By Stacy J.Kosko, PhD

1. The Pedagogy of Virtual,
Cross-cultural, Problem-
Based Learning
STACY J. KOSKO, PHD
GOVERNMENT & POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND
VISITING FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR, FRISPA, MOLDOVA STATE UNIVERSITY
MARCH 24, 2018

2. Game Plan
I. Why: Global Competence, 21st
Century Skills
II. What: Virtual, Cross-Cultural,
Problem-Based Learning
III. How: Global Classroom

3. Why: Global Competence
“Information Exchange has transformed the way we learn,
work, and live. The pace at which information is created and the
degree to which it is easily accessible has changed the role of the
teacher from being a provider of information to teaching
students how to navigate the overwhelming quantity of
information that is available at their fingertips, and helping them
develop an increased capacity for analysis, evaluation, and
discernment.”
~Ashoka Fellow Dana Mortenson. March 2014
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2014/03/13/why-world-savvy-education-will-better-prepare-
students-and-make-the-u-s-more-competitive/

4. Why: Global Competence
“Information Exchange has transformed the way we learn,
work, and live. The pace at which information is created and the
degree to which it is easily accessible has changed the role of
the teacher from being a provider of information to teaching
students how to navigate the overwhelming quantity of
information that is available at their fingertips, and helping them
develop an increased capacity for analysis, evaluation, and
discernment.”
~Ashoka Fellow Dana Mortenson. March 2014
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2014/03/13/why-world-savvy-education-will-better-prepare-
students-and-make-the-u-s-more-competitive/

5. Why: Global Competence
 Qualities of “globally competent” individuals:
 an appreciation for cultural differences,
 ability to understand and consider multiple perspectives,
 capacity for highly critical and analytical thinking,
 comfort with ambiguity and change,
 understanding of the complexity of global issues.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ashoka/2014/03/13/why-world-savvy-education-will-better-prepare-
students-and-make-the-u-s-more-competitive/

6. Why: Global Competence
AACU surveyed 305 employers (2006)
“Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success”
 Teamwork skills and the ability to collaborate with others in diverse group
settings (76%)
 The ability to apply knowledge and skills to real-world settings through
internships or other hands-on experiences (73%)
 Critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills (73%)
Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2013
https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2013_EmployerSurvey.pdf

7. Why: Global Competence
“Employer Priorities for College Learning and Student Success” (continued)
 Global issues and developments and their implications for the future (72%)
 The ability to locate, organize, and evaluate information from multiple
sources (70%)
 The ability to be innovative and think creatively (70%)
 The ability to solve complex problems (64%)
Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2013
https://www.aacu.org/sites/default/files/files/LEAP/2013_EmployerSurvey.pdf

8. Why: Global Competence
 It’s important.
 But are we teaching it?
 Survey of mechanical engineering firms (2010):
 Global competence considered important by a large majority of all survey
respondents.
 Ability to communicate cross-culturally the highest-rated global competence.
 Companies valued the efforts of higher educational engineering institutions to
prepare engineers for success in a global environment.
 Only 27% of respondents agreed that colleges and universities were successful
in this endeavor.
(Warnick 2010)

9. Why: 21st Century Skills
 personal and social responsibility
 planning, critical thinking, reasoning, and creativity
 strong communication skills, both for interpersonal and
presentation needs
 cross-cultural understanding
 visualizing and decision making
 knowing how and when to use technology and choosing the
most appropriate tool for the task
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-importance

10. Why: 21st Century Skills
 personal and social responsibility
 planning, critical thinking, reasoning, and creativity
 strong communication skills, both for interpersonal and
presentation needs
 cross-cultural understanding
 visualizing and decision making
 knowing how and when to use technology and choosing the
most appropriate tool for the task
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-importance

11. What: Inquiry-Based Teaching
Two forms:
 Problem-based learning – tackles a problem but doesn't
necessarily include a student project
 Project-based learning – involves a complex task and some
form of student presentation, and/or creating an actual
product or artifact.
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-importance

