Classroom Strategies for Internationalizing Courses

Gretchen Carroll

Assistant Professor Management

Owens State Community College

My classroom Philosophy.....

A note of thanks to my Purdue professors....

1) Avoid memorization and regurgitation.

2) The student is the customer.

3) A picture paints 1,000,000 words.

4) No learning without fun; no fun without learning.

How do I accomplish this in every class?

Give students a CHIP.......

1) C- current event

2) H- humor (sometimes it’s sick, but it’s there)

3) I- international illustration of the core concept of the class period

4) P-participation (critical to keep them involved during the entire process, watch the eyes)

Current Event

Great web sources (fast & easy for teachers with little time- pick any

international event of the day that ties in with your topic. I start every class with did you hear...)

1) www.abcnews.com world index

2)www.economist.com

3)www.msnbc.com

4)www.fortune.com

5)www.cnn.com6)WSJ- they have a great educational program and web site for subscribers- student

rate is cheap

Humor

examples... 1) what do the natives of India and

Idalene have in common? (hint...ask Kellogg)

speaking of India- what did P&G find out when they tried to market Charmin to the people of India?

speaking of P&G what was their latest marketing research project concerning their various brands of toilet paper?

2) why do we need to trade with the rest of the world? let’s play a game....

(clothes,beverages, entertainment)

Illustrations

use anything that paints a picture.....a) videos from Corporate libraries and video cases from text books

b) share holders reports of any global company...McDonalds, Walmart, etc.

c) field trips to international restaurants, temples, corporations, TAITA lunches

d) guest speakers

e) periodicals...don’t just talk about a bill of lading-

f) web sites

g) meaning of gestures

h) advertising slogans...”nothing sucks like an electrolux”, Danish brand of toilet paper named “Krap” and Japan-based Kinki Nippon Tourist Company .

Participation

Lucky if you have full concentration for 10 minutes .... break up classes with exercises- questions- rarely lecture

1) international trade theory exercise on why countries trade...group exercise...divide class into countries..US has water & cups, beef, and potatoes, Mexico has taco chips, Switzerland has chocolate, Tanzania has nothing.... barter agreement and they have to decide how much each thing is worth.

2) jeopardy game

3) country presentations- let the students be the teacher

4) research questions that they have- 10 points extra credit- this semester Kyoto treaty, May Day demonstrations across Europe, history behind the conflict in the middle east, which is a better investment Nokia, global crossing, or ATT?

5) debates- ethics of doing business in countries with totalitarian governments- class votes on who has the most compelling argument.

Our Goal as business professors...

Getting students to adopt a global perspective and break free of their paradigms by infusing a daily

CHIP of knowledge into every business class.