I designed and delivered the Global UCF Adjunct Faculty training under Academic Affairs Team to train new Global UCF adjunct professors regarding teaching strategies, course design, classroom management, inclusive teaching, summative and formative feedback, academic integrity, and intercultural competence. This training focused on cultural and social awareness and provided techniques and tools to enhance international student learning. I used the ADDIE instructional design methodology and Bloom's Taxonomy Of Learning Objectives.
Specific to our international student population, I incorporated these teaching strategies to best serve our students:
Common Obstacles Faced by International Students
Classroom Participation Expectations: Sometimes students may not expect the structure of the United States active-learning activities. Students may not expect to be called on to participate, offer their opinions, engage in critical-thinking, and group work.
Cultural Norms: Students may come to the United States with different ideas about communicating respect for authority such as not disagreeing during classroom discussions, or not making eye contact.
Writing Styles: Students may have learned different native dialects of English, such as British, Australian, or North American, among many others. Students may struggle with learning a new dialect of English for academic writing purposes.
English Language Proficiency Levels: Students are coming into the US with different English language level proficiencies, determined by their IELTS, TOEFL, and ITEP exams.
High vs. Low-Context Communication Expectations: Students may be accustomed to a different form of intercultural communication.
Inclusive Strategies to Support our International Students
Country of Origin: Making it a point to take an interest and embracing our students' identity and country of origin shows them we support them and who they are.
Classroom Syllabus and Expectations: Students may be used to a different format for the course syllabus and expectations of the class. It is important to be clear about expectation in the syllabus as well as in person.
Classroom Management: It is important to structure classroom participation in a manner that supports our students as they are exposed to active-learning. Being clear about the learning outcomes and how active-learning and discussions support student learning will assist our students in understanding the connection and emphasis on interactive expectations.
Creating Connectedness on Campus: Students may feel a sense of isolation during an immense cultural transition such as studying in the United States. Creating an inclusive culture where students are informed about campus resources, opportunities, and organizations will assist is helping them create a sense of belonging to the UCF community.
Awareness of Cultural Viewpoints: It is very important to learn about different cultures and their traditions, values, and customs. The more we know and learn from our students, the best we can support them.
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