12. What: Project-Based Learning
PBL is grounded in the pedagogical claim that students learn
best by experiencing and solving real-world problems.
“Project-based learning is a dynamic approach to teaching in
which students explore real-world problems and challenges.
With this type of active and engaged learning, students are
inspired to obtain a deeper knowledge of the subjects they're
studying”
–Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning

13. What: Project-Based Learning
 PBL typically involves*:
 students learning knowledge to tackle realistic
problems as they would be solved in the real world
 increased student control over his or her learning
 teachers serving as coaches and facilitators of inquiry and
reflection
 students (usually, but not always) working in pairs or
groups
*Barron & Darling-Hammond, 2008; Thomas, 2000

14. What: Project-Based Learning
 Accommodates
different learning styles
 Students must use all
learning modalities in
the process of
researching and solving
a problem, then
communicating the
solutions.
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-
importance

15. What: Project-Based Learning
 Magnifies achievement
 “When individuals are
interested in what they
are doing and are able
to use their areas of
strength, they achieve
at a higher level.”
(Edutopia)
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-
learning-guide-importance

16. How: Keys to Project-Based Learning
Success
For Students:
 A realistic problem or project
 aligns with students' skills and interests
 requires learning clearly defined content and skills (e.g. using rubrics, or
exemplars of deliverables from local professionals and students)
 Structured group work
 groups of three to four students, with diverse skill levels and interdependent
roles
 team rewards
 individual accountability, based on student growth
Barron & Darling-Hammond, 2008; Ertmer & Simons, 2005; Mergendoller & Thomas, 2005; Hung, 2008:
http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning-guide-importance

17. How: Keys to Project-Based Learning
Success
For Students:
 Multi-faceted assessment
 multiple opportunities for students to receive feedback and revise their work
(e.g., benchmarks, reflective activities)
 multiple learning outcomes (e.g., problem-solving, content, collaboration)
 presentations that encourage participation and signal social value (e.g.
exhibitions, portfolios, performances, reports)
Barron & Darling-Hammond, 2008; Ertmer & Simons, 2005; Mergendoller & Thomas, 2005; Hung, 2008:
http://www.edutopia.org/pbl-research-learning-outcomes

18. How: Keys to Project-Based Learning
Success
For Faculty:
 Participation in a professional learning network
 collaborating and reflecting upon PBL experiences in the classroom with
colleagues
 courses in inquiry-based teaching methods
Barron & Darling-Hammond, 2008; Ertmer & Simons, 2005; Mergendoller & Thomas, 2005; Hung, 2008:
http://www.edutopia.org/pbl-research-learning-outcomes

19. How: Keys to Project-Based Learning
Success
Inquiry-based learning is most productive when teachers:
 provide students with frequent assessments and redirection through
project benchmarks and reflection activities.*
 provide students with feedback that they act upon.
 produces significant learning gains**
 emphasizes the process, effort, and strategies involved in accomplishing
a task, as opposed to focusing solely on the final product.
 Students come to understand that learning is the result of cumulative effort.
 This improves their resilience and academic achievement.***
(*Barron & Darling-Hammond, 2008)(**Black & William, 1998a; Hattie, 2008) (***Dweck, 2000):
http://www.edutopia.org/pbl-research-evidence-based-components

20. How: Now What?
Wanna do some
PBL?
You’ll need new
learning
objectives!

21. How: My Learning Objectives
At this end of this course, students will be able to:
 Demonstrate a working understanding of the key players and processes in the
“international development industry.”
 Research, analyze and identify innovative solutions for key development
challenges.
 Reach innovative/unconventional solutions by iteratively proposing
ideas/strategies, receiving feedback, incorporating feedback and learning from
failed approaches.
 Demonstrate an ability to develop solutions that incorporate feedback from
clients/beneficiaries and pivot based upon their needs.
 Collaborate with others on developing an innovative analysis, project or solution,
by incorporating different viewpoints and experiences.
 Present a proposed solution to outside stakeholders (those not directly affiliated
with the class).
 Function effectively in a “global team.”

