006). How to teach international students. A practical teaching guide for universities and colleges. Revised and updated first edition. Victoria, British Columbia: Success Orientations Publishing.
    2. Hall, B. (n.d.). International students and plagiarism: A review of the literature.
    3. The Higher Education Academy (2014). Assessment and feedback.
    4. University of Michigan (2016). Tools for Assessing Intercultural and Global Competence.