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Teaching and supervision across cultures

4 hours

Target group:Academic and professional staff involved in teaching and supervision
Group size:Maximum of 16
Level 1-2 program:Suitable for academic and professional staff
Schedule:
Date:Monday 16 September 2013
Time:12:30pm - 5:00pm
Venue:Golden Wattle Room, Building 2, Level 3, 195 Wellington Road, Clayton
Apply by:Monday 9 September 2013
Cost: Monash Staff - $120
Catering:Morning tea will be provided
To apply:On-line application form

Overview

‘Teaching and Supervision Across Cultures’ is a half day course designed for academic staff working with a mixture of international and domestic students.  It explores common challenges encountered by staff when lecturing, facilitating group discussion, supervising postgraduates and developing assessment tasks, providing general tips and insights, and encouraging staff to discuss and workshop strategies for addressing their own specific difficulties.

Intended Outcomes

After attending the course, participants should have:

  • Greater awareness of cultural differences and how they impact on academic study and general communication
  • A better understanding of the reasons behind commonly reported problems, such as lack of class participation, plagiarism, language difficulties, etc. as well as some strategies about how these can be addressed
  • Practical ideas on to make teaching and assessment more accessible and clear to international students without lowering standards.

  • Insights which may help them evaluate and improve their department’s current policy on issues relevant to international students, such as ESL support, special consideration, the use of interpreters and translated information, etc.

Course Content

  • Participant introduction
  • Dos & Don’ts action
  • How cultural differences impact on academic study
  • Group discussion: Key academic issues
  • Lecturing
  • Group participation
  • Assessment (including plagiarism)
  • Academic supervision
  • Discussion and close

Learning Approach

‘Teaching and Supervision Across Cultures’ takes an interactive, participant-drive approach to learning.  The needs of academics working in different disciplines and departments are very different, which means that a workshop of this kind cannot be too prescriptive.  The program begins by raising participants’ awareness of the impact of cultural differences on academic study, and then moves on to explore four key areas where difficulties can occur. 

General suggestions on how to address problems are provided for each of these areas, after which participants engage in a facilitated discussion where participants can raise their own experiences and discuss strategies for tailoring the general advice to their own specific needs with their peers.

The workshop opens with an interactive activity which exposes some of the unwritten rules used in Anglo-Australian communication and explores how these are built into the teaching style and requirements of Australian academic culture. 

Handouts

The materials for the course are as follows:

  • Activity materials for a more academic version of the Do’s & Don’ts activity
  • A3 activity sheets for use during the group discussion exercise
  • A workbook for each participant which summarises the general tips and lists some references they may like to consult.