Best Practices and Opportunities at Mason for Global Collaborative Classrooms

Abstract

In the U.S., only 10% of graduating undergraduate students have studied in another country; therefore, U.S. universities are finding other ways to provide meaningful global experiences to all students. Masonââ¬â¢s approach to help students develop a variety of intercultural skills is by supporting the development of Global Collaborative Classrooms (GCCs). In this model, a Mason faculty member partners with an international peer faculty to develop a co-taught learning environment delivered via mutually determined online technology. Besides the thematic content of the course, the key pedagogical component of the GCC is an emphasis on international student collaboration. Therefore, the signature learning experience of GCCs is one in which global learning outcomes aligned with collaborative learning activities, such as group projects, group presentations and/or research, are a significant part of the design. GCCs can be created for most disciplines. The poster will primarily communicate the structural elements of a GCC, but it will also showcase technology integration best practices, internal resources and external faculty partner opportunities, and case studies of successful GCC-like courses. Finally, the poster will describe a new CISCO Systems grant-funded initiative that will provide Mason faculty an opportunity to adapt the GCC model in an existing course. à