Today@Dal

The Faculty of Open Learning & Career Development has introduced two new online courses available for free to faculty, staff and students.

The courses, Intercultural Communication in a Higher Education Context and Introduction to Internationalization of the Curriculum, consist of 12 hours of online learning you can complete at your own pace. The Intercultural Communication in a Higher Education Context course provides an overview of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to be a competent intercultural communicator. The course is divided into five modules. Starting with "Introduction to Intercultural Communication,” learners explore the concepts of culture and intercultural communication and examine the components of intercultural competence. Continuing, the "Challenges to Effective Intercultural Communication" module delves deeper into challenges and barriers to intercultural communication and imparts the skills to recognize and overcome them.

In the “Intercultural Sensitivity" module, learners self-evaluate their current level of intercultural sensitivity and discover how to increase it. Afterward, in the "Effective Language Use in Intercultural Situations" module, they explore the impact of linguistic diversity. Finally, in the "Working in a Diverse Global Space" module, learners explore a cultural taxonomy that aids in understanding the inclinations of individuals from diverse cultural origins and examine an inventory of intercultural skill areas for developing intercultural competence.

Once learners have successfully completed the course, they will receive a microcredential in Intercultural Awareness.

Click here to enroll in Intercultural Communication in a Higher Education Context.

The “Introduction to Internationalization of the Curriculum” course delves into the fundamental principles of content internationalization, facilitation approaches and assessment activities. Learners will gain valuable insights and practical strategies to effectively integrate international perspectives into course content, employ inclusive facilitation methods and design assessment practices that cater to diverse learners. The course introduces key concepts and competencies related to the Internationalization of the Curriculum (IoC).

The course is divided into four modules. In the Introductory module “Introduction to Internationalization of the Curriculum,” learners become familiar with the basic definition of IoC, reflect on the need for an IoC approach in increasingly diverse classrooms and identify what educational model is employed in your own university. The module “Internationalizing Teaching and Learning” explores trends of international mobility, and best practices in incorporating inclusive and internationalized content, tasks and activities in the classroom. In the module “Internationalizing Interaction in Diverse Classrooms,” learners identify barriers to successful communication, explore linguistic and paralinguistic strategies to promote discussion in the classroom and learn how to integrate inclusive cultural and linguistic practices of interaction in the classroom. Finally, in the module “Internationalizing Assessment and Feedback Practices,” learners investigate current assessment practices and how to incorporate IoC best practices in their assessments and grading design.

Click here to enroll in Introduction to Internationalization of the Curriculum.

These two online courses were developed with Strategic Initiative Funding by the Faculty of Open Learning and Career Development to support Dalhousie’s commitment to excellence in education and its efforts to achieve a more inclusive, culturally enriched and global educational environment.

If you have any inquiries or need help with the registration process, please don't hesitate to reach out to the Faculty at openlearning@dal.ca.