Supporting international student wellbeing post-pandemic
Following the COVID-19 pandemic border closures, with international students returning to Aotearoa, the Ministry of Education wanted to reconnect and build connections between international students and local communities. They also wanted to build back capability within providers to support international student wellbeing.
Resources to build back staff capability
In collaboration with our partners Lift Education and ISANA NZ, we developed six interactive online micro-learning modules for international education providers using Articulate Rise. The modules include activities and creative assets such as video interviews, illustrations, icons and audio clips.
The training modules are hosted on ISANA NZ’s website, with a new learning management system (LMS) that we developed in partnership with Catalyst IT. Since the conclusion of this project, we have continued to help ISANA NZ build further training modules in their LMS to support international education staff.
Resources to support international students
To support international tertiary students, we developed a podcast series featuring a diverse panel of international students from across Aotearoa. The students discuss how they navigate life in New Zealand, how they’ve managed challenges such as loneliness and racism, and how they look after their mental health and wellbeing. Accompanying downloadable worksheets offer more tips and tricks for students.
For secondary students, we created five documentary videos, each of which follows an international student in their day-to-day lives in Aotearoa. The videos elevate the students’ voices and real stories, as well as giving other students concrete ways to support their wellbeing.
For primary and intermediate students, we designed a ‘treasure hunt’ activity sheet that helps them get to know their local community. Learners can tick off each activity as they weave their way through the worksheet, and through their own community.
Micro-learning is an increasingly popular form of work-based learning, because it is delivered in more manageable chunks and enables learners to absorb and retain more information. To our knowledge, this is the first instance of micro-learning designed for international education practitioners in Aotearoa. It establishes a crucial foundation for developing credentials tailored to this sector.
