1. The impact of international mobility on teaching and learning at VU
Jude Carroll,
author of Tools for Teaching in an Educationally Mobile World (Routledge 2015)

2. Some assumptions I am making
Big changes: more cultural diversity, more language diversity, just ‘more’.
Few extra resources: time, information, expertise, rewards
Mixed reactions and experiences: positive and negative …. (the negative are more often talked about)
“Just get on with it…..”

3. Key idea 1 : Don’t think about students’ nationality
Key idea 1 : Don’t think about students’ nationality. Do think about students as learners. Diversity is now the norm – it is normal.
[‘International student’ is not a useful label]

4. Specific diversity factors that influence learning
Mobility (‘far from home/support, far from familiar, far from the place where I will use my learning’) + high cost, high pressure, high expectations etc Academic cultural difference(s) Learning and teaching in English

5. Impact of mobility on many students as learners
Anxiety
Trouble in accessing previous knowledge
Trouble in seeing new knowledge as relevant
‘essentialism’ – assuming that what I knew/did was the only way
Fear of risk, fear of trying new things
Fear of failure and fear of the consequences of failure
far from home/support,
far from familiar
‘far from the place where I will use my learning’
high cost
high expectations

6. Predictable learning needs for [educationally mobile] students:
All students have these needs
Learning in English
Adjusting to an unfamiliar academic culture
Having/not having necessary skills (for example, academic reading & writing, taking exams and assessment, managing time, doing research, using sources transparently, and much more)
Participation, taking part. ‘This is my place. I can talk & join in activities.’ ‘I can bring my skills and experience into discussions’
Collaboration and feeling included ‘My skills and experience are welcome and they are useful’
Taking home a useful and relevant qualification

7. Complaining? Blaming? Denial? …. English Unfamiliar academic culture
Impact on many students
Impact on some teachers, sometimes
Complaining?
Blaming?
Denial? ….
English
Unfamiliar academic culture
Skill gaps & misunderstandings
Taking part
Collaboration; inclusion
Relevant qualification; Useful knowledge
‘I have to teach in English.
‘My students don’t understand Dutch education’
They read slowly. They plagiarise. They don’t speak up. They don’t question….
Dutch students and foreign students avoid each other.
In my subject, I am familiar with Dutch ways, not with everything in the world.

8. Key idea 2:
‘The solutions do not lie in thinking about who the students are…… or in wanting different students
The solutions probably come from teachers adjusting and adapting to the cultural and linguistic diversity in the students they teach.’

9. A suggested approach
Start with your culturally and linguistically diverse students’ learning needs
Think about teacher adjustments: What can be adjusted? What cannot? Where in the curriculum? When? Who can help?
Use generic good practice principles for teaching across cultures. Use the principles to imagine what you could do differently.
Apply good practice principles in your own context

10. Key idea(s) 3:
Generic ‘hints and tips’ are usually not useful. You, a teacher (our you, a program manager, course designer, Librarian etc etc) must find your own solutions. Solutions need to match your own situation and your own priorities. You can use generic good practice principles to think through and adjust your practice to fit your particular, personal context.

11. Good practice principles for teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students
Treat all your students as if they are still learning. Check: do they have necessary skills? Do they have background knowledge? Teach skills & knowledge alongside whatever else you plan to teach. Do not assume ‘they are ready’.
Adjust how and what you teach because your students have different language competence and different background knowledge.
Provide explicit information. Make the information fit the specific context – don’t make them guess
Foster engagement and intercultural dialogue
Use reflection as a teacher; be flexible, evaluate the results of changes
Prepare students for life in a globalizing, diverse and interconnected world

12. Good practice principles
Think, ‘My students are still learning…’
Adjust what and how you teach to fit language and background knowledge
Give explicit information
Organise interaction and intercultural dialogue
Be reflective
Prepare students for a globalised world

13. Checking meaning, sharing ideas You have 10 minutes
1. Assume students are still learning. Teach background knowledge and skills.
2. Adjust for diversity (diverse language, diverse backgrounds)
3. Give students explicit information
4. Organise purposeful intercultural dialogue
Checking meaning, sharing ideas You have 10 minutes
In 4’s: talk about each of the 4 good practice principles for teaching diverse students – what exactly does each one mean? Then, can you give examples about how you, in your teaching, already apply this principle? Be ready to share your examples

