Formulation of the main idea for the project, developing the four elements for the Product Square and connecting with prospective partners
UGA Russian Flagship Program regularly employs Fulbright students from Russian-speaking countries who have to join the Flagship team as language tutors and have to navigate an academic system completely new to them being professionally active from day one. This project aims to aid the adaptation of Russian-speaking graduate (and undergraduate) students by creating a website page in Russian that contains comprehensive logistic information for new Russian-speaking tutors and can also be used by new Russian-speaking exchange students and instructors who plan connect their professional life with UGA. The UGA Russian Flagship faculty, the program’s coordinator, and the Fulbright students who are currently employed as tutors were slected to serve as project’s partners. UGA students also partnered with students from Russia who collaborated on this project.
This project was implemented into an advanced Russian course on contemporary Russian society and culture which was created for learners at the intermediate-high or low (mid) -advanced levels.
Many details of this project were developed during the Tech Center PBLL Summer Institute, August 4-11, 2021, at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu, HI under insightful supervision of its leaders.
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Guest Speaker
A former UGA Russian Flagship tutor was invited to speak in class about her experiences during the first months of her instructional work at UGA and comment on any difficulties, hardships, or confusions that happened during this time. This presentation was followed by a discussion where students asked the guest speaker questions further specifying reasons for harndships that had been mentioned and also identifying the ways in which the problems were solved.
During the same meeting, students discussed among themselves sutiations that created problems for them as freshmen.
Students filled out a Google table #1 with the information that they heard from the guest speaker and added additional information from their personal experiences and those of their peers.
Sample of Table#1
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Initial analysis of the collected data and tagging
Students were randomly divided in to two groups. Each group analysed the data in Table #1 and suggested tags for the recorded situations.
Table #1 with tags suggested by students
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Discussion of the suggested tag sets and creation of the final variant of tags.
During the next meeting, students discussed the tags that were suggested by the two groups and finalized the variants that the majority had agreed on.
Table #1 with the finalized tagging set
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Students partner with their peers from Russia and interview them
UGA Russian Flagship program has an ongoing partnership with several educational institutions in Russia. Students from the Pacific National University in Khabarovsk, Russia who studied English and specialized in intercultural communications were selected as collaborators for this project.
UGA students worked individually with their partners from Russia and asked them about potential problems that they would anticipate in a case if they became a student at UGA. In addition, UGA students asked their Russian collaborators about possible way to solve these hardships and underlying reasonings behind the proposed solutions. All the findings were recorded in Google Table #2.
Table #2
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All students discuss the result of the collaborative work.
UGA students dicussed the results of the interviews that they had conducted with their Russian partners, commented on gaps and issues that they had experienced during this task.
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Tagging of the results received from the collaboration
Students return to working in two groups. Each group analyses the data in Table #2 and suggests tags for the recorded situations.
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Comparison of the gathered data and adjustment of the tagging set
Both groups met and compared the results of Table #1 and Table #2 and agreed on the final variant of the tagging set.
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Each group conducts an interview with a Russian tutor (suggested by the instructor).
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Each of the two groups conducts an interview with a Russian tutor (suggested by the instructor) in two stages: |
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Discussion of the created video interviews and data in Table #3
Both groups met together and discussed their experiences during conducting their interveiws. Students reviewed the data gathered in Table #3.
Sample of Table #3
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Tagging of hardships in Table #3 and creation of Table #4
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Each of the two groups created tags for situations in Table #3. Each group searched for various available resources (UGA centers, Athens programs, web sites, brochures, etc.) that could be useful for solving the recorded hardships and created a data bank in a Google Table #4. |
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Discussion of materials gathered in Table #4.
Both groups met and discussed results of thier tagging of hardships in Table #3. Students brainstormed adding additional resources to the data bank collected in Table #4
Sample of Table #4
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Each group creates a video and an accompanying note
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Each of the two groups selected a problem that was frequently mentioned in Tables #1-3 and created a short note with the information that would help to solve the selected problem. Students are encouraged to include in their notes links to resources recorded in Table #4. The pilot notes were uploaded to the project’s folder. |
Each of the two groups created a 3-5-minute video that accompanied the note. The pilot videos contained visuals and commentaries that targeted the selected problem. The videos were uploaded to the project’s folder.
Students were given a link to a survey that let them provide commentaries and suggestions for the pilot notes and videos of their peers anonymously. Several tutors were given this link as well.
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Students discussed the uploaded pilot videos and notes and reflected on the feedback that they have received from their UGA and Russian peers and tutors.
Students discussed the uploaded pilot videos and notes and reflected on the feedback that they have received from their UGA and Russian peers and tutors.
Sample of the feedback survey
Samples of the collected responces in the survey
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Students work on the final product.
All students were divided into pairs: they were asked to find a partner in the group, those that were left without a collaborator were joined together in to new pairs.
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- Each pair selected 2 problems from Tables #1-3 that they would like to work on. - Each member of a pair conducted and recorded a video interview of his/her Russian partner with regards to the selected problems. - Each pair collaborated on conducting and recording a video interview with a tutor with regards to the selected problems - Videos of these interviews were uploaded to the Google folder of the project. - Each pair created a table similar to Table #3 and uploaded it to the project’s folder. - Each pair reflected on the received results. - Each student in a pair created 1 supporting note and 1 video that addressed the selected hardship and helped to find solutions for it. - All notes and videos were uploaded to the project’s folder. |
Tutors and students were given access to the final products and a link to a survey that allowed them to submit comments and suggestions for each product anonymously.
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Students present and defend their final products.
During the course of three final weeks of the semester, each student had a chance to present and defend hisher final product. Students were encouraged to address the feedback that they have received from their UGA and Russian peers and from their tutors.
Sample of a note (highlighted words contain links to the useful sources)
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Creation of the webpage for the final product.
The revised final videos and notes are posted at https://www.russianflagship.com/tutors.
In following years, this project will be updated by new groups of students working on this project. Feedback from previous users will be taken into account.
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