Diversity in Educational Settings

With a yearly increase in international students/phd and staff TU Delft is becoming more and more diverse and international. The heterogeneity in the classroom requires and acute awareness of the intercultural differences of the population, the TU Delft Educational Context and the impact on the role of the teacher in the International Classroom.

The teacher will have to reconsider his course material and teaching methods in relation to the international audience. He/she (the lecturer) will have to think about:

• The added value of  working with an international student body
• The differences between an homogeneous groups and an internationally diverse group
• The central values embedded within the proper teaching style and how these values are conveyed to the students
• The difficulties of international teamwork for students and how to facilitate the students to obtain an optimal result?
• The assumptions with respect to grading

And much more...

In this OpenCourseWare course "Diversity in Educational Settings" slides and assignments can be found, which are used in a train the teacher training for lecturers at TU Delft. In a workshop setting of three afternoons from 13.30-17.00 hours, lecturers are informed about relevant practical knowledge/skills derived from scientific research into and tacit knowledge on the international classroom. The  slides are the backbone of many discussions and practical exercises, such as groupwork/role-plays and cases.

• Introduction
  An Appetiser: What is the international classroom all about?
• Day 1: Exploring the hidden dimension  teacher roles/student roles
  Awareness of individual attitudes
  Knowing your population
• Course day 2: Exploring communication patterns
  Analysing communication patterns of the student population
  Getting to know your role as a teacher in creating the learning environment  
• Course day 3: Exploring Group work/Conflict management
  Learning the added value/pitfalls of International teamwork. E.g. What to do when conflict occurs?
  Identifying working methods, which help students to acquire internationalisation competencies.

The course materials can be used by professionals in intercultural communication or by lecturers/students interested in intercultural communication. They are primarily available as materials to start reflection unto the individual contexts of lecturers in an international higher education setting. The skills can only be acquired by following the accompanied course or other certified courses in this area.

Many of the materials are also available on the web. Therefore, the material is used with courtesy to those who made it initially available on the web. I'll be happy to cross reference if any materials are recognised as being initially used elsewhere.