Intercultural Understanding and Tools for the UBC Community

TitleIntercultural Understanding and Tools for the UBC Community
Faculty/College/UnitOther...
OtherUBC Continuing Studies
StatusCompleted
Duration3 Years
Initiation04/01/1999
Completion03/31/2002
Funding Details
Year 1: Project YearYear 1
Year 1: Funding Year1999/2000
Year 1: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 1: Principal InvestigatorKatherine Beaumont
Year 1: Funded Amount50,000
Year 1: Team Members

Katherine Beaumont, Career and Corporate Division, Centre for Intercultural Communication, UBC Continuing Studies
Mackie Chase, Career and Corporate Division, Centre for Intercultural Communication, UBC Continuing Studies

Year 1: Summary

Summary of Objectives:

To provide students and faculty with outstanding education and research opportunities, the UBC community strives for excellence in the areas of internationalization, learning, people and community. Intercultural understanding and tools can help ensure excellence and productive use of allocated resources in these efforts. This project targets three areas where the ability to work respectfully and productively is key for UBC as it positions itself as key provider of international undergraduate and graduate education for the 21st century:

  1. Preparing International Graduate Students to adjust to Canadian academic workplace and carry out their teaching assistant (TA) responsibilities with excellence.
  2. Training Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) facilitators to effectively address in international and multicultural classrooms issues in the ISW TA training.
  3. Supporting UBC Faculty through:
    • One-on-one coaching to build intercultural teaching sills for multicultural and international classes.
    • Preparing faculty and administrators for international projects/assignments in seminars on living and working in specific countries, regions and sectors.
Year 2: Project YearYear 2
Year 2: Funding Year2000/2001
Year 2: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 2: Principal InvestigatorMackie Chase
Year 2: Funded Amount50,000
Year 2: Team Members

Mackie Chase, Career and Corporate Division, Centre for Intercultural Communication, UBC Continuing Studies

Year 2: Summary

Objectives:

To provide students and faculty with outstanding education and research opportunities, the UBC community strives for excellence in the areas of internalization, learning, people and community. Intercultural understanding and tools can help ensure excellence and productive us of allocated resources in theses efforts. This project targets three areas where the ability to work respectfully and productively is key for UBC as it positions itself as a key provider of international undergraduate and graduate education for the 21st Century.

  1. Preparing International Graduate Students to adjust to Canadian academic workplace and carry out their teaching assistant (TA) responsibilities with excellence.
  2. Training Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) facilitators to effectively address teaching in international and multicultural classrooms issues is the ISW TA training.
  3. Supporting UBC Faculty through:
    • One-on-one coaching to build intercultural teaching skills for multicultural and international classes.
    • Preparing faculty and administrators for international projects/assignments in seminars on living and working in specific countries, regions and sectors.

Rationale:

1. Professional Development for International Teaching Assistants (PD for ITA):

International graduate students continue to be funded by TAships at UBC. With this funding opportunity comes the responsibility for fostering effective learning with thousands of undergraduate students across all faculties. In order to carry out this responsibility, international teaching assistants need to significantly adjust their teaching practices. This requires an understanding of their previous cultural experience, of the academic culture of UBC, practice of international communication and teaching techniques and observation/feedback on their work at UBC. The PD for ITA Program provides this opportunity. Departments support the need for specialized training for international teaching assistants: “Our support of these programs is a direct response to problems expressed by our undergraduate students” (Computer Science) “Resources should be directed towards the training of International Teaching Assistants. In addition to learning the basic skills, which any TA must acquire, ITAs must also cope with teaching in a second language in Canadian classroom, which are often quite different from their own systems. (Statistics)

2. Coaching for Faculty working in International/Multicultural Classrooms:

Faculty is working with increasingly diverse classes and requires skills to teach effectively in these environments. Cultural awareness training has provided faculty with an understanding of the students with whom they are working. One-on-one, and small group coaching will focus on building intercultural teaching skills for multicultural and international groups. Faculty will develop ways to adjust their teaching practice to ensure effective learning in classes where students come from many cultural and language backgrounds. This shift in practice can have a significant impact on the learning atmosphere and the success of students. One-on-one and small group coaching offers the benefit of dealing directly and confidentially with recent classroom activity.

3. Regional and Country Seminars for International Projects/Assignments:

UBC Faculty and staff are increasingly represented UBC around the world. Practical customized briefings will prepare them to work confidently, respectfully and productively in building international partnerships and programs. UBC faculty and administrators collaborating internationally will build awareness of the culture of the countries and skills to deal with the subtlety of the global marketplace for education.

Year 3: Project YearYear 3
Year 3: Funding Year2001/2002
Year 3: Project TypeSmall TLEF
Year 3: Principal InvestigatorMackie Chase
Year 3: Funded Amount60,000
Year 3: Team Members

Mackie Chase, Career and Corporate Division, Centre for Intercultural Communication, UBC Continuing Studies

Year 3: Summary

Summary of Objectives:

To provide students and faculty with outstanding educational and research opportunities, the UBC community strives for excellence in the areas of internationalization, learning, people and community. Intercultural understanding and effective communication strategies help ensure excellence and productive use of allocated resources in these efforts. This project targets three areas where the ability to work productively and respectfully is essential for UBC as it positions itself an outstanding provider of international undergraduate and graduate education in the 21st Century:

  1. Professional Development for International Teaching Assistants Program: Preparing International Graduate Students to adjust to the Canadian academic workplace and vary out their teaching assistant (TA) responsibilities with excellence.
  2. Supporting Instructional Skills Workshop (ISW) Facilitators: Providing support for Instructional Skills Workshop Facilitators to address diversity and intercultural communications issues in international and multicultural classrooms.
  3. Supporting UBC Faculty Involved in New International Student Exchanges and International Projects: Supporting UBC faculty through seminars and one-on-one coaching to adjust teaching strategies for international and multicultural group sand to prepare for international partnerships and student exchanges.