22. How: Global Classroom
 Cross-Cultural
 Virtual
 Project-
(Problem-) Based

23. Global Classroom: Cross-Cultural
students:
UMD (undergraduate), TAU (graduate)
countries in Spring 2014:
 France Jordan Pakistan Trinidad Venezuela
 India Mexico Romania UK
 Israel Nepal Russia USA (8: 2 TAU, 6 UMD)

24. Global Classroom: Virtual
 I used forms of virtual communication:
 Adobe Connect or WebEx – for in-person, all-class sessions
 ELMS-Canvas – for our course materials, grades
 Gmail and Skype – for “ordinary” communication
 The students used at least more:
 Google Hangouts & Google Docs
 Facebook & FB Messenger
 WhatsApp
 GroupMe

25. Global Classroom: Project-Based
groups ( students each: UMD and TAU)
 Task: Research and produce creative, viable, sustainable solutions to major
contemporary development problems in places affected by organized,
armed violence.

26. Global Classroom: Project-Based
 Focused on a country of their choice in:
 North Africa, South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Sub-
Saharan Africa, and the Middle East
 Then worked to:
 Identify and analyze a specific problem
 design community-based solutions
 On issues ranging from:
 gender-based violence, to corruption, to democratization, to education,
to health, to economic development, and beyond…

27. Global Classroom: Project-Based
Spring 2017
Moved to a client-based model.

28. Global Classroom: Project-Based
In the Classroom
 26 students:
 15 at LUC
 11 at UMD
 3 professors:
 2 at LUC
 1 at UMD (me!)
In the “Real World”
 6 clients in 6 countries & 3
continents:
 2 government agencies (USA
and The Netherlands)
 1 private consulting firm
 1 charitable foundation
 2 non-profit organizations

29. Global Classroom: Project-Based
 Topic 1: Health & HIV/AIDS
Client: USAID Office of HIV/AIDS (OHA), Washington, DC, USA
How might we design innovative solutions to help address stigma and
discrimination against people living with HIV at one or more these levels:
testing, care, and treatment? (Country of choice)
 Topic 2: Intercommunal violence
Client: New Business Director, Asia Region, Chemonics International,
Washington, DC, USA
How might we use social media to reduce communal violence in Myanmar?

30. Global Classroom: Project-Based
 Topic 3: Labor
Client: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Hague, The Netherlands
How might we design living wage policies in textile companies in Bangladesh?
 Topic 4: Street Youth
Client: Foundation Mamawatoto, Amsterdam/Uganda
How might we more effectively protect, support, and empower the street
children of Soroti, Uganda?

31. Global Classroom: Project-Based
 Topic 5: Maternal and Child Health
Client: Development Research and Project Center (DRPC) (NGO), Abuja,
Nigeria
How might we more effectively raise awareness of and advocate for maternal
and child health in northern Nigeria?Topic 4: Street Youth
 Topic 6: Community Conservation
Client: Sauti Moja (NGO), Tanzania
How might we foster local engagement in de-centralized community-based
conservation models in Northern Tanzania.

32. Global Classroom: Assessment
 Formal, graded assessment from professor & TAs
 Research brief, needs assessment, stakeholder analysis, problem
analysis, results-based framework, concept note or proposal, project
pitch
 Informal, ungraded feedback from professor, TAs, and peers
 In-class workshops and “fishbowls”
 Formal & informal, ungraded feedback from clients & industry
professionals
 In-person and phone meetings, deliverable reviews, project pitch

33. Global Classroom: Assessment
 Lots and lots of opportunities for assessment
 High- and low-stake
 Formal and informal
 Written and oral
 If it’s something they couldn’t have done without achieving the learning
objective, then it’s an assessment.

