This paper presents the process and results of a narrative inquiry into the stories of eight Chinese international graduate students. Results show three main commonalities in participants’ education narratives in China: parental influence, the exam system and independent study. In the Canadian setting, specific aspects of the academic culture are experienced as permeable (written work, lab work, tests and reading ability) or impermeable (in-class discussions, oral presentations, group work, oral discourse, communicating with local people). Discussion articulates participants’ use of unique personal resources, which results in distinctive trajectories of entry into and navigation within this new academic culture. Cet article présente le processus et les résultats d'une enquête narrative de huit étudiants internationaux chinois de troisème cycle. Les résultats montrent les trois éléments communs dans la narration des participants: l'influence des parents, le système des examens, et l'étude individuelle. Dans le cadre canadien, les participants ont reconnu des aspects spécifiques de la culture académique comme perméables (travaux écrits, travaux de laboratoire,les examens et compétence en lecture) ou imperméables (discussions en classe, présentations orales, travaux en groupes, entretiens oraux, et communication avec les habitants locaux). La discussion clarifie l'usage d'uniques ressources personnelles par chaque participant La discussion clarifie l'usage d'uniques ressources personnelles par chaque participant dont le résultat définit des trajectoires distinctifs d'entrée et de navigation au coeur de cette nouvelle culture académique.

Nearly twenty college and university voyageurs hailing from Atlantic Canada to the Pacific Coast and points in between, as well as intrepid pedagogues from institutions of higher education from Asia and Australia rendezvous at the Small Craft Aquatic Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on the shores of the St. John River. The sun shines brightly on this warm, mid-June morning, and the water sparkles, inviting the assembled paddlers to embark on a fleeting voyage of discovery in the great Canadian out-of-doors. The group leader addresses the circle of eager life vest-clad participants as they stand, paddles in hand, in anticipation of the day’s activity. “Welcome to this pre-conference workshop” begins the facilitator, “let us begin with a warm-up activity!” A casual observer of the scene would surely be perplexed: a canoe-based conference workshop activity? For professors of all ages, shapes, and sizes? What’s this about?

Conferences are a great way to exchange ideas, communicate research findings, network, and more. However, as a teaching and learning community, we are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of environmental sustainability. The 2008 Society for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education conference organizers chose A World of Learning as its central theme, evoking the challenges and possibilities of internationalization and globalization in post-secondary settings and encouraging presenters to explore the impact of these trends in colleges and universities. As the conference program began to evolve, it became clear that the theme also represented an important opportunity to consider the ecological impact of this annual event. This paper examines the intent, outcomes, and implications of the initiative, illuminating the ways in which initiatives that, at first glance, appear logistical and material-based, are in fact better understood as changes in individual, community, departmental, and institutional values and practices. The potential of projects, such as this one, to function as cocurricular teaching and learning opportunities in promoting institutional change is also explored.

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