14. ‘Impact Issues’ suggested for today
Plagiarism
Student participation
Academic cultural differences
Inclusive teaching [teaching that students can understand, teaching that uses students’ experience and knowledge; learning that is relevant and useful]
Assessing diverse students

15. plagiarism
participation
assessment
Students as learners
Adjust for diversity
-Be explicit
-Match what you tell them to the context
-Don’t make them guess
-Foster interaction and dialogue
-Make interaction purposeful
-Use interaction for learning

16. Let’s create an example
Suppose you are a program team Suppose the issue is ‘participation’ ‘Students are not working collaboratively …. International students are excluded; home students are complaining. Group work is not productive’ How could you use good practice principles to address this issue?

17. Issue: Participation in a group project with a grade
Question: How can the program use the project to encourage participation?
Students as learners
Adjust for diversity
Give explicit, context-specific information
Foster interaction and dialogue

18. A group project with a grade – what would need to be in the program?
Students as learners
Tell students that the program requires group projects – and give a learning rationale
Put ‘effective group skills’ in the program learning outcomes
Teach students group skills – give safe practice
Teach intercultural communication skills – give safe practice
Design in projects across the program from short & safe to longer & complex.
Adjust for diversity
Give explicit, context-specific information
Foster interaction and dialogue

19. A group project with a grade – what would need to be in the program?
Students as learners
Adjust for diversity
Get to know the students’ skills & choose membership to spread skills between groups – state roles that must be assigned and get the group to appoint
Create low-language demand assessment in early stages of the program
Create an ‘opt-out’ option in case any student cannot manage a group project
Increase observation and intervention to deal with conflict
Design in longer and fewer group projects – ideally, lasting several months
Give explicit, context-specific information
Foster interaction and dialogue

20. A group project with a grade – what would need to be in the program?
Students as learners
Adjust for diversity
Give explicit, context-specific information
Make the task clear. Make the assessment process clear.
Build in ways to check students understand the task; check they know how to do the task
Explain criteria for grades. What will get a good grade?
State the learning benefits of doing the project in a group (make sure there are some learning benefits!)
State exact times, deadlines etc
Tell them how and when to seek help or to ask for teacher intervention
Foster interaction and dialogue

21. A group project with a grade – what would need to be in the program?
Students as learners
Adjust for diversity
Give explicit, context-specific information
Foster interaction and dialogue
Make sure the task is collaborative, not cooperative
Make sure that grades include using and valuing contributions from each member
Include assessment of the PROCESS of completing the project, alongside the end PRODUCT. Give marks for collaborative behaviour.

22. A group project with a grade – what would need to be in the program?
Students as learners
Tell students that the program requires group projects – and give learning rationale
Teach students group skills – give safe practice
Teach intercultural communication skills – give safe practice
Design in projects across the program from short & safe to longer & complex.
Adjust for diversity
Get to know students’ skills & choose membership to spread skills
Create low-language demand assessment in early stages of the program
Create an ‘opt-out’ option in case any student cannot manage a group project
Increase observation and intervention opportunities
Design in longer and fewer projects – ideally lasting several months
Give explicit, context-specific information
Explain criteria for grades. What will get a good grade?
State the learning benefits of doing the project in a group (make sure there are some!)
State exact times, deadlines etc
Tell them how and when to seek help or to ask for teacher intervention
Foster interaction and dialogue
Make sure the task is collaborative, not cooperative
Make sure that grades include using and valuing contributions from each member
Include assessment of the PROCESS of completing the project, alongside the end PRODUCT. Give marks for collaborative behaviour.

23. Don’t start with writing what you already do in a box
Designing group work in one course
Students as learners
Adjust for diversity
Give explicit, context-specific information
Foster interaction and dialogue
Don’t start with writing what you already do in a box
Start with imagining what it would be like if the principle was followed

24. ‘Impact Issues’ suggested for today
Plagiarism
Student participation
Academic cultural differences
Inclusive teaching [teaching that students can understand, teaching that uses students’ experience and knowledge; learning that is relevant and useful]
Assessing diverse students

25. plagiarism
participation
assessment
Students as learners
Adjust for diversity
-Be explicit
-Match what you tell them to the context
-Don’t make them guess
-Foster interaction and dialogue
-Make interaction purposeful
-Use interaction for learning

26. But wait, first a few words about plagiarism & diverse students
Over-represented in penalty statistics. Copying is easy / easier to spot…..
Students usually worry about plagiarising – even if they don’t understand it
If you take away copying and add no skills, they may see cheating as the only way.
Commissioning seems to be the cheat-of- choice. Assuming that some students will commission is probably justified.

