UTAR lecturer wins first prize in international teaching contest

UTAR lecturer Dr Sharon Jacqueline Albert Wilson from the Faculty of Creative Industries won the first place in the International Communication Division (ICD) Teaching Contest 2020. Initiated in the year 2016, the ICD teaching contest aimed to promote teaching excellence and recognise innovative and effective approaches to teaching international communication.

Dr Sharon was the first winner in Malaysia and also the first winner from outside North America to win the award. Besides featuring her winning submission on the ICD website and social media, she will also be recognised at this year’s ICD Business Meeting during the 2020 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference in San Franscisco.

The title of her winning entry was “Cross cultural teaching and learning on virtual platforms: A case study for continuous collaborative learning”. It was a collaborative, cross-cultural course held for students enrolled in UTAR and University of Delaware United States (UDEL). The course, conducted via videoconference, was facilitated by Dr Sharon and Prof Dr Patricia Sloane-White respectively.

The course was structured to engage the two groups of students in a shared cultural exploration concerning contemporary culture and social values. The course provided an opportunity for the students to examine the nature and meanings of each culture’s consumer and popular culture; discuss everyday issues affecting their community and lives and share ideas and trends about global cultural influences and the role and persistence and transformation of culture, beliefs, ethics, tradition, and identity in both settings.

Dr Sharon said, “I joined the contest, not thinking that I would win, let alone win the first place. I just wanted to share my project idea with everyone because this was something extremely meaningful and exciting for the students and also for Patricia and me as academics.”

“Students taught each other about their lives, values and experiences. They also explored and exchanged cultures as they grew up in two very different lifestyles and landscapes. Even though the semester has ended and many of the students have graduated, they are still connected by Whatsapp and continue to have meaningful conversations about the world that they live in and the effect of events on them. This goes beyond traditional classroom education to continuous engagement, interaction, and holistic learning,” she added.

The first place was won by Dr Sharon, followed by Dr Rachel Mourão from the Michigan State University, USA in the second place and Lamia Zia (PhD student) from Texas Tech University in the third place. Each submission was evaluated by three reviewers based on the following criteria: Innovation; contribution to international communication; connection with learning objectives; impact and learning outcomes. The winners were calculated based on the final scores of the review outcome.