Internationalising Group Work: Developing Strategies for Inclusive Communication as Owned Outcome

Brief description of session and activities

This presentation will be based on a project investigating interaction between home, European and international LCF students, and their ability to develop collaborative approaches to work in culturally diverse groups.

Interview and observation data will be introduced illustrating more and less inclusive approaches by students, and the direct impact this had on the ability of international students to participate fully in group projects, and to have a claim to the ownership of final joint outcomes such as designs or presentations.

My own work on helping mixed nationality student groups to develop more inclusive communicative practices and see this development as an achieved learning outcome will be introduced, before participants will be invited to discuss whether similar practices can be applied within their own teaching and learning contexts.

The presentation will thus address means of lifting barriers to learning overcomes through collaboration and curriculum design.

How will students be involved in the session?

There will be no direct student involvement.

What will participants take away from the session?

Staff will have gained insight into the learning that is available to students from the variety of backgrounds of the student body, and how some of them have responded to that; the benefits to effective group learning of students adopting collaborative styles and approaches; and the means of actively helping students to address this as a learning outcome.