Assessment of Higher-Order Thinking Skills Required for Intercultural Learning

Abstract

Intercultural competence is essential in the transcultural world, in which many university students and graduates live. A language course in a multicultural country, to which students bring great diversity, interculturality and hybridity, interacting with each other in a language that is nobody’s native-tongue, is an ideal intercultural learning environment. However, while academic articles promoting intercultural learning abound, few show how to assess intercultural competence, which is a major challenge. This article firstly conceptualises the construct of intercultural competence, using the analogy of food and body, and depicts the critical role that higher-order thinking skills play in the development of intercultural competence. It then reports the methods and results of the assessment of higher-order thinking skills. The learning environment created for the development of higher-order thinking skills was evaluated using a questionnaire, and individual skill levels were assessed by applying criteria in a rubric to students’ reflective writings. The findings suggest that an appropriate learning environment enhances higher-order thinking skills, albeit with some exceptions. This article then discusses in detail successful and unsuccessful cases of higher-order thinking improvement. This study contributes to the knowledge base by presenting methods for assessing a critical aspect of intercultural competence, namely, higher-order thinking skills.

Keywords

Intercultural learning / language learning / intercultural competence / higher-order thinking skills / community-of-inquiry / assessment

References

[1] Anderson, Lorin W. & Krathwohl, David. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of education objectives. New York/London: Longman.

[2] Baker, Will. (2011). Intercultural awareness: Modelling an understanding of cultures in intercultural communication through English as a lingua franca. Language and Intercultural Communication, 11(3), 197-214. doi:10.1080/14708477.2011.577779

[3] Baker, Will. (2016). English as an academic lingua franca and intercultural awareness: Student mobility in the transcultural university. Language and Intercultural Communication, 16(3), 437-451. doi:10.1080/14708477.2016.1168053

[4] Byram, Michael. (2008). From foreign language education to education for intercultural citizenship. Essays and reflections. Philadelphia: Multilingual Matters.

[5] Crozet, Chantal; Liddicoat, Anthony J. & Lo Bianco, Joseph. (1999). Intercultural competence: From language policy to language education. In J. Lo Bianco, A.J. Liddicoat, & C. Crozet (eds), Striving for the third place: Intercultural competence through language education, (pp.1-22). Canberra: Language Australia.

[6] Deardorff, Darla K. (2006). Identification and assessment of intercultural competence as a student outcome of internationalization. Journal of Studies in International Education, 10(3), 241-266. doi:10.1177/1028315306287002

[7] Deardorff, Darla K. (2011). Assessing intercultural competence. New Directions for Institutional Research, 149, 65-79. doi: 10.1002/ir.381

[8] Felder, Richard. M. & Brent, Rebecca. (2001). Effective strategies for cooperative learning. Journal of Cooperative and Collaboration in College Teaching, 10(2), 69-75.

[9] Garrison, Randy D.; Anderson, Terry & Archer, Walter. (2000). Critical inquiry in a text—based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education 2(2—3), 1-19. doi: 10.1016/S1096—7516(00)00016—6

[10] Garrison, Randy D.; Anderson, Terry & Archer, Walter. (2001). Critical thinking, cognitive presence, and computer conferencing in distance education. American Journal of Distance Education, 15(1), 7-23. doi:10.1080/08923640109527071

[11] Giacumo, Lisa A.; Savenye, Wilhelmina & Smith, N. (2013). Facilitation prompts and rubrics on higher—order thinking skill performance found in undergraduate asynchronous discussion boards. British Journal of Educational Technology, 44(5), 774-794. doi:10.1111/j.1467—8535.2012.01355.x

[12] Gokhale, Anuradha A. (1995). Collaborative learning enhances critical thinking. Journal of Technology Education 7, 22-30. doi:10.1007/978—1—4419—1428—6_910

[13] Gurin, Patricia, Nagda, Biren A. & Lopez, Gretchen (2004). The benefits of diversity in education for democratic citizenship. Journal of Social Issues, 60(1), 17-34.

