Workshop: Helping international students turn fear of failure into self-governance
International students are confronted with various challenges when moving abroad: increased stress, isolation, anxiety and difficulties, while adjusting to a very different environment. This 1-day training will explore how teaching and counselling staff can help students stabilise their self-esteem and cope with the emotions triggered by real or perceived failure. Themes such as culture and learning, acceptance of limitations, cognitive reframing and unconditional self-worth will be discussed. Participants will be provided with strategies and interventions to be used when encountering such cases.
About the workshop
International students go through different transition processes and sometimes experience ambiguity and being emotionally hijacked. The most basic emotional and physiological response to perceived difference is fear, especially fearing failure. While students function on both rational and emotional levels, emotions are at the heart of motivation and energy. The more they understand and increase the number of alternative interpretations and responses on difference, the more they will be open for learning.
This workshop offers teaching- and counselling staff the opportunity to help students develop insight into their feelings, understand the fear of difference and learn to increase the number of alternative interpretations and responses on uncertain and confusing situations. It will help them to increase awareness of ambiguity, alongside analyzing their feelings and attitude towards making choices. This will stabilize their self-esteem and cope with fears triggered by real or perceived failure. After exploring crucial themes such as culture and learning, acceptance of limitations, unconditional self-worth, and reframing failure into success, effective applications (based on the principle of Emotional Intelligence) will be explored. Participants will be provided with strategies and interventions to be used when encountering such cases. In addition, practical tips for creating an inclusive, learning environment will be introduced.
You will develop
- insight into adaptive and maladaptive means of coping with academic challenges
- culturally and emotionally sensitive teaching - and counselling skills; how to support international students overcome typical concerns about perceived underperformance
- Understand and manage emotional processes that allow students to increase comfort and effectiveness in their academic goals with self-governance
The workshop is experiential, active and informative and will discuss:
Before the workshop:
- questions about the topic and individual needs of participants that have been prepared by them before the workshop takes place
During the workshop:
- Presentation/explanation of the topic
- Individual exercises
- Sharing in pairs of two
- Collegial sparring and several other activities to use in own practice.
- (Depending on the cases of the participants)
- EI activities to cope with ambiguity
All activities will be debriefed and given space for discussion and opinions.
For whom
Lecturers, study-advisors and student counsellors.
Practical details:
Date: 14 February 2020
Time: 9:00-17:00h
Location: WUR campus, Impulse (building nr. 115) Room NcountR
Costs: free of charge for anyone working at 4TU
Trainer: Marijke van Oppen, Intercultural Trainer 4TU.CEE
Registration*: through the 4TU.CEE website
*We kindly ask you to make sure that you are going to be able to attend the workshop before registering.A minimum of 6 participants is required for the workshop to take place.