The Course on Pedagogy of Higher Education for Postgraduate International Students: Design and Teaching Features

Scientific interest in the problem considered in the article is due to the nation al policy aimed at improving the competitiveness of Russian higher education and, as a consequence, increasing the share of international postgraduate students, including those studying at Russian universities in English. The purpose of the study was to analyze and summarize the experience of designing and implementing the Course on Pedagogy of Higher Education for international postgraduate students, identifying its didactic features and considering the students’ educational request regarding this course. The authors analyzed scientific literature, summarized relevant pedagogical experience, and conducted a survey. The anonymous survey involved 124 course participants, including international postgraduate students from countries in Asia, Africa, South America and Europe, studying at the RUDN University in English-language educational programs in Philology, Economics, Law, Construction and Architecture, Ecology, Pedagogy, etc. It has been shown that the design and implementation features of the Course on Pedagogy of Higher Education are determined by both the specifics of the target audience (international postgraduate students with different socio-cultural and academic backgrounds) and the teaching conditions (using the English Medium Instruction (EMI) programs in the Russian-language educational environment). The results of the study suggest that the main factors determining the relevance and effectiveness of the course include the dynamism and interactivity of the learning process, practice-oriented and variable assignments, and the use of the potential of a multicultural environment. The e-learning Course on Pedagogy of Higher Education complements in-class teaching and provides flexibility of the learning process and its adaptation to the individual needs of postgraduate students. The current problems of mastering the course include the timely updating of didactic teaching aids in English, the arrangement of the postgraduates’ efficient independent work in the conditions of a limited number of hours, the choice of effective control/assessment procedures taking into account both the course participants’ socio-cultural and academic backgrounds and the specifics of the digital educational environment. The obtained results are of pedagogical interest and can serve as a basis for the development and improvement of curricula for relevant courses, teaching aids and materials within the framework of postgraduate education programs in English.