27. Most plagiarism is not cheating
….. but it is still not acceptable.
Plagiarism is a complex issue and dealing with it needs to start with thinking about learning
learning WHAT it means
learning HOW to avoid it
learning WHY transparent use of sources [scholarship] is important

28. Things typically misunderstood
What makes ‘good work’ [What gets a good mark]
What makes a good source. Good for what?
How to read critically, read for later use. Notes.
Why you have to make your own version of the original (‘paraphrase’ ‘write in your own words’))
What a citation does and why it needs to be placed at the site of use
Assessment – what is graded, how do grades work, what matters most…..
How might you get them to spot this misunderstanding and ‘fix it’?

29. Different assumptions about writing
Writers’ beliefs when the reader is responsible for meaning
Writers’ beliefs when the writer is responsible for meaning
This text demonstrates my knowledge - it is more or less context-free.
Many ideas, images, texts etc are owned by identifiable individuals or groups.
I must give explicit evidence of all use of others’ work(where it is owned), at the place of use.
Transformation by paraphrase demonstrates understanding
Often I state the main point ‘bang!’ then give evidence and ‘support for the case’.
The reader knows all the ideas already, including the sources
Selection shows agreement
Assembly creates ‘my work’ & assembly deepens understanding.
If I present poor language, it shows disrespect. Implying shows respect.
Copying is not the best way, but it is the best way to start.
Repetition helps learning.
Writing shows that I, the writer, have joined a community (or I am worthy to join, some day)
Often I go from general to specific
Different assumptions about writing

30. What differences in academic rules and beliefs?
Teacher Student Read Write Examination Dissertation Supervisor
Help Good work 9:00 AM ‘my own work’ ‘logical case’
Same words, very different meanings

31. I say, ‘Call me Jude’
‘I call my teacher Dr. X’
When students ask, I help with study-based issues.
I select the issues but the students must find their own answers
I want students to discuss, argue, solve problems. What’s their conclusion?
I want students to read around, to choose good bits ….and to weave them together to make an answer. I want their answer …. not the answer
I call my teacher Dr. xxx
A good teacher notices I need help and offers it.
A good teacher tells me good answers to good questions.
To learn, I must listen to the teacher. Really listen.
I read the textbook many many many times. Exam questions and answers are from the textbook.

32. “I think people in Saudi Arabia grow up helping each other
“I think people in Saudi Arabia grow up helping each other. It’s a good thing to share and wish the best for your friends but it becomes a problem for [here]. We share questions with others and we think it’s a common thing. In Saudi Arabia, your accomplishments are not recorded by your name, but by your tribe or family. For instance, when a guy from Najran succeeds, it’s considered as a success for the whole city. Here, this is not the case.”
Di Maria, quoting a student, Magied Alsqoor, in Al Jamiat Magazine, 4 June 2009
Whose work?…..
…. where we draw the line between co-operation and collusion?

33. Key aspects for teaching academic writing
Interpersonal elements: empathy, patience,
Monitoring: Early & close. Look for positive and negative learning strategies
Explicitness: not just what to do but the underlying rationale (Why?)
Examples – and make them work with them.
Adjustments for language – especially in the early months.
Teach sub-skills, practice sub-skills
Do you know it?
Telling me what not to do is unhelpful if I don’t know what I should do.

34. Assessment: a quick look at adjustment
You might need different:
assessment tasks?
levels of intervention and support?
Type of feedback?
Amounts of time? (for students to do it, for teachers to grade it)
Ways to ensure reliability and validity
You do not need new standards (that is, new ideas about what makes ‘good work’ or about what gets a good grade)

35. This needs a summary
Let’s do it together….. What do teachers need to do about the impact of international mobility on teaching and learning at VU?