The goal of the Project is to increase the competence of 18 academics teaching through English in the medical and healthcare sciences to use the scholarship of teaching and learning in their course development and delivery and to teach other academic teachers to do so during the course of the Project, specifically using the CLIL method. There is a need to equip academics teaching medical and healthcare sciences in English with skills allowing them to work effectively in today's multicultural and multilingual classrooms today. The Consortium Partner medical schools and faculties performed a survey on their academic teachers, which provided a needs analysis for the Project. In the Project, those who have experience teaching the CLIL method to academic teachers (Atlantic Language) will collaborate with those who actually use the method to teach medical and healthcare sciences (Karolinska Institutet) and will work closely on this new approach with those Project Partners who are experienced in teaching medicine to international students (medical university Partners) but might not have implemented teaching and learning internationalisation. The processes of “Internationalisation at Home” will be a skeleton for the discussion, coordinated by experts in higher education internationalisation (Luminar Foundation). During the course of the Project, experts from Project Partners meet during seminars (so called, Learning, Teaching and Training events) and using various ICTs to develop the methodology behind the Pilot Course on “Teaching teachers to use CLIL in medical and healthcare sciences at tertiary institutions”, along with related Intellectual Outputs. Once this week-long Pilot Course is designed, it will be tested on a group of 18 teachers who want to learn the new method and teach others at their HEIs. The Pilot Course Participants will be recruited from Project Partner medical universities. Afterwards, the Pilot Course Participants, matched in pairs, will deliver demonstration lessons (half a day) based on the methodology learned during the Pilot Course to a wider community outside of the Project (not at institutions participating in the Project) during 11 Multiplier Events. They will gather insights from the demonstrations and will collaborate with their Project Team on developing the guidebook. The results of the Project will be presented at a final conference and e-published. The Intellectual Outputs include: a Seminar Module on “Mapping Internationalisation of the Curriculum”; a Seminar Module on “Contemporary Teaching Methodologies in an Intercultural Classroom”; A Definition of Competencies of Academics Teaching in an Intercultural Classroom Definition; An Assessment Tool of Competencies of an Academic Teacher in an Intercultural Classroom; A Methodology Framework for Improving Competencies in CLIL Teaching; Course Materials for “Teaching teachers to use CLIL in medical and healthcare sciences at tertiary institutions” and a seminar module on the topic (a Pilot Course); A guidebook on “How to adapt a course material onto CLIL methodology” in a form of an interactive resource; An analysis on the use of content and language integrated learning methods in HE in Project Countries; and policy recommendation on the use of modern methods of teaching in the context of internationalisation of higher education with medical universities and the CLIL method as a case study. There will be three kinds of Multiplier Events: 1) 9 seminars to share the methodology with academic teachers in medical and healthcare sciences who have not been involved with the Project and have not participated in the Pilot Course; 2) 1 seminar fo share the CLIL methodology and its impact on international higher education with the higher education stakeholders at the EU level, and 3) conference. A strategic partnership built in the process of course preparation and delivery could potentially contribute to the a deeper understanding of internationalisation at home and of the curriculum at the medical universities taking part in the project and provide a sounds basis for a further project on teaching and learning in an intercultural (medical) classroom.
Our chief objective was to strengthen medical higher education institutions in preparing students to become qualified healthcare professionals. We wanted to focus on increasing the capacity of academic teachers teaching in English in medical and healthcare sciences to encourage them to concurrently teach their subject and increase the English language competencies of students through a CLIL approach. Specifically, we wanted to give medical educators methodology to teach more effectively in an intercultural space and with a greater understanding of internationalisation practices. We wanted to ensure expanded use of that methodology among academics and to guide the teachers through the practicalities of implementing CLIL. Finally, we hoped to contribute to the knowledge on student-centred, inclusive, internationalisation-related teaching methods in tertiary education. In effect, we aimed to promote CLIL among academics as a targeted approach in teaching, useful in multilingual and multicultural learning spaces, enhancing teachers’ performance and increasing learning outcomes; highlight continuous professional development of academic educators; and highlight the importance of language and culture in teaching and learning.
Classrooms in higher education, including medical, are becoming increasingly multilingual and multicultural. As partners in the consortium, we knew from our own teaching that academic teachers experience difficulty in reaching intended learning outcomes of their students. After performing a needs analysis, we applied for a project that addressed pedagogical needs of academic staff teaching medical and healthcare sciences in English. These needs included understanding internationalisation as affecting teaching and learning, updating pedagogical skills, and grasping the role of language and culture in teaching contexts. To equip academics with knowledge, skills and attitudes allowing them to work effectively in the contemporary classroom, we employed Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), which is an educational approach facilitating and enhancing the learning process through closer integration of the language used for instruction and taught content. CLIL, as a comprehensive approach, continues to be rarely used in higher education. Through this project we aimed to equip academics with new tools contributing to the development of their methodology toolbox, benefiting academic teachers themselves, medical students and HEIs.