Problem Statement
Wicked Problem
International students studying in foreign universities and grappling with stress face various learning-related challenges that significantly impact their academic experience. One prominent issue is the struggle with language barriers, as many international students find it challenging to fully understand lectures, academic materials, and instructions delivered in a language that is not their native tongue. This difficulty in comprehension hinders their ability to engage with course content effectively and complete assignments successfully. Additionally, they have to face too much homework, life trivia, and so on. They usually miss their family in this environment. The pressure to excel academically, coupled with the lack of social support networks and access to mental health resources, further exacerbates the learning problems faced by international students grappling with depression, hindering their academic performance and overall well-being.
Target Learners
International students studying in foreign universities between the age group (18-26) years who lack knowledge about stress and thus do not realize that they have stress and are severely impacted by this issue.
Hypothesis
Stress is a common health problem that affects many people's lives. According to some data on stress provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), 3.6% of the world's population suffers from depression. Our hypothesis is that international students have greater stress during their life and study process, which is caused by their language, culture, environment and other problems. Professor Mahihu, C found that the prevalence rates of depression and anxiety disorders were 36% and 52.63% respectively for international students. International students’ study time, study subjects, and level of preparation before coming to China were significant predictors of depression, while subject study and social interaction were significant predictors of anxiety (Mahihu, C. 2020).
Reference: Mahihu, C. (2020). Prevalence of Depression, Anxiety among International Students in the Health Professions at Southern Medical University, P. R. China. Open Journal of Social Sciences.
Learning Goals
Goal 1: Help 90% of international students who use this product will experience decreased levels of stress, loneliness. Here they can quickly discover their sources of stress and get timely and accurate ways to eliminate stress. In addition, they can find partners in the community who have the same problems and work together to overcome stress
Goal 2: Help 100% of users will be able to name 3 ways to relieve stress. When stressed international students come to our website, they can effectively find ways to solve their stress and get a lot of stress-relieving information.
Data Collection (Process)
Our data collection consists of online questionnaires and offline campus interviews. We will focus on asking international students the following questions:
Online Questionnaires
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Offline Campus Interviews
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Can you each share some of the challenges you've faced in your learning journey？
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Can you provide any specific examples or evidence of how these challenges have impacted your learning？
Major Finding (Analysis of Data)
Online Questionnaires
Q1 - 1. As an international student, what four types of stress do you have recently？
Based on our survey results, being overwhelmed, language issues, upcoming deadlines stress, and homesickness issues are the most obvious stress for recent international students.
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Q2 - 2. In the past weeks, how frequently have you experienced a lack of interest or enjoyment in engaging in activities？
Most people experienced a lack of interest or enjoyment in engaging in activities for several days, some people didn't have that feeling and a similar amount of people suffered the situation over half the days. A small percentage of respondents even have this problem almost every day.
Q3 - 3. Over the few weeks ago, how often do you felt down, depressed, and or hopefulness？
After we made a stress survey, we found most people sometimes feel depressed. The second most people feel down sometimes half the time and the minimum number of people who never have it or always have the situation.
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Q4 - 4. In the few weeks ago, how frequently have you encountered difficulties in either initiating or maintaining sleep, or experiencing excessive sleep？
Over 20 people encountered the difficulties for several days, and 10 people never met the situation. About the same number experience it over half the days and always.
Q5 - 5. In the past few weeks, how frequently have you experienced thoughts of death or thoughts about causing harm to yourself？
The majority of respondents indicated they never experienced these thoughts, as shown by the tallest red bar. A smaller, notable number of respondents sometimes had these thoughts, represented by the green bar. A similar number of people experienced half the time or always.
Q6 - 6. Which solutions can help related symptoms of stress？
Based on the outcomes, we found that most people agree with our solutions to address stress. For example, listening to music audio can hand out language issues, reading sources can reduce stress caused by upcoming deadlines, regularly exercising can feel better than being overwhelmed, and listening to music can reduce the homesick issues.
Q7 - 7. Which one is the main symptom of stress？
We found most participants had a general knowledge of stress.
Q8 - 8. Do you think mental stress belongs to neuropathy？
Actually, mental stress does not belong to neuropathy. This question is easier to choose wrong and most people choose a wrong answer.
Q9 - 9. Do you know the types of mental stress？
Q10 - 10. Which one belongs to 5 levels of mental stress？
Most people are unfamiliar #9 and #10, neurotic depression does not belong to stress.
SC0 - Score
Offline Campus Interviews
Interviewer: Thank you all for joining me today. Let's start by discussing your experiences as international students at UNC. Can you each share some of the challenges you've faced in your learning journey？
Student 1: Of course. One of the main challenges I've faced is the language barrier. English is not my native language, so understanding lectures and expressing myself in assignments has been quite challenging.
Student 2: I can relate to that. Cultural shock has also been a significant factor for me. Adjusting to the different academic norms and expectations has been a learning curve.
Student 3: Absolutely. Academic pressure has been another challenge. The workload and expectations here are much higher than what I was used to back home.
Student 4: In addition to academic challenges, the lack of support services has been frustrating. It's been difficult to find resources and assistance when I need it.
Student 5: Yes, and feeling isolated from my peers has been tough. I miss the sense of community I had back home, and it's affected my motivation and well-being.
Interviewer: Thank you for sharing your experiences. Can you provide any specific examples or evidence of how these challenges have impacted your learning?
Student 1: For me, the language barrier has made it difficult to fully engage in class discussions and understand complex concepts.
Student 2: Similarly, cultural differences have sometimes led to misunderstandings with classmates, affecting my confidence and participation.
Student 3: The academic pressure has definitely taken a toll on my mental health. I've experienced stress and anxiety trying to keep up with assignments and exams.
Student 4: Without adequate support services, I've struggled to find the help I need when I'm struggling with coursework or personal issues.
Student 5: And the feelings of isolation have made it hard to stay motivated and focused on my studies. It's been challenging to find a sense of belonging here.
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Summary of Findings
The evidence gathered from interviews with international students highlights several key factors contributing to their learning problems, including language barriers, being overwhelmed, academic pressure, lack of support services, and feelings of isolation.
