CC BY
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Taratukhina Yulia V., Associate Professor, Department of Innovation and Business in Information Technologies National Research University Higher School of Economics,
Moscow, Russia
CULTURALLY-SPECIFIC LEARNING STRATEGIES
Abstract
In modern society, tutors often interact with a multicultural student's audience in the traditional or online format. The majority of tutors emphasize the problem of constructive knowledge transfer in a multicultural learning environment as the main problems in this context, in addition to cognitive, communication and psycho-pedagogical specifics. The development of education that is receptive to cultures needs not only specialists in different subjects, but also teachers who have knowledge in the cross-cultural differences sphere. These days training courses and programs including distance learning are mono-cultural that is not fully meet the needs of students in information society. Thereby, the main question is how to build constructive education in the cross-cultural education context. We claim that nowadays there is a necessity of training the specialists with a developed cultural intellect. In this paper we develop some ways of optimizing the education process in a cross-cultural environment.
Keywords: cross-cultural environment, cultural-cognitive personality profile, educational cross-culture.
According to the E. Dale (Dale, 1969) and his followers' concept, education effectiveness is determined by the student's role in the education process. The most effective way of studying information is the student's active involvement in the education process: participation in discussions, presentations, simulation and implementation of practical activity. However, the least effective way of studying information is the lectures. Later, the "learning pyramid" (Fig. 1) was developed based on the E. Dale's cone of experience, which also shows that the most effective ways of learning are the practical experience and teaching other people. However, we argue that the concept of learning methods effectiveness is valid for the Western countries, where people in education process have impulsive cultural-cognitive personality profile parameters. In non-Western cultures, mostly East Asian, the opposite situation: the learning methods which E. Dale defined as the least effective are the most productive (so-called "the East Asian learner paradox"). Thus, in our opinion the parameters of the learning effectiveness depend on the culture and its cultural-cognitive personality profile. In this book the dichotomy of "active" and "passive" learning determined by the methods of learning which are used in the education process because the different types of learning can be effective in different cultural groups.
Average Retention Rates
(National Training Laboratories) Thereby, by using the concept of "active" and "passive" learning styles we define students in East Asian cultures as "reactive" learners and in Western ones as "proactive". Reactive students learn the information via the lectures and acquired knowledge demonstration therefore the main purpose of the passive learning is the transfer of fundamental information from teacher to student in the course framework. On the other hand, proactive students prefer to receive the information via discussions and practical experience because the purpose of active learning is the development of students' critical thinking and creativity for solving non-standard issues and tasks. Also, it is important to be note that learning style is stipulated by teacher in many ways, such as his professional and national culture, as well as the type of student's behavior.
Therefore, we can conclude that in conditions of passive learning reactive learners interact with the educational environment of the following type: educational environment influence student and form his identity and professional competences during the education process (Fig. 2). However, in conditions of active learning despite the fact that the educational environment still has an impact on the proactive student, they also adapt and modify it for themselves (Fig. 3,4).
Educational environment
Figure 2 A passive learning style Thus, the learning style is largely determined by student's national culture. However different
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learning styles needs different teaching styles: tutors need to use culturally-oriented teaching methods and techniques considering some special cultural constructs. That means that teacher should develop cultural intelligence to create an effective educational process and knowledge transfer in polycultural students' audience.
Summarizing all considered conceptions we can determine the specifics of the learning communication between a tutor and a student for different cultural groups.
In Western countries students are autonomous enough and emancipated from tutors and create a communication field around them: students and tutors can share expertise and knowledge. Not only can the tutor share necessary knowledge with students but also students themselves suggest new ideas to tutors. As can be seen from the above communication in Western cultures is based on the reciprocal exchange of the expertise: the tutor and the student learn from each other (Fig.5).
In East Asian countries the communication specifics is determined by the tutor. Students get necessary knowledge and strictly satisfy their objectives. The student's role is to obey and to correspond with the specified requirements. At a large extent strategically the communication is initiated by the tutor (Fig. 1.6).
The first case (Fig. 5) illustrates the specifics of the learning communication in USA and several Western European countries. The second one (Fig. 6) illustrates relations in East Asian learning cultures. It is clear that in both cases technologies of learning, put in other words -teaching methodologies, should differ from each other.
Each culture demonstrates its learning model with its own characteristics. However, in the information society the implementation of ICT into the learning process somehow modifies both the process of learning itself and communication models of its participants. Sometimes the implementation of ICT is hindered by any social and cultural barriers.
