Focus groups with Chinese students: On Monday and Thursday I conducted focus groups with international students who are studying at UCD in Denver, after completing the first year of their degree program at International Campus Beijing (ICB). ICB is a joint education program between UCD and China Agricultural University (CAU) in Beijing. This is an interesting program, which offers Chinese students the opportunity to develop English language fluency and some familiarity with American academic practices in their home country before coming to USA.
As always, I really enjoyed talking with students from China. They openly shared their experiences and concerns about life and study in their home and host country. Like many Chinese students in Australia, these students expressed strong motivation to succeed academically. Among other things, it transpired that they mostly like Denver and UCD, although they find living costs expensive and the food doesn’t always agree with them.
The aim of these focus groups is for me, as a neutral person, to gather student feedback and (with the students’ permission) provide it to the UCD’s International Office to assist program development. In a couple of weeks I shall conduct focus groups with faculty members to gain their perspectives on teaching international students. All this resonates nicely with research I‘ve been doing with Chinese TESOL students at QUT.
Visit to Anschutz Health Sciences Library and Dean of Dental Medicine: On Monday afternoon I spent a couple of hours exploring and working in UCD’s new Health Sciences Library at the Anschutz Campus. It’s an amazing library and I wished Raylee was there to experience such a glorious learning space. The design is light and airy, thanks to a central atrium and many internal windows to view into, across, down and out of the building. Each floor offers open study areas, glass enclosed group spaces, and many enticing nooks for reading and computer using. Comfortable, stylish furniture in warm earthy colours, timber tables and desks of various sizes and striking artwork (paintings, photography, sculpture). It almost had the feel of a country club (without the snobbiness!) Such a relaxing and conducive place to study. Designed by Centerbrook Architects and Planners (click on link for photos). I also visited the Nighthorse Campbell Native Health Building on the Anschutz campus. It is stylistically different but equally stunning, with an internal lobby reminiscent of an Indian tepee rising to a clear glass dome that seems to connect with the sky.
Mary and I met with Denise Kassebaum, Dean of Dental Medicine, who described the truly inclusive learning and teaching approach that domestic and international students experience in this school. A wonderful case study!
Presentation to Denver Lions Club: On Tuesday I again attended the Denver Lions Club meeting with Mary and Catherine, this time to make a presentation on Informed Communities and Australian Connections. This was a great opportunity to thank the Denver Lions Club for supporting my Fulbright program, commenting that:
Through today’s event we’re responding to the missions of both the Lions Club and the Fulbright Commission, which in different ways promote international understanding, education, and community well-being … I have great respect for the Lions Club and the invaluable contribution club members make around the world, through community projects and charitable donations. I’m aware that your Denver Club is a Founder’s Club, with a long and active history, and that you make an inestimable difference to the lives of sight impaired people, less privileged children, at risk youth and their families. In Australia, Lions Clubs also support the community in many ways, both financially and through practical projects. As a parent of two boys I am eternally grateful for the roadside Lions Parks that break up the long car drives between Australian cities … On a local level, I’m pleased to pass on the best wishes of the president and members of the Samford Lions Club …an active group in my local community on the outskirts of Brisbane. The President, Carmel Mazzeo, invites you to visit the Club if you are ever in the area.
I went on to talk about the importance of information, information literacy and informed learning for ensuring social and economic well being of communities. I mentioned that:
Informed learning flourishes in environments that support the free flow of ideas, the sharing of knowledge and the remembrance of community heritage and cultural identities. Achieving such complex goals, requires well resourced educational facilities, including libraries, museums and cultural centres. Philanthropic organisations, which support education and the arts, such as the Carnegie Foundation, the King Foundation and the Lions Club, are invaluable partners in informed learning.
After briefly introducing these concepts, I illustrated them with travellers’ tales of my informed learning journey, and how it brought me to my Fulbright residency in Denver. The audience were attentive (I think!) and asked some interesting and relevant questions at the end. It was nice to again meet Denver Lions Club President Steve Krebsbach and other club members, including King Foundation President Bob Sweeney. The Italian lunch was also good again!
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| Catherine Ostrander, Preside Steve Krebsbach and Hilary |
How do we, as teachers, experience cultural diversity?
Why is it challenging for faculty to teach international students?
What are the potential benefits for faculty of teaching international students?
The participants carried out a problem-solving activity about one of the following scenarios:
a) Dilemmas of teachers of in culturally diverse contexts: With your group members, identify and describe a real-life (or hypothetical) critical incident that became a dilemma for a teacher in culturally diverse context. Propose a strategy to resolve the dilemma. Then present the dilemma and your proposed strategy to other workshop participants as a ‘documentary’.
b) Promoting an inclusive approach to teaching in culturally diverse contexts: Imagine you and your group have been selected as champions of culturally inclusive education. You are charged with convincing reluctant colleagues to enhance their approach to teaching international students. Draw on real-life (or hypothetical) critical incident(s) to build an argument that promotes the benefits to teachers of teaching in culturally diverse contexts. Then present the argument to other workshop participants as a 5 minute ‘documentary’
Beforehand, I wasn’t sure how the group problem-solving activity would work – it was really role play by another name! But the group members collaborated well and presented creative and useful responses to the problems.
Historical lunch: On Friday, after teaching as usual in the morning, I enjoyed the ‘lost Friday’ lunch gathering hosted weekly by Tom Noel aka Dr Colorado, a personable and lively communicator. Here, in the historic Baur's Restaurant, I met an interesting group of Denver historians, including Dana EchoHawk, who strongly contributes to Denver’s community history and preservation of cultural memories. Her projects include co-producing with Daniel Salazar, for Center for Colorado & the West at Auraria Library, videos on aspects of Colorado Hispanic history, including the Displaced Aurarian community:
Salvaje y Libre (Wild and Free)
Westside Friends
In search of Displaced Aurarians
Altogether, this lunch gathering proved a great informed learning opportunity about (and with) the Denver community – and another good feed!
Fulbright Alumni BBQ: To round off a lively week, I attended a BBQ hosted by Colorado Fulbright Alumni for current Fulbright scholars. The secretary, Cheryl Kaas, who is also a Learning Adviser at UCD, kindly drove me there and home again. This gave us a good opportunity to chat about our Fulbright experiences and also our common interest in supporting student learning. It was fun to meet up with Fulbright scholars from a variety of countries, including Germany and Colombia, and Laura Maxwell (again) from France. The Alumni were mostly closer to my age than the current scholars! They were all most friendly, and in particular I’m looking forward to visiting Barb Stuart, Lecturer in Management at Denver University.
Off to Washington DC: On Saturday morning I flew to Washington DC, but that visit needs a whole post of its own!
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