Making the Connection:

Praxis and Theory in Education Abroad

7th Annual Conference

Boston, Massachusetts

Pre-Conference Workshops
Wednesday, April 6, 2011

 

The Forum is pleased to offer one full-day workshop and six half-day workshops in Boston.  Conference participants may register for the pre-conference workshops when registering for the conference on-line. Please note that all workshops have limited capacities, so please register early! 

 

FULL-DAY WORKSHOP (8:30AM - 12PM; 1 - 4:30PM)

Interrogating the Educational Purpose of Education Abroad

Working from the perspective of the liberal arts, this workshop will ask participants to interrogate how we frame the educational purpose of education abroad by engaging the foundational questions of "why," "for what purpose," and "toward what social good." The goal of the workshop is to constructively critique our touchstone educational beliefs by situating them in larger educational and social discourses.

 

HALF-DAY WORKSHOPS

 

MORNING  8:30AM-12PM

Personal Explorations and Professional Applications with Weigl’s Theory of Cultural Self Study

 

A cultural self-study process, originally created for Semester at Sea by psychologist Bob Weigl, suggests that after self-study, isolated Americans are no longer able to dismiss the centrality of culture in their lives or the lives of others either. This workshop engages participants in that process, and explores its applications to their professional lives.

 

QUIP Peer Reviewer Training

This Forum workshop is a prerequisite for becoming a QUIP Peer Reviewer.  It will focus on the concept of quality improvement for education abroad, the implementation of the Forum’s Standards of Good Practice, and the role and responsibilities of the QUIP Peer Reviewer.  The workshop will detail the processes of the different types of QUIP Reviews, including how to analyze the Self-Study Report, conduct the Site Visit and write the Peer Review Report.  Participants will analyze sample self-study and Peer Review Reports in breakout groups, then present their analyses for group discussion.          

 

From Theory to Praxis: Achieving Success in Financial Models for Education Abroad

Education Abroad offices are becoming increasingly more adept at creative budget modeling. This workshop will discuss of some of the hot topics in budget models such as home school tuition, exchange program models, and currency purchasing and provide examples of successes and challenges of various models.

 

AFTERNOON 1-4:30PM

 

Crisis Management in International Programming

A highly interactive workshop covering crises management in international programs.  Participants will receive:

Additional workshop handouts can be found here.

 

The Uses of Global Perspective Inventory in Assessing Student Global Learning and Development

The validity and uses of the Global Perspective Inventory will be presented, based on data from over 30,000 students from 60 institutions.  Participants will use GPI results to learn of connections between student development– cognitive, intrapersonal, interpersonal dimensions—and environmental factors – curriculum, co-curriculum, and community. 

 

UPDATE (3/28/11): WORKSHOP FULL This workshop has reached capacity. Please e-mail the Forum if you would like to be placed on a waiting list.

Assessing Short-Term and/or Faculty Led Programs

The goals of this workshop are to assist participants in developing short-term programs in accordance with the Standards of Good Practice for Short-Term Education Abroad Programs, and to train participants to assess and improve short-term programs they either operate or send students on by using the Standards of Good Practice as an assessment tool.  The workshop includes a series of interactive exercises based on a case study. Participants will explore the importance of managing stakeholder expectations, learn how to manage institutional resources in program design and development, and understand how the Standards of Good Practice support short-term program management and goals.

Some of the questions that will be addressed in the workshop include: How does the institution/organization ensure the quality of its short-term education abroad programs?  How does the organization/institution make certain that there are adequate on-site support services?  How are program leaders selected and trained?  How does the program support the overall mission and goals of the institution/organization?  Are student learning goals realistic given the relatively short duration of the program?  How are on-site resources used to promote student learning?