Evaluating the pedagogical quality of international summer courses in a university program

Abstract

The study evaluated the pedagogical quality of 16 university courses in a three-week international summer program. Short-term study-abroad programs have gained increasing popularity, but their pedagogical approaches have not been investigated widely before. Lesson observations, teacher interviews, and course materials were used to investigate the pedagogical approach of the courses. Answers to an online feedback form were used to examine students' study experiences. The courses were categorized into the following three pedagogical types: Self-directed academic studying, Practices of active learning, and Practices of shared expertise. Based on the survey data, the students valued the second and third types of courses more than the first type. Factors that students mentioned as positive in their open-ended responses were related to high-quality teaching arrangements, expert knowledge and practices, intercultural social interaction, and interesting and useful course content. Innovative pedagogy in international courses would include taking the multicultural assembly of participants into account to support multifaceted knowledge sharing and the development of cultural expertise in the target domain. The results can be used to create criteria and guidelines for subsequent courses, to develop feedback instruments, and in teacher training.

Juxtaposing generic skills development in collaborative knowledge work competences and related pedagogical practices in higher education

“…One explanation might be that the self-directed nature of group tasks and shortcomings in the pedagogical support to complete them in cluster 2 courses did not produce strong learning experiences in collaborative knowledge work competences. A parallel result was found in a study focusing on the pedagogical quality of international summer courses (Lakkala et al, 2018): Courses representing traditional teacher-centered lecturing combined with self-directed academic studying outside contact sessions received, on average, lower scores from students in the course evaluation survey, compared with courses that followed practices of activating learning or shared expertise.…”

Students’ perceptions of the impacts of short-term international courses

“…International academic experience does not automatically lead to experiential learning (Lutterman-Aguilar and Gingerich, 2002). It is of crucial significance for the faculty in charge to strategically design courses (Cotten and Thompson, 2017;Lakkala et al, 2018;Landon et al, 2017) and incorporate students' critical reflections about their development as part of the course experience (Wilson et al, 2016). These practices are meaningful for both pedagogical improvement and the evaluation of educational effectiveness.…”

“…While short-term international courses have grown in popularity as a novel pedagogical medium, empirical evidence of students’ learning experiences is limited to date. There is a particular lack of research regarding the impacts of the courses on students’ development and the quality of education beyond foreign language competence and cultural understanding (Campbell, 2016; Lakkala et al , 2018). In addition, most studies have addressed the experiences of students from English-speaking countries such as the USA and Australia (e.g.…”

“…Nevertheless, most of the efforts have focused on increasing the quantity rather than the quality of international programs (Tarrant and Lyons, 2012). Short-term international pedagogy lags behind general demand for educational accountability despite its significant share of educational practitioners' attention (Donnelly-Smith, 2009;Ferrari and Fine, 2016;Guyer, 2011;Lakkala et al, 2018;Landon et al, 2017). Even without rendering the accountability to third parties, it is a pressing concern for course leaders to understand how participants perceived their experiences and the impacts of what is still a temporarily and financially demanding pedagogy ( Jones et al, 2012;Tucker et al, 2011).…”

“…The increase in participants is apparent in certain countries such as the USA, Australia and Europe (e.g. Campbell, 2016; Hall et al , 2016; Lakkala et al , 2018). It is also clear in Japan, where more than half of university students who studied abroad participated in credit-bearing programs for less than one month (Kim et al , 2012).…”