Why integrate global engagement in teaching & learning?
At the institutional level, Queen’s commits to making a global impact by achieving several Strategic Goals. Goal # 4, “Strengthening Queen’s Presence Globally” highlights the need for educators to reform their teaching and learning practices for global engagement by,
“developing and implementing a comprehensive, equity-focused, and integrated program of global engagement that includes active, strategic partnerships, enhanced student and faculty mobility, and teaching and learning reform oriented toward a pluralistic and culturally relevant global environment”.
Beyond the institutional expectation, a preliminary but critical question for Queen’s teaching community to contemplate is, why is it important for individual educators to integrate global engagement in teaching and learning?
To spark conversations on why we integrate global engagement in teaching and learning, the Centre for Teaching & Learning (CTL) invited students (both undergraduate and graduate) and instructors to share their thoughts. We hope their voices help inspire more educators in our community to join this collective endeavor by starting to think of their own WHY.
Why do you think it is important to practice global engagement in teaching and learning?
We highly encourage you to take a few minutes to think about your own WHY after hearing the voices of others. What are your reasons to embark on this journey and what goals would you like to achieve? Please record some initial thoughts around these questions to enrich our conversation.
What does global engagement look like in teaching & learning?
It is without a doubt that global engagement manifests differently in the wide spectrum of courses, programs, and disciplines that Queen’s offers. There exists no standardization or unification when it comes to global engagement in teaching and learning, as it is up to each educator and their students to envision what it should look like in the classroom.
A group of students, teaching assistants (TAs), and instructors generously shared their understanding of global engagement in teaching and learning. They offered examples of what global engagement looked like in their teaching and/or learning journeys here at Queen’s.
After hearing different voices discussing what global engagement means and/or looks like across disciplines, we invite you to consider what global engagement might look like in your own practice as an educator. This is a question that can only be answered by yourself, bearing your students’ diverse needs, the overall course goals, and the specific teaching context in mind. Please record some initial thoughts around the questions of WHAT to enrich our conversation.
How to integrate global engagement in teaching & learning?
Now that we have discussed the WHY and WHAT of global engagement, our next step is to explore the pragmatic question of HOW. There are multiple approaches that educators could adapt to integrate global engagement in their practice of teaching and learning, and these are based on a variety of knowledges, theories, and pedagogies that endorse equity, diversity, inclusion, and decolonization in higher education.
Successful stories, meaningful impact, and hopes
To begin the conversation around the HOW, the CTL would like to showcase some stories of success global engagement shared by teaching assistants (TAs) and instructors across disciplines, accompanied by debriefs on meaningful impact. We hope their voices inspire you to identify a few small changes in your own practice of teaching and learning for global engagement.
Barriers, resources, and looking into the future
While it is an exciting and rewarding task, integrating global engagement in teaching and learning can also be challenging. Therefore, it is necessary that educators are aware of some barriers that they might encounter in their practice of work. Resources to overcome these barriers need to be identified and put in place to enhance successes in this collective endeavor.
Have you encountered any barriers or challenges in your practice of integrating global engagement in teaching and learning? What resources could the CTL and the university create to help you overcome these barriers and challenges? Please share your thoughts and ideas to help us better understand your needs and expectations.
lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit us and indicate if changes were made. Use this citation format: Community Voices on Global Engagement. Centre for Teaching and Learning, Queen’s University