Globalization of Courses
(click on the links below the paragraphs to find out more about these courses)My efforts to globalize my courses was generated by the academic environment of this university. Bemidji State University has a tradition of serving international students and some of them become psychology majors. We also have the Teaching Associate program which encourages faculty to mentor promising students by inviting them to co-teach their classes. The program was developed to encourage more students to go on into academe.
Some years ago, I had as a TA a student from Singapore, Li Jean Chia, I asked Jean to work with me because she and I had discussed how little of the material in Personality Theories actually applied to Chinese people and Asians in general. I wrote a grant and together we wove material from China, India and Japan into the course. Jean researched the material and presented the lectures of this section of the course and left her research as a legacy for future students. Students in Personality Theories loved the new material.
After beginning my international travel, I asked another student, Sasha Chernyshenko, from Ukraine, to add a Soviet section to the course and give the lectures. These were also well received and have endured. This year Pervin, a textbook author in Personality Theories came out with a chapter on international personality theories. In my absence, that chapter will be taught instead of my material and I’ll get feedback regarding how well it was received from students when I return. It’s refreshing to know I was ahead of the movement. But another example of how I should have written the textbook!!!
Psychology 4467 - Personality Theories
My Advanced Counseling Techniques course has evolved naturally along with the field in expanding counseling to include information about clients from different cultures and how we, as counselors, need to adapt our approach to better serve them.