34. Thank you.
Dr. Stacy J. Kosko
sjkosko@umd.edu
https://sites.google.com/site
/stacykosko/
Assistant Research
Professor,
Government and Politics,
University of Maryland, USA
Fulbright Scholar,
FRISPA, Moldova State
University, Moldova

35. Testimonials
 Kadeem Khan
 Molly Bernstein

36. Testimonials
 “Through the IDCM minor… I learned and developed a strengths-based
approach to solving conflict and developing intervention strategies, I
gained the skills to develop a project proposal (which I hope to use in the
near future), [and] I gained the confidence and competence to speak
and present in front of people (something I was deathly afraid of when I
started the minor).”
 Sharai Bryan, MIDCM ’15, Mary's Center for Maternal and Child Care, Inc.
(Washington, DC)

37. Testimonials
 “MIDCM's Capstone courses directly affected my success in securing a job
in international development post-grad. When my interviewers asked
about my experience with teamwork and large projects, I explained how I
actually had real-world experience with preparing a proposal with a team
to submit to a potential donor over a span of several weeks. After I was
hired, my employers told me how impressed they were with my
experience, and how my capstone course made me stand out from other
applicants..”
 Ashley Brown, MIDCM ‘15, Creative Associates (Washington, DC)

38. Testimonials
 “Working in the field… It has been especially interesting to apply all that I
learned in courses, specifically the International Development Capstone,
into real life. For example, we are working on building out a new health
education program for our women and I found myself looking through the
Need's Assessment assignment for reference!”
 Kaitlyn Zeno, MIDCM ‘15, Akola Project (Uganda)

39. Testimonials
 “As I'm sitting here writing a grant proposal for my internship, I was
reminded of you and the GVPT classes I took with you last Fall. I'm
currently in the midst of filling out goal hierarchies and log frames, all
things I would never have been able to do had I not taken your class and
so I wanted to send a very emphatic thank you for endowing me with such
useful skills and share my joy in getting to use them in the real world!”
 Carrie Hildebrandt, MIDCM ‘14, Israeli NGO (Jerusalem)

40. Testimonials
 “If it weren't for this capstone class I wouldn't have found out about the
internship and I probably wouldn't have a relevant writing sample either.
The interviewer was very curious about the capstone too so it gave me a
lot of material to talk about.”
 Kadeem Khan, MIDCM ‘15, World Bank (Washington, DC)

41. Inside Our Global Classroom
 Collaborative problem-solving:
 Use of “Discussion” Feature (all students at TAU), “Chat” Feature
 https://webmeeting.umd.edu/p2k5ue2nknb/  min 22:30-24:40
 TAU and UMD discuss
 Collaborative problem-solving… (Through the tech troubles):
 Professors in 2 locations, Students in 6 locations
 Several forms of communication, some simultaneous
 Use of “discussion” and “chat” features
 https://webmeeting.umd.edu/p3wdbxbbc35/  5:30-6:00; 8:00 Shanna speaks, drops out,
types (sound muted, back on at 10:27); 14:00, Elliot and Shanna jump in via chat; 17:00, Brian
talks, Stacy and Elliot “chat”)

42. See us in… Shared Instruction
 Explanation of workshopping
 Instruction, Discussion & Sharing PPT:
 https://webmeeting.umd.edu/p52wn5y1enf/  min 00:00
 Marina joins at 3:30; PPT at 3:40
 Use of: “Discussion” Feature, “Sharing” Feature,
“Chat” Feature (as students join)

43. See us in… Shared Learning
 Collaborative problem-solving:
 Use of “Discussion” Feature (all students at TAU), “Chat” Feature
 https://webmeeting.umd.edu/p2k5ue2nknb/  min 21:00-24:40
 Stacy & Brian offer content; TAU and UMD discuss
 Collaborative problem-solving… (Through the tech troubles):
 Professors in 2 locations, Students in 6 locations
 Several forms of communication, some simultaneous
 Use of “discussion” and “chat” features
 https://webmeeting.umd.edu/p3wdbxbbc35/  5:30-6:00; 8:00 Shanna speaks, drops out,
types (sound muted, back on at 10:27); 14:00, Elliot and Shanna jump in via chat; 17:00, Brian
talks, Stacy and Elliot “chat”)

44. See us in… Shared learning
 Final pitches:
 https://webmeeting.umd.edu/p32y6981agd/  23:30, start & ppt; 33:30-
36:00, Q&A

45. See us in… Shared… confusion
What happens when you have a 15 second delay...
 https://webmeeting.umd.edu/p7y22puuuyy/  Min 9:00