Cross-National Online Discussions: International Learning Experiences with American and Chinese Students in Higher Education.

Universities are seeking techniques that encourage students to become more globalised in their perspectives. One method of fostering globalisation is to incorporate cross-national asynchronous online discussions with students from different countries within courses. The purpose of this study was to explore if participation by American and Chinese graduate students in cross-national online discussions facilitated construction of new knowledge regarding western and eastern cultures and provided effective international learning experiences. Data sources include students’ transcripts and responses to open-ended survey questions on their perceptions regarding the online discussions. Results indicate that cross-national online discussions facilitated new knowledge regarding very different cultures. Further, this research offers a model that provides authentic international learning experiences where students explore meaningful concepts and relationships to address relevant problems in education.