Making the tacit explicit: rethinking culturally inclusive pedagogy in international student academic adaptation

Blasco, Maribel

doi:10.1080/14681366.2014.922120

Cited by 34 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Arguably, what is suggested by the data collected for the present inquiry is that lecturers are aware of particular practical insights and their responsibility for providing 'recipes for action'. Given Blasco's (2015) claim that international students lack tacit knowledge, this finding seems paradoxical, raising the question why respondents in the present sample are more conscious of tacit knowledge than the literature would lead us to expect.…”

Section: Discussion Of Findingscontrasting

confidence: 65%

“…In practice, however, postgraduate teachers often presume that a disciplinary connection exists between students' BA and MA programmes, which means they take for granted that knowledge explicated to first-year students will not have to be repeated to a postgraduate class. This creates difficulties for students recruited from other institutions or disciplines, prompting Maribel Blasco (2015) to recommend we '[make] the tacit explicit'.…”

Section: Practical Knowledge In Academiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To identify the knowledge practices that students in transition must acquire, Blasco (2015) used a qualitative method, interviewing international students about the challenges encountered during their first year of postgraduate studies. Blasco's approach resembles the work of Michael Allan (2003) and Tange (2008), whose empirical studies foreground the 'cultural t dissonance' that non-native students and academic staff experience as a result of their interaction in the international classroom, and which can fuel a process of experiential, intercultural learning.…”

Section: Practical Knowledge In Academiamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Academic staff as 'transition managers' in interdisciplinary, international MA education

Tange

2019

Learning and Teaching

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The article builds on an empirical study of knowledge practices in international, interdisciplinary MA education, foregrounding the role of academic staff in identifying and explicating academic norms to students recruited from different subject areas and institutions. A central theme is transition, which refers to the state of liminality that postgraduates can experience when new to a discipline, institution and sociocultural context. I argue for lecturers as 'transition managers' who may ease students' transfer into an unfamiliar academic culture. This argument is explored in an analysis of interview data collected from four MA courses, which suggests that lecturers' transition manage ment involves an awareness of classroom diversity, an acceptance of responsibility for academic socialisation and the development of new pedagogic practices.

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Section: Discussion Of Findingscontrasting

confidence: 65%

Section: Practical Knowledge In Academiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Practical Knowledge In Academiamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Academic staff as 'transition managers' in interdisciplinary, international MA education

Tange

2019

Learning and Teaching

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“…This stance not only aligns with the need for open discussion around expectations (Lobo and Gurney 2014;Divan, Bowman, and Seabourne 2015), it resonates strongly with the proposal that tacit features of local learning cultures should be made explicit, rather than adapted, to accommodate international students' diverse learning styles (Blasco 2015). Such a focus on making learning cultures transparent would represent an important step away from blaming students and step towards properly valuing the rich insights they have to offer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 63%

CAKES (Cultural Awareness and Knowledge Exchange Scheme): a holistic and inclusive approach to supporting international students

McKay

O’Neill

Petrakieva

2016

Journal of Further and Higher Education

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Transition support for international students has traditionally adopted deficit models which attempt to 'fix' assumed academic literacy problems (Hughes, 2013). This study explores a more culturally inclusive initiative which supported international students at a UK university in a holistic and developmental way. The initiative was delivered across an academic year and a mix of focus groups and semi-structured interviews were undertaken to understand students' experiences of participating in it. Although small-scale, the initiative emerged as a lively learning community which supported both academic and sociocultural transition. Qualitative data illuminate a number of fruitful methodological foci, including informality of the learning space and exploration of intercultural learning and teaching practices. Findings indicate that these cultural explorations were instrumental in helping students navigate the new learning and teaching system and forge a stronger sense of academic and social belonging. These outcomes were cultivated within an ethos that valued and enhanced the diverse skills, identities and attributes that students brought, rather than one that suppressed their previous learning practices. Findings thus demonstrate how transition and academic success can be facilitated in ways that do not problematize international students and highlight the need for more holistic and inclusive ways of supporting them.

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“…Within learning contexts, there needs to be sufficient challenge (constructive friction) to support learning as opposed to destructive friction (where the learning context is too overwhelming) (Silén and Uhlin, 2008). Furthermore, as noted by Blasco (2015), some disruption or level of discomfort is often needed in order for students to be able to use explicit guidance, experiment, and then be able to integrate concepts and ideas into their own knowledge structures in order to be able to use within their own contexts.…”

Section: Beyond Spoon-feeding: a Transformative Approach To Transparementioning

confidence: 99%

Transparency Isn't Spoon-Feeding: How a Transformative Approach to the Use of Explicit Assessment Criteria Can Support Student Self-Regulation

et al. 2018

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If little care is taken when establishing clear assessment requirements, there is the potential for spoon-feeding. However, in this conceptual article we argue that transparency in assessment is essential to providing equality of opportunity and promoting students' self-regulatory capacity. We begin by showing how a research-informed inclusive pedagogy, the EAT Framework, can be used to improve assessment practices to ensure that the purposes, processes, and requirements of assessment are clear and explicit to students. The EAT Framework foregrounds how students' and teachers' conceptions of learning (i.e., whether one has a transactional or transformative conception of learning within a specific context) impact assessment practices. In this article, we highlight the importance of being explicit in promoting access to learning, and in referencing the EAT Framework, the importance of developing transformative rather than transactional approaches to being explicit. Firstly, we discuss how transparency in the assessment process could lead to "criteria compliance" (Torrance, 2007, p. 282) and learner instrumentalism if a transactional approach to transparency, involving high external regulation, is used. Importantly, we highlight how explicit assessment criteria can hinder learner autonomy if paired with an overreliance on criteria-focused 'coaching' from teachers. We then address how 'being explicit with assessment' does not constitute spoon-feeding when used to promote understanding of assessment practices, and the application of deeper approaches to learning as an integral component of an inclusive learning environment. We then provide evidence on how explicit assessment criteria allow students to selfassess as part of self-regulation, noting that explicit criteria may be more effective when drawing on a transformative approach to transparency, which acknowledges the importance of transparent and mutual student-teacher communications about assessment requirements. We conclude by providing recommendations to teachers Balloo et al. Transparency Isn't Spoon-Feeding and students about how explicit assessment criteria can be used to improve students' learning. Through an emphasis on transparency of process, clarity of roles, and explication of what constitutes quality within a specific discipline, underpinned by a transformative approach, students and teachers should be better equipped to selfmanage their own learning and teaching.

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Making the tacit explicit: rethinking culturally inclusive pedagogy in international student academic adaptation

Cited by 34 publications

References 35 publications

Academic staff as 'transition managers' in interdisciplinary, international MA education

Academic staff as 'transition managers' in interdisciplinary, international MA education

CAKES (Cultural Awareness and Knowledge Exchange Scheme): a holistic and inclusive approach to supporting international students

Transparency Isn't Spoon-Feeding: How a Transformative Approach to the Use of Explicit Assessment Criteria Can Support Student Self-Regulation

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