Educational environment
Educational environmei in flu en ce the proactive stui
Proactive student adapt educational environment for \ / himself
Figure 3. An active learning style
«Education through life» - the development of student's critical and creative thinking
Teacher develops and improves methods of learning and teaching materials
Figure 4. Communication specifics in educational environment in the USA and Western European countries
Figure 1.6. Communication specifics of the learning activity in East Asian countries
Figure 5. Communication specifics using ICT between the tutor and the student within the framework of IEE
The role of ICT in educational communication
Creation and widespread occurrence of ICT in the sphere of learning promoting the transition to the utilization of the interactive content as the source of information gives an opportunity to students to adapt faster to constantly changing environmental conditions. In globalization conditions of the learning process this practice is realized through the spread of knowledge and the utilization of scientific achievements in the international scale. This helps to different countries to be integrated into the world learning system and makes the process of learning open and mainly generally accessible.
One of tendencies transforming the system of learning all over the world is the transition to the mixed form of learning (blended learning) (N.M. Creport, 2015). In the last few years the blended learning has become actively used in many universities because of its flexibility and financial accessibility. Wide-spread occurrence of the blended learning is explained with the popularization of massive open online courses (MOOC) focused on individual needs of students as against the traditional form of learning: some students prefer to study material by reading online textbooks while other prefer to look through video-lectures and other media material. The mixed approach also assumes the availability of the continuous communication of students with tutors through web-applications.
When transiting to the blended learning universities implement technologies of the
personalized and adaptive training which gives them an opportunity to transform and to adapt their learning environment to the ever-increasing information volume and also to develop their innovative ecosystem for keeping up with other companies in the international market for learning services. Regardless of the fact that under the conditions of the globalization and massive informatization of the society all countries are actively incorporated of the world electronic learning system, every country chooses certain instruments of ICT which are most appropriate and optimally built-in the national model of learning. In cultures of value with an active type of learning adaptation to such changes proceeds faster than in cultures of practicality with the passive type of learning. It is based on the fact that cultures of value include Western countries. Their institutions of learning are aimed at the preparation of the individual for conditions of the responsible life in the modern knowledge society. Moreover, Western countries mainly have the high level of individualism. This fact is also fixed in learning models used by them. Many cultures of practicality (East Asian countries) actively develop electronic learning environments and are included into the world electronic system.
In information society the communication between the student and the tutor is implemented not only in the form of the direct dialog but also through instruments of ICT. This can be represented in the following way: «the tutor - ICT - the student» (Fig. 7). As can be seen from the above IEE is formed around the tutor and the student.
Notwithstanding the fact that the integration of ICT in the process of the learning communication is of global nature and is used almost in all universities of the world, participants of every cultural group choose different instruments which is due to the specifics of the communication learning process for every culture. As the case might be it has an influence on the selection of ICT resources in the communication activity of students with tutors.
Informatization of the learning environment besides the transformation of traditional learning models using ICT lead to the appearance of independent technologies for training using interactive resources - electronic learning technology (e-learning). Implementation of these technologies into the structure of the learning institution generates new-type: presence of the tutor becomes an unnecessary condition of the learning process because such technologies offer the learning using interactive resources for example MOOCs. It means that the communication of the type «the tutor - IEE» and «the student - IEE» (Fig. 7). As can be seen from the above e-learning technologies give an opportunity for the independent learning using interactive learning resources.
Figure 7. Communication specifics between the tutor and IEE and the student and IEE
Usage of ICT and the creation of IEE in the university give some opportunities to students and tutors which have become necessary in the information society. For tutors it is the opportunity to provide the student with training materials for the preparation to lessons. For example, LMS is the most preferred means of communication of the tutor with students rather than email. It is due to the fact that the tutor can once upload into the system all materials which students should use during the process of learning and open when necessary. As a consequence, students use LMS to get the necessary learning material. Moreover, students can use technologies of the mentoring and adaptive learning which makes the learning process more personalized and individual[2].
References
[1]Dale, E. Audiovisual methods in teaching. 3rd ed. (1969). New York: The Dryden Press.
[2]Yulia V. Taratuhina, Bleskina I. A. Basic aspects of teaching and learning in a cross-
culture environment / Рук.: Yulia V. Taratuhina. M. : Yanus-K, 2017.
