By James Simeon, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the central challenges for all higher education instructors is keeping their students fully engaged with the course content as part of their program and degree requirements<\/a>. One sure way to engage your students in your course\u2019s content and their learning is through international online learning modules developed through collaborative efforts with colleagues at universities abroad. The benefits of doing so not only outweigh the additional effort required in adding this component to your existing course(s) but also come with the satisfaction of knowing that your students will be better equipped and prepared to grapple with the global challenges that they will undoubtedly face in years to come<\/a>. What is offered here is an account of my personal experiences of the engagement and success that have resulted from my adoption of international online learning modules since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020<\/a>. The imperative rationale for adopting these methods is that critical global issues, such as refugees and forced migration, can only be resolved truly and peacefully through global and international cooperation and collaboration.<\/p>\n Initial and Ongoing Support Through York University\u2019s Globally Networked Learning (GNL), the Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS), and the School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA) <\/em><\/p>\n For the last five years, I have worked with university instructors at the Tecnol\u00f3gico de Monterrey (TEC) Mexico on their one-week intensive course, \u201cDiversity in a Globalized World,\u201d as part of their Global Week, which falls within their Globally Shared Learning<\/a> (GSL) program. At times, we have also been joined by other universities in the United States and South America. Working with a number of different instructors at TEC, we developed the curriculum for the one-week intensive module, \u201cDiversity in a Globalized World,\u201d to align with the learning objectives for our students at TEC and YorkU.<\/p>\n While it is important to note that there are challenges with respect to differences in term dates and course offering times, as well as in time zones — Mexico City is UTC 06:00 (GMT 6) and is usually two hours behind Toronto — these are not insurmountable obstacles and can be easily accommodated and adjusted for, even though Mexico has four time zones and Canada has six. Typically, we held our \u201cGlobal Week\u201d at least once a semester and often three times an academic year. Throughout, I was able to draw on the good offices of York University\u2019s GNL program when required, as well as on colleagues at the Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS) and my School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA). Our \u201cGlobal Week\u201d was delivered in both synchronous and asynchronous formats, with my students interacting with their Mexican counterparts during and outside class time.<\/p>\n Pedagogical Best Principles and Practices<\/em><\/p>\n Several sound pedagogical principles and practices stand out and have contributed to our joint success in delivering these international online learning modules, which are worth sharing with higher education instructors.<\/p>\n First, it is important to prepare your students well in advance of their \u201cGlobal Week\u201d experience with the students at another university abroad. Ideally, but not necessarily, this should be included within your course syllabus. Students should be aware of the \u201cGlobal Week\u201d exercise from the outset of the course and will know when and how the GNL will work, as well as what they will be expected to do during the one-week intensive exercise.<\/p>\n The \u201cGlobal Week\u201d has a common course website for TEC and YorkU students that outlines in detail how the week will unfold. Students are assigned to international teams of Mexican and Canadian students who will work together on a series of asynchronous and synchronous assignments over the week. <\/p>\n Second, the \u201cGlobal Week\u201d assignments must be, of course, directly relevant and geared to your own course\u2019s learning objectives and course content. This entails selecting an international topic germane to your country\u2019s collaborators, in our instance, both Mexico and Canada. Over the years, we have covered a wide variety of subjects dealing with refugees and forced migration — the migrant caravans that travel from Central America to the Mexican-US border, the profiles of asylum claimants in South America, Mexico and Canada, comparative refugee status determination (RSD) across jurisdictions, gender-based violence and persecution, gang violence in the \u201cNorthern Triangle\u201d (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras) — involving the notorious international gangs MS-13 and Barrio 18, cartel drug and human trafficking, among others. All of these topics not only cover current events, international issues, and concerns, but are directly related to the courses I teach on the \u201cSociology of Law\u201d and the \u201cInternational Refugee Protection Regime.\u201d<\/p>\n Third, ensure your asynchronous and synchronous team assignments capture the attention and interest of all the students in the respective countries involved. What has been proven to work effectively over time is the use of a number of simple and straightforward collaborative assignments that work up to a more challenging and complex assignment that is intended to stimulate a cross-international teams\u2019 competition. In this regard, we always begin with an \u201cicebreaker\u201d exercise<\/a> that allows students to introduce themselves to one another and build team rapport. This is then followed by a video-view assignment that requires team discussion and the posting of responses on Padlet<\/a>, an online discussion platform, followed by a presentation by a guest speaker(s) with a questions and answers segment, and, then, a final case study assignment<\/a> that requires the production of a no longer than a five minute video that demonstrates that the international teams can analyze and answer fully the critical questions related to the case study assignment. The students themselves are then required to select the international team videos that best demonstrate the highest qualities in analysis, creativity, case study resolution, and technical proficiency and production. Our final synchronous session reviews the student-selected award-winning videos along with commentaries from the \u201cGlobal Week\u201d instructors and guest speakers.<\/p>\n Fourth, select speakers who are experienced professionals and\/or practitioners in the field related to the subject matter of the \u201cGlobal Week\u201d international online collaboration. For example, our guest speakers have included diplomats, senior public servants, former refugee law decision-makers, legal counsel, and senior law enforcement officials from our respective countries. We not only wish to draw on our guest speakers\u2019 expertise in their respective fields, but also to provide our students with the opportunity to hear from those with practical work experience on the global and international issues and concerns under examination. Students appreciate having the opportunity to meet and to discuss these subjects with our noted expert practitioners.<\/p>\n Fifth, incorporate as much international team interaction and collaborative time as possible in your international online learning module. From our students\u2019 formal and informal feedback, through both anonymous online course evaluations and in-class discussions, it is clear that they highly value the opportunity to interact with fellow students in another country. One of the learning objectives of the \u201cGlobal Week\u201d is cross-cultural learning among students. The opportunity to work with and exchange ideas with students in other countries is highly engaging and valued. It provides unique insights and understanding that can be acquired nowhere else. In today\u2019s ever more globalized environment, where communication, travel, and trade are becoming significant and critical, if not essential, cross-cultural sensitivity, understanding, and communication skills are bound to become more vital and imperative. Moreover, they provide unique multi-dimensional views of refugee and forced migration issues and concerns from comparative national perspectives.<\/p>\n Online International Learning Collaborations and the Future of Higher Education and the Study of Critical Global Issues <\/em><\/p>\n Following the necessary pivot to mandatory online education during the COVID-19 pandemic, online learning is now more preeminent than it ever was.<\/a> There is no question that online learning will be a major component of higher education in the future<\/a>. There are many advantages to online learning over traditional in-person modes of education but perhaps the most telling is that it is simply more cost-effective than traditional education. Adding an international online learning module to a traditional in-person class provides a unique element that would not be possible otherwise, save for bringing the two classes together physically, which would be inordinately expensive and beyond the reach of most university students.<\/p>\n There are other tangible benefits for adopting an international online learning module, even for an online course, whether synchronous or asynchronous, and that is to bring students from different countries together and to provide them with the opportunity not only to learn together and from each other, but at the same time to make new contacts and possible friendships. The principal advantage is to provide them with an intercultural learning experience that challenges them to consider and address critical global issues and concerns, such as those related to refugees and forced migration. In doing so, we not only broaden the education of our students but also provide them with the experience of tackling global issues in a format necessary to seek and, hopefully, apply global and international solutions. The time has come to consider and perhaps to adopt an international online learning module for your course(s).<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By James Simeon, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration, York University One of the central challenges for all higher education instructors is keeping their students fully engaged with the course content as part of their program and degree requirements. One sure way to engage your students in your course\u2019s content and their learning is through international online learning modules developed through collaborative efforts with colleagues at universities abroad. 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