Best practices of teaching and engaging international students in online learning: An Australian perspective

Breakout Room E

Teaching international students can be challenging, either online or face-to-face. However, it can also be fruitful if one knows how to engage with international students in the learning and teaching environments, especially online. In Australia, traditional delivery of teaching was still going on for schools and higher educational institutions until the end of March 2020, but this changed within weeks to remote or online methods, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At La Trobe University in Australia, teaching was paused for a week to cope with the learning and teaching ‘shock’ – that is to re-orientate teaching from face-to-face to completely offering courses remotely to international and domestic students. The symbiotic relationship between learning and teaching, as well as between students and teachers, must go on via the online medium. Therefore, this presentation illustrates the journey of reflections of an award-winning, early-career, international, academic unpacking of the best online practices of teaching and engaging international students in online learning environments at La Trobe University.