I envision this book fulfilling two complementary roles. I hope it will be useful for instructors of undergraduate students of the humanities, as well as relevant for anyone interested in the amount of forethought that goes into pedagogy in the international student classroom. After more than two decades of experience with international students, I have had the chance to try numerous experiments with that demographic. Simultaneously, I have developed a way of thinking about teaching international students which has led me to understand the importance of cultural elements in instruction, the significance of discussions around academic misconduct, and how to construct a course as well as assignments. In my evolving way of thinking about my pedagogical practice, I strive to test my students' abilities instead of how well they fit into the western education system.
I begin with the challenges of teaching international students as well as a discussion about the materials I have developed for the classroom. Because I have long been interested in how cultural difference affects instruction, I examine how the students' cultural mores impact their learning. I also survey, at length, how to overcome the challenges of academic misconduct as well as approaches for paper writing workshops and how to explain academic research. I include examples that I have used in class, as well as marking rubrics and codes.
International students are a growing demographic in the west, and they can be a delight in the classroom, but the instructor must approach their pedagogy with a self-reflexive understanding of what they hope to accomplish and what the students need to learn.
