Teachers as stakeholders in the process of internationalising the curriculum
It is important to select the right groups of people to engage with the Internationalisation of the Curriculum (IoC) process as efficiently as possible. Teachers are very important as stakeholders in the process.
After selecting your programmes, you must now plan how to engage teachers in the IoC process, it is key to select those who are ready and willing! Many teachers mentioned that this work is time consuming and that is why the team interacted with both the programme councils and the course leaders and teachers through existing meeting times – time is a scarce resource for educators and it was crucial to integrate already existing structures.
We met those responsible for curriculum development at the programme level during their programme committee meetings, and we met course leaders and teachers during the teacher’s day that is planned each semester by each programme. In this way, working on internationalising courses and programmes became part of their regular activities, and not seen as additional burdensome activity.
Courses for teachers
Here are the courses we created and adapted for the development of teaching staff at KI:
Global Online – GO! (LINK) A step-by-step process that will take you from face-to-face teaching to the wonderful world of online learning on Canvas, while infusing your practice with collaborative and engaging materials
Teaching in the Glocal University An introduction to the main issues surrounding teaching and learning at an international university through a blended format. Based on literature reviews, discussions, and own reflections it will enable participants to reflect upon their current teaching practices, while gaining a better understanding and appreciation of their students, their backgrounds and needs. Through this course, participants will be able to integrate elements of international / intercultural education within their teaching practice.
Two2Tango – Tandems for the international classroom. This online course will provide you with a variety of opportunities to improve your oral communication skills alongside the teaching skills needed for the international classroom, by pairing you with an academic working in another country, from another discipline.
Toolkits for teachers
Here are links to some of the toolkits made available for teaching staff at KI:
Toolkit for Teaching Global Health and Sustainable Development Goals
In this toolkit, we will provide you, teaching and supervisory staff at Karolinska Institutet (KI), with ready-made tools you can simply import into your own existing Canvas courses. The Toolkit includes different teaching and learning materials and activities that can be used in your teaching.
Here you can find a link to contact the Internationalisation team if you have questions regarding teaching in international classrooms or you would like feedback on your ILOs.
KI educational developer Karin Båge and Professor Michael Knipper from Geissen University in Germany discuss the significance of intercultural competences for global health, as well as how these competences can be taught.