Promoting cross-cultural understanding of education through online discussions

Universities are seeking techniques that encourage students to become more globalized in their perspectives. One method of providing students with an international learning experience is to incorporate asynchronous on-line discussions with students from different countries within courses. The purpose of this study was to explore how participation by American and Chinese graduate students in asynchronous online discussions on classroom case studies can promote cross-cultural understanding of education. Data sources include student transcripts to four case studies and students' responses to open-ended questions on their perceptions regarding their participation in the online discussions. Results indicate that online discussions on case studies are very beneficial to both American and Chinese students and promote cross-cultural knowledge and understanding. The discussions provide an exciting forum for communication about learning theory and the culture behind instructional practices. Importantly, this study also adds to the knowledge base about international collaborative online courses and serves as a guide for those who wish to create international online courses. (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Huseyin Uzunboylu