The Challenge of Diversity:

Addressing International Students’ Needs

Dr Ariane Smart Centre for Languages and International Education (CLIE)

Centre for the Advancement of Learning and Teaching (CALT)

UCL Teaching & Learning Conference – April 2015

Overview

•  ‘ The challenges of diversity’ à pedagogic challenges – International students (note that this may apply to many ‘home students’ as well)

•  Support: some responses across UCL: writing courses in the discipline (history), Writing support (SELCS), personal tutorials

•  Some lessons from teaching international students •  Self Assessment

•  Narrative Self Evaluation

•  Conclusion & discussion

The Challenges of Diversity

•  UCL’s ethos as a global university

•  Diverse student population •  Home students (NOT homogeneous group)

•  EU students

•  International students

•  Mature students

•  Widening participation students

The Challenges of Diversity

The challenges of transition •  From school

•  From un-academic backgrounds

•  From non-UK contexts (Europe and beyond)

•  From non English language

•  Mature students returning to uni (eg for a MA)

•  Students changing discipline (eg for a Masters / from fine art to conservation – no experience in writing essays)

The Challenges of Diversity

International Students

•  Crawford & Wang (2014) comparative study of Chinese vs UK students performance

•  Typical issues SOME international students MAY have: •  Lack of coherence in essay writing / poor argument

•  Plagiarism & collusion

•  Awaits ‘right’ answer from teacher-authority

•  Lack of initiative / responsibility for learning

•  Lack of critical thinking

Managing expectations

•  A discrepancy between expectations…

•  …Are we that clear about ours? •  Among ourselves?

•  To students?

How to support students

A few examples across UCL

•  Adams Smith (History): writing history (1/2 CU)

•  Brent Pilkey (The Bartlett / CALT): writing support for architects

•  UCL Qatar: Writing Support for MA students

•  SELCS: reviewing personal tutor scheme

Supporting Students

Examples with international students

•  Self assessments

•  Self evaluation

Self Assessment

Excellent Good Satisfactory

Minimal Poor

Integration of Theory, Methods and Data (ability to relate argument to core concepts in subject’s method and theory, to build a sustained argument; clear understanding of research question […]

Provides […]

[…] An attempted[…]

Draws some appropriate […]

Displays no theoretical […]

Originality and Independent Thinking

[…] […] […]

[…]

[…]

Self Evaluation

•  Introduction of the scheme – Sara Felix, UCL Kazakhstan •  Questions about learning

•  Revisited 3 times

•  Supported by individual tutorials

•  Results 1. From quantitative considerations to qualitative analysis

2. Thinking as citizens

3. More articulate, mature, and autonomous learners

Self Evaluation

•  Help students understand expectations of different academic culture

•  Encourage students to reflect on themselves as learners and researchers in a context broader than the classroom

•  Fosters self-analysis, criticality and reflection

•  Facilitate transition from knowledge reproduction to knowledge creation

•  A tool for tutors to understand where students come from, what issues they are facing, where the discrepancies between expectations lie.

•  A tool for students to better formulate their issues.

Conclusion / Discussion

•  Identifying the needs of individual students: how do we hear from them?

•  How do we make our expectations explicit?

•  How can we use reflective writing to help students position themselves as researchers?

•  How do we make students active participants in knowledge construction?

•  How do we create space for students to develop their own personal, academic voices?

•  A defence of individual tutorials