Internationalization of a Faculty SoTL Program: Immersion Experiences of Beijing Professors in a Canadian Research-Intensive University

This essay describes an international exchange program at the University of British Columbia (UBC) for a cohort of faculty from the Bilingual Training Program (BTP) of the Beijing Teachers Training Center for Higher Education (BTTCHE). The Beijing professors’ cohort participated in an adapted version of UBC’s Faculty Certificate Program on Teaching and Learning (FCP), which provided them with an immersion experience designed to improve their English language skills and to enhance their understanding of key concepts pertaining to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) within and across disciplinary contexts. Critical reflections from both participants’ and instructors’ perspectives suggest that the program was successful in developing a strong community of learning and intentions for reforming individual teaching practices through engaging in scholarly approaches to and scholarship of teaching and learning. Based on various feedback data and reflection strategies, future iterations of this program will include better integration of language proficiency within the formal SoTL curriculum, as well as provide succession planning for continuing a blended SoTL community among the participants when returning to Beijing