Intercultural Exchange for Sustainable Futures: A GNL Course Connecting University Students in Germany and the United States

Benjamin Ade-thurow; Erik Byker

Intercultural Exchange for Sustainable Futures: A GNL Course Connecting University Students in Germany and the United States

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to describe and report on a Globally Networked Learning (GNL) course among students in Germany and the United States. Specifically, we examine how GNL is an innovative method for international virtual exchange, which contributes to meaningful intercultural communication through more equitable access to international experiences for undergraduate students. The focus for this GNL course was the United Nations (2015) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs are a set of 17 international policy goals introduced by the United Nations in 2015 with the vision of achieving a harmonious and thriving world for everyone by 2030. The SDGs provided the international discourse platform for the development of global awareness and intercultural communication among university students. The study found that the GNL helped to facilitate international research collaboration on the SDGs and helped developed global competencies among the participants.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

The study was approved by the University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB). All the IRB ethics guidelines were followed in relation to the data collection, data analysis, and the reporting of the study’s data.

References

Appiah, K. A. (2010). Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a world of strangers. New York: WW Norton & Company. Bacak, J., & Byker, E.J. (2021). Moving from levels of inquiry to the flexible phases of inquiry theory: A literature review of inquiry-based teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education and Educators, 10(2), 247-263.
Baker, W. (2012). From cultural awareness to intercultural awareness: Culture in ELT. ELT Journal, 66(1), 62-70.
Bethune, M. M. (1951). My last will and testament. Washington, DC: National Council of Negro Women.
Boix Mansilla, V. B., & Jackson, A. (2012). Educating for global competency. New York, NY: Asia Society. http://asiasociety.org/files/book-globalcompetence. Byker, E.J. (2013). Critical cosmopolitanism: Engaging students in global citizenship competencies. English in Texas Journal, 43(2), 18-22.
Byker, E.J. (2016). Developing global citizenship consciousness: case studies of critical cosmopolitan theory. Journal of Research in Curriculum and Instruction, 20(3), 264-275.
Byker, E.J. (2022). The sustainable development goals: What are their purposes and importance? In EBSCO’s (Ed.), Pathways to Research in Education. Ipswich, MA: EBSCO Press.
Byker, E. J. & Putman, S.M. (2019). Catalyzing cultural and global competencies: engaging preservice teachers in study abroad to expand the agency of citizenship. Journal of Studies in International Education, 23(1), 84–105. doi: 10.1177/1028315318814559
Byker, E.J. & Thomas, V. (2021). Preparing teacher candidates with global competencies: Taking action on the global water crisis with service learning. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 35(2), 268-280.

Byker, E.J. & Holshouser, K. (2022). Anchoring the pillars of sustainability education in critical cosmopolitanism and global citizenship education. .ed Journal of Global Citizenship Education, 2(1), 5-8.
Byker, E.J. & Sadula, M. (2022). Mainstreaming the sustainable development goals: advancing global citizenship education through the SDGs .ed Journal of Global Citizenship Education, 2(1), 1-4.
Byker, E.J., Ade-Thurow, B., Martin, F., & Sadula, M. (2023a). Engaging in an online odyssey: Globally Networked Learning among undergraduates in Germany and the US. Journal of Virtual Exchange, 6, 24-34.
Byker, E.J., Sadula, M., Ade-Thurow, B., & Martin, F. (2023b). Equity of international access: Connecting first generation university students to Globally Networked Learning. The Global Impact Exchange Journal. 48
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York, NY: Continuum.
Hoff, J., & Medina, A. (2022). A study abroad development studio for building faculty capacity and establishing student learning outcomes: A case study. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 34(4), 329–356. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v34i4.644
Kymlicka, W. (2004). Justice and security in the accommodation of minority nationalism. Ethnicity, nationalism, and minority rights, 144-175.
Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M., & Saldana, J. (2018). Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook. SAGE Publications.
Mitchell, R., Myles, F., & Marsden, E. (2019). Second language learning theories. Routledge.
Tashakkori, A., & Teddlie, C. (2021). Sage handbook of mixed methods in social & behavioral research. SAGE publications.
United Nations. (2015). Transforming our world: the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. New York: United Nations General Assembly.
Zhang, J., & Pearlman, A. M. G. (2018). Expanding access to international education through technology enhanced collaborative online international learning (COIL) courses. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 14(1), 1-11. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1211995.pdf
Zheng, L., Westerhaus-Renfrow, C., Lin, S. Z., & Yang, Y. (2022). Assessing intercultural competence in the digital world: Evidence from virtual exchange experience in a study abroad program. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 34(4), 418–441. https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v34i4.614

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Internationalization in Higher Education , Studies on Education

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Benjamin Ade-thurow This is me
0009-0000-9319-6900
Germany

Erik Byker
0000-0002-2475-4195
United States

Publication Date

December 31, 2024

Submission Date

September 26, 2024

Acceptance Date

December 25, 2024

Published in Issue

Year 2024 Volume: 13 Number: 3

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA23JW75TB

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Ade-thurow, B., & Byker, E. (2024). Intercultural Exchange for Sustainable Futures: A GNL Course Connecting University Students in Germany and the United States. Journal of Teacher Education and Educators, 13(3), 184-198. https://izlik.org/JA23JW75TB