International Field Study Experience

Offers a faculty-led experiential learning opportunity for graduate students to further investigate their research topic in the designated country or region. Through exploring local resources, discussions and lectures with hosting institution faculty, meetings with experts in their field of research, and collaboration with other graduate students, students have an opportunity to enhance their global perspective. Students meet as a team with a specified organization or company and are expected to present their research findings to the ‘client’ and to each other.

CURRICULUM TOOLBOX HOME ​

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PROGRAM  FEATURES

Education Abroad Program Name	International Field Study Experience
Level	Graduate
Number of Credits for Course	4 credits
Number of Credits for Education Abroad Program	4 credits
Does this course carry major/minor credit? Elective credit?	It is an elective and can be applied to the requirement for an internationally-focused course as part of the degree.
Typical Enrollment	15-20
Language of Instruction	English
Duration	Short-term: 7-8 weeks
Time Spent On-Site	Short-term: 2 weeks or less
Last Taught	Summer 2013
How many times has this course been taught?	2
Curriculum Strong Points/Innovations	This is an 8 week course. Seven weeks are online and one week is abroad. Students focus on specific issues that are germane to the country but also are relevant to their professional career aspirations.

Faculty Leader bio 

Leslie Hitch
Affiliation: Northeastern University
Leslie Hitch, MBA, Ed.D. Northeastern University, Associate Teaching Professor, specializes in higher education, adult and organizational learning and global studies teaching both masters and doctoral students on-line and in Northeastern transnational programs in Australia and Vietnam.
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Previously she served Northeastern as Director of Academic Technology). Prior experience includes: Vice President, Harcourt, Inc.; executive education, Babson College; masters program director, Simmons College. She consults on online pedagogy and transnational higher education. She holds a B.A. and MBA from Simmons, and an Ed.D., Higher Education Administration, U-Massachusetts, Boston.

​Program Details

Offers a faculty-led experiential learning opportunity for graduate students to further investigate their research topic in the designated country or region. Through exploring local resources, discussions and lectures with hosting institution faculty, meetings with experts in their field of research, and collaboration with other graduate students, students have an opportunity to enhance their global perspective. Students meet as a team with a specified organization or company and are expected to present their research findings to the ‘client’ and to each other.

What inspired you to create this course?
To offer a short-term abroad experience to working adults who often have limited time or money to take a longer program but who know that international exposure is critical to their career now and in the future.


What are the goals for this course?
The field experience to compare, contrast and delve more deeply into issues within the country attended (i.e. health, gender, social media, economic development) and their own country and work experience.


How does the course taught abroad contribute to the curricular goals of the home department?
The university has stated goals for internationalization of the study body, of the curriculum and to offer as many different possibilities for the students to understand their role as global citizens.


What challenges have you encountered in designing a course with an embedded study abroad component?
The cost was our primary challenge. Many of our students are receiving financial aid or have, themselves, limited funds.


How has the course developed over time, and why? If this course is new, do you anticipate any adjustments based on the pilot experience?
For Academic Year 2012-13 and going forward, the course was given a new name and new designation — Interdisciplinary.  The new name is: International Field Study Experience (former name: Critical Scholarly Investigation (CSI): On Location).  The rationale for the change was multi-fold:  The interdisciplinary designation makes the course more available as an elective to several graduate programs; the focus of the course is less obscure; and most importantly, it sets into motion a category for additional interdisciplinary courses.

The location, Florence, and the essence of the course remain the same as in its launch year, July 2012.  The course enters its 4th year in 2016 and is now housed in a villa outside of Florence.


Do you believe that it is feasible to incorporate cultural learning into content courses abroad? If so, then how?
Yes. The simple exposure to another country was integral to the students’ cultural learning. We included cultural readings before going overseas and then afterwards asked for reflections.


Did you consult any resources on education abroad that were particularly helpful in designing this course? If so, please describe.
Yes. We worked with our undergraduate international office and with educators on ground on location as well as with industry, NGO and multinational corporation representatives.


Please describe your education abroad teaching style and philosophy.
The objective was to give the students a wide berth of what they could study. The emphasis was on the field work so that they could meet, so to speak, the locals. The concept was to give them time to see the tourist sites but it was our work to show them as much of the day to day as possible. This was our philosophy. The major philosophy was to bring the students into direct contact with what they were not familiar.


Does your approach to teaching change when you are teaching abroad? If so, how?
No. Our teaching is fluid with the intent to make the experience enriching, academic, but also fun.


What techniques or innovations do you apply when teaching overseas?
The essence of the major assessment changed from requiring a significant research paper to development of an in-depth presentation to where in the third year of the program the students actually consult with an organization located in the Tuscany region.


Have you noticed any differences about the level of material retention in courses with an embedded study abroad component vs. courses taught solely on the home campus?
Several of the students received jobs because of their experience including one student who was hired by the US Department of State.


How do you contextualize and debrief experiential learning?
The reflections from the students were critical to the contextualization as well as our debrief. We also, quite frankly, watched students undergo the exciting ‘transformational educational experience’ while on location.


How do you assess student learning in this course? Are there any assessment methods that are particular to study abroad?
We gave the students a pre- and post- test for cultural sensitivity. It was a small sample but the results did yield changes in attitude.


If you feel that you have valuable information to contribute to this project that is not addressed in the body of this survey, please elaborate here.
Yes. Our students are all working professionals many of whom never had the opportunity to study abroad as undergraduates. This is a demographic that is often lost in conceptualizing and delivering study abroad experiences. We would be delighted to assist in researching this demographic further.