Using Collective Intelligence to Develop Curriculum with and for International Students (E)

The exponential growth of international student enrolment in Ontario’s post-secondary institutions has created a changing landscape for teaching and learning (Wall, 2022). International students arrive in Canada ready to learn but often face barriers they did not anticipate, both in the classroom and in the community (El Masri, et al., 2022). Ontario’s colleges, in particular, have been challenged to meet the needs of their growing international student population (Colyar et al., 2023). Through consultation with international students, international recruiters, and the staff and faculty who support international students, Fanshawe College has created curriculum designed to lower those barriers for students enrolled in post-graduate certificates. A series of meetings and focus groups generated a wish list of content for the 300 hours of “Canadian context” required by Ontario’s Credential Validation Service (CVS) for four-semester Ontario College Graduate Certificates. The wish list ranges from financial literacy and workplace etiquette to employee rights and online learning – all within the Canadian context. The challenge was to fashion the wish list into graduate-level learning outcomes and curriculum that meets student needs and CVS requirements, and then determine how to measure success. This institutional initiative incorporates diverse perspectives, including the perspective of international students sharing their lived experience, in an innovative approach to curriculum development that can be adopted by any institution. After a short presentation, session participants will have the opportunity to explore how the “collective intelligence” in their institutions can be leveraged to develop innovative curriculum that will support international student success.