Michelle Fox SFHEA, GradCertAcadPrac

Lecturer Academic Development | Learning and Teaching Unit | Chancellery | QUT

Image attribution: Celine Georges Paul

NAVIGATIVING UN KNOWNS

E M P O W E R I N G I N T E R N A T I O N A L S T U D E N T T R A N S I T I O N S F O R

Image attribution: Celine Paul

Career Building

Study Planning

Skills Development

People and Practices subject aims:

The Subject Context

Aligning the subject with the faculty version whilst adapting and reimagining the learning activities to meet the unique needs of the International student cohort.

Challenge & Opportunity:

Factors affecting academic life and progress (Biggs, 1997, 2003; AUQA, 2009; Nelson, 2011):

Personal, social & cultural isolation

Language barriers

Timely access to support/resources

Teacher-centered learning orientation

Thrive in volatile environments

The Need

Learning Aim.To orient and create new pathways

Empowered sense of self, belonging

and capacity for the future.

Image attribution: Lai Qing (Iris) Leung

Build confidence, capacity and resilience

in graduate destinations

1. Future Identity

Support transitions into new contexts

(International College & Faculty)

2. Transitions

Learning Objective

Foster belonging through a peer cohort of supportive

learners

3. Belonging

Image attribution: Zhongyuan (Joann) Huang

Reflective Dialogical Approach

Why Reflective Experiences?

• Facilities self-knowing, individuality and creativity (Schön)• Affords opportunity for contemplation, self-exploration and illumination (Chickening &

Gamason)

Why Dialogue?

• “dialogue coupled with reflection and moved to action creates the conditions for transformative learning” (Donovan, Meyer, & Fitzgerald, 2007, p. 11).

Coherent learning experiences Reflective thinking Multimodal Communication

1 2 3

Guiding Principles

Image attribution: Zhongyuan (Joann) Huang

Create & SynthesiseContent Creation & Presentation

Flickr

Self Map

Aim: to orientate students in the present by visually communicating their location in time, space and creative understanding.

Task Objective: To create self representation through a collaged self-portrait.

“Helps me to found out the real me. Because the written words come out through lots of thinking which has been hiding information”. (Student reflection)

Image attribution: Kenneth Wong; Ada Choi; Duy Lan (Deelan) Do

Mind Map

Synthesis, Apply & AnalyseCreating and Presentation

Echo360

Aim: To put students at the centre of their learning journey, generate pathways and map aspirations through graphical representation and metaphor.

Image attribution: Celine Paul; Jiaxin (Caroline) Li

Aim: Create a collaborative community in which students as individuals establish a voice.

BlackOutPoem

Create Community ThingLink

Exchange Analyse & Evaluate

Blendspace

Successful Students

Aim: To share accumulated experience through a strengths-based exchange and build a repertoire of supportive strategies that harnesses collective knowledge.

Successful Students

Mini-DocsContent Creation & Curation

Create multi-modal

‘If you love something, and could do it despite of tiredness, or even do it for free, that MUST BE your future job’. I smiled, turned the lamp off, and went to sleep.’

Aim: To build a learning community within and beyond the classroom through curating a collective informal learning narrative that nurtures peer connections.

Task Objective: To document and capture the contexts and processes of your creativity.

Image attribution: Chun (JJ) Yin Chow

Mini-Docs

Image attribution: Zhongyuan (Joann) Huang

Multimodal Reflective Outcomes

Multimodal suite of artefacts:

• Support culturally and linguistically diverse leaners through alternative communicationmodes and mediums.

• Foster critical thinking through engaging in individual and collaborative reflectivedialogues.

• Facilitate informal and formal learning opportunities through engaging in physical and virtual ‘communicative spaces’ (Kemmis, 2001).

• Facilitate interpersonal development in conjunction with students’ intellectualdevelopment.

PostReflective

Aim: To establish an awareness of their individual learning process, and present their identity as an emerging creative professional through showcasing their formative learning experiences.

“The post reflective draws everything together, enables us to look back and feel a new form of confidence”. (Student reflection)

Online Reflective Portfolio (wordpress)

Establishing a professional / learner identity

Image attribution: leung (Iris) Lai Qing

Future identityan impact.

“ ‘Am I choosing the right major’ or ‘Is that really what I want to do?’ After struggling for a long time, I am figuring all the puzzles out through these tasks.”

Transitionsan impact.

“These works highlights my study in QUT and make me becomes a successful and passionate person in either study or daily life.”

Image attribution: Jiaxin (Caroline) Li

Image attribution: Ada Choi

“When I write a reflection, it feels so good to know that someone wants to know how it feels when you are doing your creative works, it feels that someone cares about you”.

Belongingan impact.

A collective voicean effect.

“Culture has a significant impact on what we value and believe. The reflections showed our individuality and how we are cut from very different fabric.”

Image attribution: Sheng (Tommy) Tao

Resilience

“Hearing about the educational real-life experience of being an international student (the sunny and rainy days) greatly benefit student’s perception of a life away from home.”

Image attribution: Sheng (Tommy) Tao

an effect.

Self-efficacyan effect.

“The reflection showed me I could shape my own future. It was rather beautiful, exciting… I had inspiration about what I wanted to do. I’m able to see what I want in life; that I have the ability to do what I want”

Image attribution: Evi Cecilia

Image attribution: Duy Lan (Deelan) Do

Confidence

“Now I found myself. I became brave and more powerful every time I beat problems and overcome troubles like living in an inexperienced country and language problems in expressing my deep feelings.”

an effect.

• Evaluations: 4.6/5 & 4.8/5

• Attendance rates: 95%

• Progress rates: 100%

• Nationally awarded

Recognition

Image attribution: Michelle Fox

References Australian Universities Quality Agency. (2009). Good practice principles for international students in Australian universities. Canberra: DEEWR. Biggs, J. (1997). 'Teaching across and within cultures: the issue of international students'. In Learning and teaching in higher education: advancing international perspectives. Proceedings of the Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia Conference, 8-11 July 1997, pp. 1-22. Biggs, J. (2003). Teaching international students. In J. Biggs, Teaching for quality learning at university (2nd ed.). UK: Open University Press.Department of Education and Training (Australia). 2017. Improving retention, completion and success in higher education Higher Education Standards Panel Discussion Paper, June 2017. https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/final_discussion_paper.pdfChickening, A.W, & Gamason, Z. F. (1997). Seven Principal for Good Practice in Undergraduate. The wing spread journal, vol.9 (2), 1-20Kift, S., et al. (2010) Transition pedagogy. The International Journal of the FYHE.1(1). Pp1-20.Nelson, et al (2011). Trends in policies, programs and practices in Australasian FY experience literature. FYHE Research Series: QUT.Schön, D. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.Tinto, V. (2009). Taking the student retention seriously, FYE Curriculum Design Symposium, QUT, 5-6 February.

Image attribution: Jessie Wong

Thank you Professor Jillian Hamilton and Jake Fox for your endless support, andmy students for taking me on their journey.