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Ensuring that courses and program activities include global perspectives is central to the development of an internationalized curriculum. While only a small number of students can benefit from educational experiences abroad, internationalized curricula have the potential to affect all students. This tip sheet explains how instructors can design internationalized courses and offers examples of course internationalization strategies developed by Waterloo instructors from a variety of disciplines.
Course internationalization is “a process by which international elements are infused into course content, international resources are used in course readings and assignments, and instructional methodologies appropriate to a culturally diverse student population are implemented" (Schuerholz-Lehr et al., 2007, p. 70).
Depending on the extent and expected outcomes of course internationalization, instructors choose different approaches to internationalize their courses. These approaches range from simply adding international content to doing a fundamental course re-design for internationalization. However, three main approaches are used by faculty members to internationalize their courses (Bond, 2003, p. 5).
Approach to course internationalization | Description |
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Add-on |
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Curricular infusion |
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Transformation |
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The following table presents strategies for comprehensive course internationalization that can permeate all aspects of the course design (adapted from Leask, 2005, pp. 119-129).
Components of the internationalized course design | Internationalization strategies |
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Internationalized student learning outcomes What international perspectives (knowledge, skills and attributes) should students develop in this course? |
Internationalized learning outcomes communicate to students the importance of international learning. Whenever possible, international learning outcomes should address cognitive, affective, and behavioural domains of student learning. Below are examples of internationalized learning outcomes. By the end of this course, students should be able to :
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Internationalized content What international content and/or contact will students need in order to develop international perspectives? |
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Internationalized teaching and learning activities What learning activities and tasks will assist learners to develop international perspectives and prepare for the |
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Internationalized assessment methods What assessment task(s) could students complete to demonstrate achievement of international perspectives? |
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Bond, S. (2003). Engaging educators: Bringing the world into the classroom. Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE): Ottawa.
Leask, B. (2005). Internationalization of the curriculum: Teaching and learning. In J. Carroll and J. Ryan (Eds.), Teaching international students: Improving learning for all (pp. 119-129). London: Routledge.
Raby,R. L. & Valeau, E. J. (2016). International education at community colleges: Themes, practices, and case studies. Palgrave Macmillan.
Schuerholz-Lehr, S., Caws, C., Van Gyn, G. & Preece, A. (2007). Internationalizing the higher education curriculum: An emerging model for transforming faculty perspectives, Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 37 (1), 67-94.
“Building Resilience through the Development of Intercultural Competencies: Story Circles.” UNESCO, 28 May 2021, https://en.unesco.org/themes/intercultural-dialogue/competencies.
Internationalization in Action: Internationalizing the Curriculum, Part 1 - American Council on Higher Education
This guide is adapted from "Strategies for Course Internationalization" from the Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo, and has been made available under a CC BY-NC license.