Best Practices for
Pre-Departure Programming
Semester & Academic Year Abroad
Short-Term Abroad
Best Practices for Pre-Departure Programming
Jenny Kawata
[email protected]
Mandy Reinig
[email protected]
Allegheny College
Penn State Altoona
Jessica (Jay) Halchak
Tina Johnson
[email protected]
[email protected]
Indiana Univ. of Pennsylvania
Randolph College
Kathleen Ellwood
Jon Stauff
[email protected]
Cultural Experiences Abroad
[email protected]
The College of New Jersey
Session Disclaimer
• We are facilitators--not experts!
• This is a resource session
• Discussion and information sharing is encouraged
• Testing of techniques and materials is recommended
Semester & Year Abroad
Materials
Student Engagement / Student Reflection
Feedback Techniques
Best Practices
Materials
Semester & Year Abroad
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Invitations: Evite, paper invites, email, etc.
Forms
Host Program Information
Passport and Visa Guidance Sheet
Pre-Reflection Forms for Experiential Learning
Resource Websites and Handouts
Timetable:
Inquiry
Application
Country Guide
Accepted
Forms
Pre-Departure
Meeting(s)
Packet,
Handbook,
Visa, Passport
Arrival (On-Site)
Readings,
Travel stuff,
Last Minute Papers
Local Info
Maps, bag,
Course info
Student Engagement
Semester & Year Abroad
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Pre-Reflection Discussions
Returnee Student Match Ups with Newly Accepted Students
Blogging
Culture Shock Activities: Pinata - oh, Hello!
• Games: Jeopardy!, Family Feud, Communication
Challenge
• Content Sessions with (On Campus) Professionals:
o Safety, Security, & Life as an American Abroad
o Don't get Arrested, if you do--don't call me
o Hey, Man, what's the 3-1-1?
• Phone counseling one to one connections, answer specific
needs for each applicant
Pre-Departure Feedback Techniques
Semester & Year Abroad
Online Surveys
• Survey monkey
• Abroad101.com
• Re-entry Programming
• One-on-one
• Alumni ambassador programs
• Study Abroad Café
Short-Term Abroad
Materials
Student Engagement / Student Reflection
Feedback Techniques
Best Practices
Materials-Short-Term Abroad
• Ice Breaker Activity/Cultural Simulation
• Pre-departure handbook
o Covers University Policies and tips
• Reference Materials
o ATM/Cellphone guide, Map/Subway navigating skills
• Emergency Plan
o Given to Faculty
o Emergency Cards to students
• Country Specific Information
o Currency exchange rate and customary greetings
Note: Not all items will work at your institution. Much of a
successful Pre-departure session is about trial and error.
Principles of Personal Leadership
Mindfulness invites us to "wake-up" to our habitual behaviors, to
bring self-awareness forward as both instrument and teacher, and to
look at each situation with fresh eyes.
Creativity invites us to bring forth something new. Instead of acting
or speaking from habit, we discern the action or words appropriate
to each situation we’re in. Creativity also invites us to pay attention
to what feels personally generative and life-enhancing, what brings
forth joy and builds upon our unique capabilities.
Practices of Personal Leadership
Aligning with
Vision
Engaging
Ambiguity
Cultivating
Stillness
Attending to
Judgment
Attending to
Emotion
Attending to Physical
Sensation
Student Engagement
Short-Term Abroad
Personal Leadership: Critical Moment Dialogues
• Teach students principles/practices in pre-departure
setting
o Require two to four reflection worksheets during sojourn
abroad
• Examples from Randolph College Ecuador short-term
international study seminar
Create an environment where students want to learn the
information - ex. Randolph case study
Create opportunities for reflection
• Ex. Blogs, hands on exercises, cultural assignments,
cultural simulations
Pre-Departure Feedback Techniques
Short-Term Abroad
• Post Session Feedback
o Surveys - On-line or paper
o Focus Groups
• Post Trip Feedback on Pre-Departure
o Surveys - On-line
 Ex. homegrown surveys or Abroad101.com
o Re-entry Program
 Ex. Ice Cream/Pizza Party
 Debriefings
 Did pre-departure prepare them for trip?
 Ambassador programs
 at fairs, info. sessions, etc.
Best Practices
Short-Term Abroad
• Define your outcomes
o What do you hope to achieve
• Engage the students
o Allow them to be involved in learning
• Prepare them for what they will potential experience
o Make them aware of cultural shock
• Solicit feedback after pre-departure and after the trip
o On-line feedback tends to work best
• Use feedback
o Ex. Altoona
Pre-Departure Programming Example:
Radford: The Three-Hour Pre-Departure
Marathon
• Using a passport, students visit stations and collect stamps
o Health/Safety
o Academic Rigor
o Culture Shock
o Packing
o Student Conduct (incl. Alcohol/Drugs)
o Communication
• Lobby is set up as a port-of-entry, each station has
"passport control"
• Students receive a visa stamp upon completion for the
country where they are headed.
Radford: The Three-Hour PreDeparture Marathon
• International Education Center - 20-page handbook
• Faculty-Staff Committee - designs content of station
presentations and selects materials
o Student Affairs, Police Department, Faculty,
Administrators
• Returnee Students (Global Highlanders) - port-of-entry
officers and passport control officials, also co-presenting
materials with a faculty-staff member
• Game/prizes available to those successfully answering
questions based on station content
Radford Model - Pros and Cons
Pros • One-stop shopping
• Faculty-staff collaboration
• Active from a physical
standpoint
• Social benefits - students
meet everyone who will be
abroad
• Lots of materials
distributed
• IEC Branding
Cons • TMI - Too much
information at one time?
• Danger of superficial
treatment of important
content
• No guarantee faculty
leader will reinforce
message
• Overgeneralizations
Resources
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wilderdom.com/games/Icebreakers.html
http://www.unr.edu/oiss/toolbox/index.html
www.abroad101.com
www.pacific.edu/culture
www.plseminars.com
Thiagarajan, S. (2006). Barnga: A Simulation Game on
cultural clashes. Boston: Intercultural Press
• Hofstede, G.J., Pedersen, P., and Hofstede, G.
(2002). Exploring Culture: Exercises, Stories and Synthetic
Cultures. Boston: Intercultural Press
Small Group Activity
DIVIDE
DISCUSS
DISCOVER
DISCUSS
Best Practices: Materials
What works for you?
What have you tried?
DISCUSS
Best Practices: Student Engagement
What works for you?
What have you tried?
DISCUSS
Best Practices: Feedback Techniques
What works for you?
What have you tried?