Abstract
Educators need to offer students a curriculum that reflects their funds of knowledge (mirrors), exposes them to the cultures and experiences of others (windows), and develops in them an understanding and empathy for those who are different from them (sliding glass doors). In this chapter, the authors describe a six-week-long scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) project, which included 63 pre-service teachers (PST) in the US and 36 in-service teachers (IST) in Israel. The authors describe how they used Flip and Facebook to provide PST and IST who are racially, linguistically, and culturally different with an opportunity to engage in asynchronous dialogue. Analysis of survey and extant data confirmed that these transnational learning experiences provided participants with “windows” and “mirrors” for digital, global, and cultural literacy. Readers can use the authors' description of the two asynchronous assignments, the results of the SoTL study, and lessons learned to guide, design, and implement similar transnational learning experiences.
TopTransnational Learning
The global and interdependent nature of today’s world has created the demand for educators to be prepared to operate in a global world and to provide a learning environment that meets those needs (Bourn & Shiel, 2009; Miller, 2002). The Collins Dictionary describes transnationalism as an experience that extends beyond the boundaries of a single nation (n.d.). The UNESCO/Council of Europe Code of Good Practice in the Provision of Transnational Education describes transnational education as:
All types of higher education study programmes, or sets of courses of study, or educational services (including those of distance education) in which the learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based. (UNESCO, 6 June 2001)
In other words, transnational learning is the process of acquiring knowledge and skills through cross-border educational experiences and activities. It encompasses, among other opportunities, collaboration between institutions across borders.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Funds of Knowledge: The knowledge and life experience that a person brings with them.
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A systematic, scholarly investigation of teaching/learning issues that results in dissemination of findings.
Asynchronous Course: An online class taught via a Learning Management System. The instructor provides students with the course material. Students engage with course content, the instructor, and other students and meet deadlines at their own pace.
Podium Class: A class that is taught in person as opposed to being taught online.
Global Awareness: The ability to understand, respect, and interact with people from diverse cultures.
Blended Course: A class that combines web-enhanced instruction and placed-based instruction. Web-enhanced instruction may be delivered asynchronously or synchronously.
Communication Anxiety: The feeling of fear that some people experience at the thought of being observed and evaluated by others.
Perfectionism: The desire to appear flawless to avoid failure or harsh judgement.
Screencast: A video recording of one’s computer screen for tutorials or presentations.