Description
Purpose:
During the “International Faculty Forum” at Calvin College (Spring, 2011), several issues were raised pertaining to the challenges faced by international faculty teaching in American higher education generally, and at Calvin College particularly. The proposed working group (to be led by Sergio da Silva from the Psychology Department) will develop instructional content addressing the need to increase awareness of ways in which cross-cultural differences between international faculty, students, and administrators may affect teaching and learning. Participants can include any member of the teaching faculty or any administrator with faculty status, and will receive a stipend of between $500 and $750.
The group will meet at least four times over the course of the summer, 2011, and produce the following outcomes:
- Discuss the literature on cross-cultural issues in the classroom.
- Produce the following documents:
- A guide for international faculty members in their teaching at Calvin College, containing a list of key cultural elements of American higher educational institutions, and practical suggestions for dealing with these differences.
- A guide for administrators and department chairs, informing them of significant issues to be taken into consideration in hiring and evaluating international faculty.
- A guide for students, informing them about the possible issues they may encounter in a cross-cultural classroom, and suggestions for how to deal with them.
- Plan and lead a session at the Fall Faculty conference on cross-cultural issues in the classroom.
- Consult with leaders of Prelude, Kuiper Seminar, and Multi-cultural Affairs to design ways to address cross-cultural classroom issues.
- Serve as mentors during the 2011/2012 academic year as part of Calvin College’s new Teaching Network. This mentorship will involve meeting one-on-one or in a group with international faculty members who are interested.
- Suggest additional ways Calvin College can support international faculty members.
Timeline:
- May 18 — Applications due.
- May 22 — Working group formed.
- Mid June — Payments disbursed.
- Summer 2011 — meet at least four times. Consult with Teaching Fellows and possibly with the Dean for Multi-cultural Affairs.
- August 2011 — Give presentation at Fall Faculty Forum. Submit draft documents to Teaching Fellows.
- 2011/2012 — Serve as faculty mentors on cross-cultural classroom issues; complete final drafts of documents.
For further information, contact Sergio da Silva (dasilvas@calvin.edu) or Kristin Du Mez (dumez@calvin.edu).
