The Canadian Classroom Culture Every International Student Should Know

August 2021

Every year thousands of students come to Canada around the globe, many experience its Canadian culture for the first time not only in language but also in climate, social custom, weather and classroom culture. The classroom culture in Canada is different from the culture in student's home country. The teachers and other staff help and support students to adjust to this new environment. In some universities, only first-year lectures are held in the large lecture theatre wherein second and third-year lectures are held in the small classroom

Colleges in Canada

What is Classroom Culture?

Classroom culture is basically a fundamental rule about how students and staff should act in the classroom. It differs from class to class, teacher to teacher. It is also how students communicate with each other.

Communication with the professor: Many professors prefer students calling them by their first name. International students often hesitate to call their professor by their first name as students come from a culture where they might think it is disrespectful to call their professor by their first name but in Canada it is ok.

Class Engagement: most of the teachers encourage students to participate in the class discussion by asking the question, allowing them to ask questions. The main agenda for the class engagement is the student's active participation without fear of answering or questioning wrong. Student's active engagement shows the professor that they are thinking critically about the topic. In some universities, class engagement can be a part of a student's final grade. The professors are required to give all the students an equal opportunity to convey their insights and take part in class discussions.

Assessments: Some professors test their students few times throughout the term. Tests like the short test, incorporate papers, ventures, introductions, mid-term and end of the term test. While some professors only test their students during mid-term and final exams. Some faculties provide exam banks as test questions to help students prepare for their exams or some share their PowerPoint presentations. Many students take notes on their laptops or tablets while some others takedown in their notebooks. There is also some professor who provide before class notes to the students.

Group work: some courses require students to work in a group. Group projects like report writing, research paper, assignment or presentation. Group work is to test student's ability to communicate, share the workload, to compromise with the other group members. Students need to corporate with the other group members even after the class.

Academic integrity and plagiarism: students are expected to work in a group and give credit to the other's idea without plagiarizing and submit the original work. Academic integrity includes when researching on your own or concerning labs providing accurate result reports, honesty during exams, recognizing all sources of information.

Tips to help you

Read the complete course outline to understand the course expectation.
Go through your notes from the previous lectures
Go through the PowerPoint slides that are provided by the professor for your upcoming lectures
Complete all the assignments on time.
Be punctual.
Communicate properly with other students and the people working with you in group projects.
Divide the workload equally during a group project.

For further assistance or queries students can contact us, Edwise International, and avail for our wide range of services for students on destinations like Universities in USA, study in USA, study in UK, study in Ireland, study in Canada, study in Australia, study in New-Zealand, study in Singapore and many other countries.

Canadian University College