The document discusses overseas or "cross-border" education where students earn degrees from a home institution while studying abroad. It focuses on "flying faculty" who teach short intensive sessions abroad and face challenges from logistics, workload, and lack of support, but can benefit from fresh ideas and expanded world views. The conclusion calls for more support for flying faculty through mentoring, professional development conversations, and small research projects.

1. Dr Karen Smith
K.L.Smith@greenwich.ac.uk
University of Greenwich
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2.  “Any activity in which students are in a
different country (the host country) to that in
which the institution providing the education
is based (the home country)” (GATE in McBurnie & Pollock, 2001).
 Also known as:
◦ Collaborative international provision
◦ Franchised provision
◦ Cross-border education ‘More international
◦ Off-shore education students are now
working towards UK
degrees overseas than
at home’ OBHE 2011
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3.  Flying faculty ‘typically combines intensive sessions
of block teaching from offshore academics, who
fly-in from the “home” country and are supported
by local tutor seminars and offshore tutors through
the virtual learning environment’ (Smith 2009, 112).
 Grown over last twenty years (Stella 2006)
 As has research in this area:
◦ Quality assurance
◦ Adaptations
◦ Institutional preparation and support
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4.  Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) – top-up
degree in Hong Kong in 2006
 KS module leader (dissertation)
 SHU top-up degree – 3 Profs; 2 PLs; 1 SL & 1L.
 50+ students – most social work background
 Little staff development
Image from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hong_Kong_Skyline_Restitch_-_Dec_2007.jpg
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5. 5

6. What brings you here?
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7. 7

8.  Uses the Biographical Narrative Interpretive
Method [BNIM] (Wengraf, 2001)
 Captures lived situations and experiences
through narrative interviewing
 ‘Typical case’ sampling,
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9.  Logistics (heat, tiredness, accommodation)
 Teaching patterns (intensive delivery,
workload at home)
 Gender differences and racism
 Assessment and equity
 Relationships with local tutors
 University infrastructural support
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10.  Fresh ideas for teaching in the UK
 Better understanding on the whole
programme
 Career progression
 New research areas
 Opportunities for collaboration and
consultancy
 Expanded world views
 Empathy
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12.  Did you get any particular support from the
institution?
◦ Not a thing (interview 1)
◦ Hmm, no, not really at that time (interview 2)
◦ Hmm, not really, not that I can remember (interview 3)
◦ No (interview 4)
◦ No, no (interview 5)
 What did they say they wanted?
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13.  Which inoculations
 Where to eat
 What to see
 Some key phrases
 Tiredness / workload
 A bit like Maslow?
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14.  Obvious challenges
 Real opportunities
◦ Transformational learning?
 Due to the ‘culture shock’ or ‘disorientating
dilemma’
 Do we need pre-departure support at all?
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15.  New staff paired with a more experienced mentor,
share experience of routine events (e.g. Gribble &
Ziguras, 2003).
 More use could be made of structured
conversations between educational developers and
transnational teachers (Haigh, 2005; Crabtree &
Sapp, 2004).
 Project funds could be set aside to support small-
scale research projects (Zuber-Skerritt, 1997).
 What else could be done?
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16.  Smith, K. 2014. Exploring flying faculty teaching
experiences: motivations, challenges and
opportunities, Studies in Higher Education,
available online at:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/030750
 Smith, K. 2013. Overseas flying faculty teaching as
a trigger for transformative professional
development, International Journal for Academic
Development, available online at:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/136014
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