1. When half the class is French: Curricular opportunities & challenges Dr. Angela Gordon Dr. John F. Dion Huether School of Business The College of Saint Rose

2. Overview: Paris School of Business Stand-alone, private business school – Only offers business classes – Bachelor’s, Master’s, Doctorate Students must study abroad one year – Courses determined by school Partnership with Saint Rose began ‘14/15

3. Saint Rose Experience: 2014-15 23 students – Juniors Five business courses each semester Double sections of each section – Each section half American/half French

4. Our Experiences Three overall categories: Internationalization of material Cross-cultural management skills Learning the American approach

5. Internationalization of Material French presence very strong in class – Defacto international class Adapted curriculum to embrace this Advertising class previous semesters: – Analyze American ads Advertising class with French – Analyze America AND French ads Encouraged French student participation Added discussion on cultural influence on communication – Based on student feedback Added British, Danish, Australian, Thai, etc. ads

6. Cross-cultural Management Skills Team-based projects throughout semester Students learned different approaches to problem-solving – Initially challenging – Benefits both groups of students – Creates sensitivity in future when working with those from other culture Less likely to assume approach the same More respect for different approaches

7. Learning the American Approach French students learned more than course content Gained understanding of & appreciation for American approach to education France: Emphasis on memorization US: Emphasis on critical thinking

8. American Approach "We have a completely different style of study in France; as you could see with my first test, where you didn't hear enough "my voice.” We are used to give definitions from books and the internet to answer question, while here we must express our opinions and feelings, it's more interesting to be judged according to what we think and feel instead of being graded on our ability to paraphrase things.“ - French student

9. Summary