Module 6: Getting the Most Out of and Making Sense of International Experiential Learning for Global Citizenship Education
Module 6: Getting the Most Out of and Making Sense of International Experiential Learning for Global Citizenship Education
“We learn from experience, but not all experience is educational. Experiences do not lead to learning when we cannot extract anything new from them, when we fail to reflect on them, or when we cannot identify lessons learnt.”
Jarvic, 1994, quoted in Davies, 2008, quoted in Travers, 2014, p. 198 in “Getting the most out of studying abroad: Ways to maximize learning in short-term study trips”
Preparing to Get the Most Out of an International Experience
How do you get the most out of your experience abroad? Are all international experiences through study and volunteer abroad programs considered to be experiential learning? Can some study/volunteer abroad programs be just experiences if/when students fail to learn from their time abroad? What are these programs pedagogical objectives towards student’s learning? The readings in this module discuss the importance of pre-departure preparation, reflection and debriefing towards enhancing the student’s overall experience abroad and the quality of the student’s learning through their experiences abroad. Not all programs are created equally and some may provide more intensive preparation, reflection and debriefing, prior to, during and after the student’s time abroad. How can theoretical pedagogy on ethics, race and racism, colonialism and post-colonialism, or power and privilege, enhance a student’s ability to adapt and behave while abroad, as well as, learn through their experience? Can enhanced student preparation influence how students behave while abroad? Should preparation be primarily about the student, or should it also discuss the host community and how they can benefit or not be harmed through hosting international volunteers/students? The readings also discuss how students, who have participated in an international experience, understood their time aboard and the difficult situations they encountered. How student’s make meaning out of their time abroad, either positive or negative, will affect how and what they learn. Are students reinforcing prior stereotypes about the Global South and development following their time abroad? Or are students questioning these stereotypes and the current structure of international development? The final chapter by Tiessen and Huish (2014) provide many thought provoking questions about international experiential learning. The authors also provide recommendations towards a more ethical and mutually beneficial practice of international experiential learning.
While this module concludes your course, it content should also be related back to previous modules in terms of how you can get the most out of your experience abroad through consideration of the course themes of global citizenship, motivations, images and discourse, critical reflection, and ethics. As well as, how can you make sense of the practice of international experiential learning (whether you participate in it or not)? Does international experiential learning create global citizenship? Is it ethical? Does it create solidarity, social justice and advocacy within students who participate?
Module 6 Required Readings:
In Globetrotting or Global Citizenship? Perils and Potential of International Experiential Learning edited by Rebecca Tiessen and Robert Huish, 2014, University of Toronto Press.
Chapter 9 by Drolet - Getting prepared for international experiential learning: An ethical imperative.
Chapter 10 by Travers - Getting the most out of studying abroad: Ways to maximize learning in short-term study trips.
Chapter 13 by Roddick - Youth volunteer stories about international development: Challenges of public engagement campaigns.
Chapter 14 by Huish and Tiessen – Afterword: There should be nothing experimental about experiential learning: From globetrotting to global citizenship.
Additional readings: You can find the PDFs for these readings through the uOttawa library database.
Mangold, K. (2012). ‘Struggling to do the right thing’: Challenges during international volunteering. Third World Quarterly. 33(8). 1493-1509.
Suggested Readings: Dean, K., and Jendzurski, M. (2013). Using post-study-abroad experiences to enhance international study. Honors in Practice. 9 (Annual 2013). 99-111.
Dekaney, E. (2008). Students’ pre-departure expectations and post-sojourn observations in a short-term international program abroad on the culture, music, and art of Brazil. International Education. 37(2). 17-29.
Schwartz, K., Kreitzer, L., Lacroix, M., Barlow, C., McDonald, L., Lichtmannegger, S., Klassen, M., Orjasniemi, T., and Meunier, D. (2011). Preparing students for international exchanges: Canadian/EU experiences. European Journal of Social Work. 14(3). 421-434
Discussion Questions:
How can a pedagogy in relational ethics enhance a student’s learning? In Mangold’s article, do you think the students might have responded/thought about their situations and struggles differently had they had pre-departure training in relational ethics?
Do you think pre-departure training, reflection and debriefing can change a student’s perceptions of their time abroad as a “time-out”? Why or why not and how so?
The readings primarily focus on the students learning and ‘getting the most’ out of their international experiences, but what about the host community/organizations. How can they make the most out of hosting students? Should they receive pre-hosting sessions to better prepare them so that they can benefit as much as possible?