Cultural Challenges in Educating Global Students Learning Styles

+ Cultural Challenges in Educating Global Students: Learning Styles, Acculturation, Integrity Darnell Cole, Ph. D. Associate Professor Rossier School of Education March 1, 2014

Definitions: Learning is: 1. “a persisting change in human performance or performance potential. . . (brought) about as a result of the learner’s interaction with the environment” (Driscoll, 1994, pp. 8 -9). 2. “the relatively permanent change in a person’s knowledge or behavior due to experience” (Mayer, 1982, p. 1040). 3. “an enduring change in behavior, or in the capacity to behave in a given fashion, which results from practice or other forms of experience” (Shuell, 1986, p. 412).

+ Learning Theories n Behaviorism n Andragogy n Cognitivism n Flow n Social Learning Theory n Situated Learning n Social Constructivism n Subsumption Theory n Multiple Intelligences n Conditions for Learning n Brain-Based Learning

The Learning and Academic Achievement: Distinctions between International and American College Students (Cole & Zhou, Journal of General Education, in press) • • To what extent are international students involved in important learning experiences compared with their American counterparts? What learning experiences contribute to international and American students’ GPA, respectively and comparatively?

Learning and Academic Achievement: Distinctions between International and American College Students (Cole & Zhou, Journal of General Education, in press) Findings (international) n lower high school GPA n attended more selective institutions; more likely to attend private institutions n less frequently felt bored in class n more frequently tutored other college students n spent more hours studying per week n race was a less useful indicator for international students’ involvement in college activities and college GPA n the non-significance of student-faculty interactions for international students’ GPA Implications n Explore ways for international students to become more involved on campus without effectively reducing homework time n How to improve the quality of student-faculty interactions toward enhancing quality of college experience for international students

The Effect of Diversity Courses on International Students from China and Hong Kong: A Focus on Intergroup Peer Relationships (Sonja Daniels, Dissertation, 2012) §How do student perceptions of diversity courses contribute to students’ intergroup peer relationships? §How do student perceptions of intergroup peer relationships vary by students’ level of acculturation

The Effect of Diversity Courses on International Students from China and Hong Kong: A Focus on Intergroup Peer Relationships (Sonja Daniels, Dissertation, 2012) n n n Findings Openness to cultural awareness, interest in racial understanding and reducing prejudice Significant peer interactions facilitated by group projects and assignments; positive role of the TA Change in beliefs and stereotypes held prior from interactions with diverse peers Implications n Changes to the classroom environment; smaller class sizes n Challenge remains for international students to make friends with domestic students n Continued support for class projects and activities; use of media and popular culture to educate students

Questions?