International student orientation

The lesson will feature a constructivist design strategy, as it is appropriate for an environment in which people all over the world are participating. Each student brings their own background and experiences to share, with varying degrees of knowledge about both San Diego, and the U.S. in general. It meets the objective of allowing everyone to share information about themselves-there is no right or wrong-and it offers students resources from which they can draw information that they don’t already have. There is also a strong element of Collaborative Learning, in which students learn from each other, and discuss a particular topic in break out sessions.
• What type of questioning methods are you using and why are those appropriate for this content and audience? Questions will be in the form of polls, sharing results, so that everyone knows a bit about their incoming classmates. Students and the facilitator will use chat to ask questions as the students are sharing their background via microphone. Open-ended questions such as “what is your understanding of academic integrity” will allow students to connect and begin to develop confidence in their speaking skills.
• Why did you organize the content this way? Content is organized in such a way that allows students to feel comfortable, and lessens the apprehension that is associated with an experience abroad by allowing students to get to know each other a bit first. They will all introduce themselves, and provide contact information should they want to communicate further on their own. The break out session, in which students actually work together to answer a question, takes place in segment four, after they’ve had a chance to begin to develop relationships.
• What is the purpose of the collaborative aspects of your lesson? The lesson is very dependent on collaboration, not to solve a problem or complete a project, but rather to break the ice and increase everyone’s comfort level with coming to the U.S. This trust and relationship will sustain them throughout their stay.
• Did you use any role-play or break-out groups and why did you use those for that particular topic? Yes, as above. A break out session to discuss academic integrity will allow students to work in a small group, offering a less threatening environment at this early stage.
• What type of assessment strategies did you implement and why? There will be an assessment of students’ understanding of academic integrity written in “notes” from each group. Then, these will be reviewed as a cohort, giving the instructor insight into what type of work needs to be done in this area.