MA International Education (TESOL)

This course unit will introduce the concept of ‘curriculum’ in practical teaching settings. Through the lens of internationalisation (i.e. the process of developing international or intercultural elements in the curriculum), students will consider how to critically align curricula to developing purposeful, equitable, and ethical learning experiences for students. The unit will critically examine several facets of curriculum internationalisation, including: representation of student demographics, tensions between the relevance of national and international learning, decolonisation, and intercultural skills development. This course unit will be applicable across the scope of education, from primary to higher education. In addition to theoretical considerations of curriculum development, there will be explicit practical skills development through hands-on curriculum develop and planning. 

This course unit will introduce the following content areas / approaches to teaching and learning:

• Internationalisation of the curriculum
• Decolonization of the curriculum
• Equity in curriculum diversification
• The role of the curriculum and learning materials in intercultural learning practices

It will also support reflection on and practical skills development of the following key skills in the context of international education:

• Curriculum design
• Lesson planning
• Activity design
• Teamwork and team teaching
• Curriculum material selection 

This course unit focuses on practical teaching skill development through the creation of a group curriculum plan, with the intention of supporting education students who intend to work in classroom settings. It is intended that this project can serve as a portfolio of curriculum development work for future employability purposes. The teamwork approach and practical teaching design nature of the assignment supports students with examples to share in future job interviews or on their CVs.  

11 weeks of teaching (2 hours each week) using a flipped classroom approach with assigned readings, videos, or group activities before class

Contact hours centre discussions and group activities

Students will be assigned project groups to work with throughout the semester in weekly tasks and for the assignment

The assignment is a practical group work curriculum design project 

• Identify a range of approaches for developing an internationally-focused curriculum
• Describe how approaches to teaching and learning are informed through internationalisation of curriculum materials
• Discuss how internationalisation impacts curriculum design, lesson planning, and material selection 

• Critically analyse the theoretical and practical challenges of curriculum internationalisation
• Critically evaluate approaches to teaching and learning within an internationalised curriculum design 

•  Develop curriculum plans and designs in the context of internationalisation
• Identify and synthesise ethical and equitable internationalized learning materials

• Make use of educational materials for curriculum design
• Work constructively with a team to develop a collaborative curriculum design

Individual feedback on Tii 15 days after submission 

Beets, P., & Le Grange, L. (2005). `Africanising' assessment practices: Does the notion of ubuntu hold any promise? South African Journal of Higher Education, 19(1), 1197-1207. doi:10520/EJC37215

Crowther, P., Joris, M., Otten, M., Nilsson, B., Teekens, H., & Wächter, B. (2000). Internationalisation at home: A position paper. Paper presented at the European Association for International Education, Amsterdam.

de Wit, H., & Leask, B. (2015). Internationalization, the curriculum and the disciplines. International Higher Education(83), 10-12. doi:10.6017/ihe.2015.83.9079

Haigh, M. J. (2002). Internationalisation of the Curriculum: Designing inclusive education for a small world. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 26(1), 49-66. doi:10.1080/03098260120110368

Harrison, N. (2015). Practice, problems and power in ‘internationalisation at home’: critical reflections on recent research evidence. Teaching in Higher Education, 20(4), 412-430. doi:10.1080/13562517.2015.1022147

Le Grange, L. (2016). Decolonising the university curriculum: Leading article. South African Journal of Higher Education, 30(2), 1-12. doi:10.20853/30-2-709

Leask, B. (2009). Using formal and informal curricula to improve interactions between home and international students. Journal of Studies in International Education, 13(2), 205-2011.

Matus, C., & Talburt, S. (2015). Producing global citizens for the future: space, discourse and curricular reform. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 45(2), 226-247. doi:10.1080/03057925.2013.842682

Patel, F., & Lynch, H. (2013). Glocalization as an alternative to internationalization in higher education: Embedding positive glocal learning perspectives. International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 25(2), 223-230.

Tangney, S. (2018). The development of a reflective tool for internationalisation of the curriculum. Innovations in Education and Teaching International, 55(6), 640-649. doi:10.1080/14703297.2017.1386118