[14] Hsiung, Chin—Min.; Lou, Shi—Jer; Lin, Chi—Chang & Wang, Pei—Ling. (2014). Identification of dysfunctional cooperative learning teams and troubled individuals. British Journal of Educational Technology, 45(1), 125-135. doi:10.1111/bjet.12004

[15] Johnson, David W.; Johnson, Roger T. & Smith, Karl. (2007). The state of cooperative leaning in postsecondary and professional settings. Educational Psychology Review, 19(1), 15-29. doi:10.1007/s10648—006—9038—8

[16] Laal, Marjan & Laal, Mozhgan. (2012). Collaborative learning: What is it? Procedia—Social and Behavioural Science, 31, 491-495.

[17] Lee, Amy; Poch, Robert; Shaw, Marta & Williams, Rhiannon. (2012). Emerging diversity in undergraduate classrooms: A pedagogy for developing intercultural competence. ASHE Higher Education Report, 38(2). San Francisco: Wiley Periodicals.

[18] Liddicoat, Anthony J.; Papademetre, Leo; Scarino, Angela & Kohler, Michelle. (2003). Report on intercultural language learning. Australian Government, Department of Education, Science and Training. http://www1.curriculum.edu.au/nalsas/pdf/intercultural.pdf

[19] Liddicoat, Anthony J. & Scarino, Angela. (2010). Eliciting the intercultural in foreign language education. In L. Sercu & A. Paran (eds.), Testing the untestable in language and education (pp. 52-73). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

[20] Millet, Judith E.; Trimbut, John & Wilkes, John M. (1994). Group dynamics: Understanding group success and failure in collaborative learning. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 59, 33-44. doi:10.1002/tl.37219945906

[21] Scarino, Angela. (2009). Assessing intercultural capability in learning languages: Some issues and considerations. Language Teaching, 42(1), 67-80. doi:10.1017/S0261444808005417

[22] Scarino, Angela. (2010). Assessing intercultural capability in learning languages: A renewed understanding of language, culture, learning, and the nature of assessment. The Modern Language Journal, 94(2), 324-329. doi:10.1111/j.1540—4781.2010.01026.x

[23] Sheets, Rosa. H. (2009). What is diversity pedagogy? Multicultural Education 16(3), 11-17.

[24] Smith, Barbara L. & MacGregor, Jean. T. (1992). What is collaborative learning? In A. S. Goodsell, M. R. Maher, V. Tinto, B. L. Smith & J. T. MacGregor (Eds.), Collaborative learning: A sourcebook for higher education, (pp.10-30). University Park, PA: National Center on Postsecondary Teaching, Learning, and Assessment.

[25] Soria, Krista M. & Troisi, Jordan. (2014). Internationalization at home alternatives to study abroad: Implications for students’ development of global, international and intercultural competencies. Journal of Studies in International Education, 18(3), 261-280. doi: 10.1177/1028315313496572

[26] Swan, Karen; Garrison, Randy, D. & Richardson, Jennifer C. (2009). A constructivist approach to online learning: The Community of Inquiry framework. In C.R. Payne (Ed.), Information technology and constructivism in higher education: Progressive learning frameworks (pp. 43-57). Hershey, PA: ICI Global.

[27] Toyoda, Etsuko. (2016). Intercultural knowledge, awareness, and skills observed in a foreign language classroom. Intercultural Education, 27(6), 505-516. doi: 10.1080/14675986.2016.125660

[28] Toyoda, Etsuko. (2015). Collaborative video blended learning for exercising higher—order thinking — evaluation using community of inquiry framework. International Journal of Social Media and Interactive Learning Environments, 3(2), 126-141. doi: 10.1504/IJSMILE.2015.070763

[29] Watanabe, Yuko & Swain, Merrill. (2007). Effects of proficiency differences and patterns of pair interaction on second language learning: Collaborative dialogue between adult ESL learners. Language Teaching Research, 11(2), 121-142. doi: 10.1177/136216880607074599

[30] Webb, Norman, L. (1997). Research Monograph Number 6: Criteria for alignment of expectations and assessments on mathematics and science education. Washington, D.C.: CCSSO.