Topic 1: Defining IoC, institutionalised contexts

The course starts off this week with a bang! The tasks are varied, from considering your own personal motivations for engaging with IoC, to looking at some of the literature on 'What is IoC', to collecting and sharing examples of IoC in practice, to exploring your own institution's website to begin to understand the orientation of your institution to IoC.

See the course timetable for more information about the timing of topics; you might find it helpful to print out the timetable so that you can quickly refer to it.

Activity 1: A story to tell

Aim to post this before Tuesday of week one.

We continue to 'get to know each other' this week through this second ice-breaker task. I have found, when talking with people about IoC, that their interest has often been triggered by a specific event or experience and I would like to invite you to 'tell your story'.

Can you recall an experience that sparked your interest, started you asking questions about IoC? Share your story with us in the Activity 1: Story to tell discussion forum.

What do you feel that you have learnt from the experience? When you have written your story, read and respond to the stories of at least two other course members.

Ideally you should all have posted response to other people within a couple of days. It can feel very uncomfortable and isolating when you post something and no-one replies, so we need to ensure that everyone receives a timely response to their posts. In this way we can each contribute to establishing a strong and inclusive learning community.

You might like to look at Sally Davis's story in chapter 8 of the course book.

Activity 2: Defining 'internationalisation of the curriculum'

Aim to have done this reading and posted by Thursday of week one.

First read: Clifford, V. (2013), The elusive concept of internationalisation of the curriculum.

Then read: Chapter 1 Introduction: Internationalising the curriculum for global citizenship in higher education, in the course book that you have been sent.

These readings introduce a range of ideas about IoC and may have had you reaching for the dictionary if you are not used to reading education articles! I think that one of the main points to realise is that IoC can present a challenge to disciplinary knowledge and traditional ways of teaching attached to that knowledge, especially in the science, mathematics and Information Technology (IT) areas. This challenge can produce a hostile reaction because of fear of the unknown and an unwillingness to have a lifetime of beliefs questioned. The readings also emphasise that IoC is an ongoing process with which we are engaging, there will be no neat package indicating that we have reached the end of the journey!

When you have done the reading, reflect on the following:

Write a paragraph in response to the readings and these questions and post it to the 'Activity 2: Defining IoC' discussion forum.

Read and respond to the posts of at least two other course participants.

Activity 3: 'How to' ideas

Aim to post before Friday of week one.

The question that academics constantly ask me is 'What does it look like?'

When exploring new territory it is comforting to have examples of what you are aiming to achieve. If you are an educational developer finding examples may be one of the helpful things that you could do to engage your colleagues with IoC.

For this task we would like you to add your ideas/examples into the 'Ideas for IoC in action' collection. We have left a few of the ideas offered by previous course participants on the list to get you started. You might also like to offer extensions or adaptions to some of these ideas as well as offering new ones.

Activity 4: The institutional environment

Aim to post this by Friday of week one.

For this task we want you to focus on your own institution and explore how IoC is positioned in your institution, what support it is receiving from senior management, and what is happening in different schools / faculties / departments, especially your own!

To do this, search your institution's website, talk to senior members of staff and talk to colleagues about what is happening.

Questions to frame your quest:

When you have done your research, write a paragraph describing your institution's position on IoC:

If your search has revealed little institutional action in this area why do you think this might be? What do you think would need to happen to get some engagement?

Post your paragraph to the 'Activity 4: Institutional positioning' discussion forum.

Read the postings of at least two other participants to get a feel of what is happening at other institutions and comment on the differences you perceive.

You might like to look at Wendy Green and Patricie Mertova's chapter 4 on the 'gatekeepers' of IoC in our institutions in the course book. Also Michelle Barker, Ray Hibbins and Brona Farrelly's chapter 3 on institutional support.

Key readings

Further reading