College in Context
Asynchronous Session
Intercultural Communication in the US Classroom : A Russian Professor's Perspective View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Marina Gorlach
This paper discusses some aspects of intercultural communication in academic settings reflecting the linguistic and cultural differences between Russian and American speakers of English. It examines cultural variation in classroom discourse and the role of verbal and non-verbal patterns in teacher-student communication. Russian professors teaching in the US universities encounter numerous intercultural distinctions in communication, from different terms of address and lack of the tu/vous distinction to dissimilar ways of expressing requests, asking questions, and wording negative answers. The ‘directness’ of Russian is sometimes interpreted as ‘rudeness’ by American students, while the American tendency to use understatements impresses Russian professors as vagueness, ambiguity, and lack of accuracy. Avoiding categorical statements or absolute claims is natural for American students, but alien for Eastern European professors. The subtle distinction in the degree of assertiveness can become a source of confusion not only in a classroom conversation, but also in the way lectures are presented, assignments are formulated, textbooks are evaluated, and student papers are assessed. Intercultural communication is further affected by the different perception of the teacher’s role, the amount and nature of teacher-student verbal interaction, turn-taking rule, length of individual contributions, etc. I discuss the intercultural differences in applying politeness/directness discourse strategies drawing on the observation of class discussions and the analysis of the surveys filled out by students.
Leadership Curriculum Analysis of Healthcare Graduate Programs View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Cara Tolan
The purpose of this study is to examine the required core curriculum of the top 50 graduate programs from occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), nursing, speech-language pathology (SLP), and audiology programs. The questions addressed were: Do SLP and audiology program curricula include leadership in course offerings? How do leadership offerings compare among allied healthcare graduate programs? It was hypothesized that SLP and audiology programs include fewer leadership courses when compared to other healthcare graduate programs. A quantitative analysis of the healthcare graduate program curriculum or course sequences was used. Statistically, the curricular data was analyzed via Chi-Square analysis. The researcher used a Chi-Square analysis to test for a categorical relationship between graduate programs and leadership curricula. The Chi-Square statistic was significant at p < .05. Therefore, SLP and audiology graduate programs are less likely to include leadership within the curriculum. Descriptive percentages revealed that 68% of nursing, 82% of OT, 42% of PT, 12% of audiology, and 6% of SLP graduate programs included a leadership component within the curriculum. The study concludes that SLP and audiology graduate programs have fewer leadership offerings throughout their curriculum. This finding represents a missed opportunity for leadership preparation within the curriculum. Leadership education is an important component to consider when developing competent clinical leaders. Following the findings, leadership development for SLP and audiology graduate programs is recommended.
When On-Campus Classes Transition Online, How Are Students Prepared for Learning in this Mode? View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Nandi Prince
There is a good chance that since the disruption of the pandemic, on-campus classes that transitioned to an online modality have continued with this practice. Undergraduate students who normally would not have considered a remote option or utilized it have seen an increase in the number of remote options since campuses were shuttered during the pandemic. However, some undergraduate students are not ready to learn via the emerging blended options of asynchronous, synchronous and hybrid. Many students who choose a virtual option like the flexibility but often find themselves challenged when a structured class schedule is absent. This paper discuss the teaching and learning experiences of bouncing back from the disruption. The author has taught in hybrid mode pre and post pandemic and continues to teach asynchronously. The discussion includes takeaways through everyday examples, simple strategies and transformative approaches. These tools aid students in orienting to the remote modes they are selecting and provide instructors with high-leverage practices.
Inclusion and Inclusive Education in Global South and North: Practices and Policies in UCL and University of Nairobi View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session George Giannopoulos
In this study, we investigate how Inclusion and Inclusive Education are conceptualised in the context of two Universities, University College London (UCL) and University of Nairobi (UoN) and what are the practices and policies that exist in these two institutions. For this we conducted reviews of the literature on Inclusion, Inclusive Education, disability, race and international/refugee students as well as analysed the policies and practices of the two Universities in two case studies. We developed a framework of concepts that were used for this analysis in both institutions and our preliminary findings from the surveys and interviews conducted to gain more insight into students’ and staff’s experiences of Inclusion and Inclusive education in the two Universities. We are also providing some provisional recommendations based on this analysis.
