Exploring Teaching and Research Practices During Cross-Cultural Collaboration: A Self-Study of Two Facilitator’s Involvement in an International Faculty Development Program

Abstract

ABSTRACT This self-study focuses on two teacher educators’ (from the United States) exploration and examination – with the help of two critical friends (faculty from China) – of the benefits and challenges associated with cross-cultural collaboration. The teacher educators designed and implemented a virtual collaborative cross-cultural, fifteen-week faculty development experience for thirty-two faculty members from six private universities located in China. The virtual experience assisted the faculty participants in being better equipped to implement hybrid teaching and learning. Our overarching goal with this self-study was to better understand ourselves as teacher educators who provide faculty development and conduct research. We share our self-study findings that we categorized into three main areas: a) improving the understanding of one’s teaching practices b) navigating the tensions associated with delivering virtual professional development across different cultures, and c) realizations about collaborative research among higher education faculty from different cultures.