Abstract

Internationalizing higher education has been a stated goal of educational professionals for several decades. Factors such as a growing enrollment in study abroad, an increase in the number of international students, the existence of faculty exchange programs, and language requirements are often cited as evidence of an internationalized institution. An area often overlooked is the important role that faculty play in this process. Little has been written on how international experience affects teaching. This paper, in effect a case study, explores the impact that participation in a three-week international faculty development seminar has on teaching. Through the use of questionnaires and one-on-one interviews with faculty who have participated in Macalester College's Faculty Development International Seminars, this study attempts to identify how the experience affected their teaching; whether it was through curriculum design, style of teaching, classroom structure, or a greater understanding of students' needs and learning styles, and to discover what aspects or incidents from the Seminar had the greatest affect on teaching. The findings suggest that overall impact was positive while the impact on teaching was less noteworthy. The most notable impact was on course content and interactions with students with many faculty citing much more indirect learning from the Seminars. By no means exhaustive, this study serves as a starting point that could provide direction for future investigations into the impact of faculty international experiences on teaching and student learning.

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