Global Partners Programs

Global Partners Symposia

In June 2004, international educators and faculty from across the Global Partners Project gathered at Birmingham-Southern College to engage in discussions of the complex questions surrounding the preparation and reorientation of students who have studied abroad. A great deal of information and a number of models were shared and discussed. The Pre-Departure and Reorientation Programs for Study Abroad: A Best Practices Symposium resulted in the development of several new pre-departure courses and the reshaping of programs.

In preparing a report of the Symposium, reorientation was recognized as an area that deserved further consideration. Therefore in June 2005, Birmingham-Southern College hosted a second Global Partners symposium entitled Defining Reorientation for the Study Abroad Student and the Institution. This Symposium offered the opportunity for a faculty/staff team from each Global Partners institution to explore a myriad of topics: the definition of reorientation or re-entry, effective on-line courses, simulations, and other experiential techniques that allow students to develop their own learning in meaningful and diverse ways both before and after study abroad.

Please scroll down to read more about the above Symposia, and refer to the bottom of this page to view the Symposium Resource List for Study Abroad and Intercultural Communication.

Best Practices Symposium on Pre-departure and Re-orientation Programs

Proposal exerpt, 2004

Program Description:
We suggest that study abroad is the prototype for a new perspective in education, a new approach to learning that is holistic, synergistic, and multifaceted… (Mestenhauser 1985, 133).

Pre-departure and re-orientation of study abroad students allows the greatest opportunity for institutions to play a significant role in providing an exceptional international experience. The Office of International Programs at Birmingham-Southern College recognizes a need for orientation programs particularly focused on the preparation of students for pre-departure, orientation to the host country, and expectations upon return. The idea or concept of pre-departure and re-entry as a complete cycle is relatively undiscovered. The discussion, development, and implementation of original design concepts are pertinent to international educators, faculty, and staff and specific to institutions.

The symposium proposed by Birmingham-Southern College will focus on Best Practices in Pre-departure and Re-orientation Programs that intensify the level of cross-cultural awareness among our students prior to or following their international study experiences. It will address the return of the students and assist in the release of newfound knowledge and awareness, helping to eliminate feelings of isolation. The re-entry portion of the orientation will focus on the classroom and on leadership roles within the campus community and global society.

Participants
All Global Partners Institutions will be invited and encouraged to send a representative to the symposium. Anne Ledvina at Birmingham-Southern College and a Project Coordinator will work together with a Steering Committee including members of Global Partners Project institutions to participate in the design of the event. Presentations will be made by Donna O’Connor at Rollins College and Milton Reigelman at Centre College on the model of a Mandatory Pre-Departure Course. In addition, Global Partners Institutions will also be invited to present the work already being done by these institutions to provide successful models in the area of pre-departure and re-orientation. Roundtable meetings will allow the participants through small groups to elevate the entire process to a higher level of academic proficiency.

Dissemination
A web site will be developed in early 2003 to facilitate electronic registration. It will later be used to disseminate the pre-departure/reorientation models developed during the symposium to members of the Global Partners Consortium. Assessment results for the symposium will be provided on the web site to allow international educators around the globe to strengthen their study abroad preparations. A final report of our research and symposium will be prepared for publication and members of the steering committee will be invited to give presentations at Regional and National conferences.

Logistics
Best Practices Symposium On Pre-Departure and Re-Orientation Programs will be held in the summer of 2004 on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College. Participants will arrive in the early evening on Thursday and depart in the late afternoon on Saturday. Meals and conference materials will be provided. Participants will be responsible for lodging and travel.

Defining Reorientation for the Study Abroad Student and the Institution

Proposal excerpt, 2005

Reorientation or the re-entry experience is one of the critical components in the internationalization of an institution. Without active classroom engagement and campus-wide support, we fail to utilize the intercultural experiences of our students and faculty and lose the potential to engage that international perspective more deliberately. This Symposium will offer the opportunity to explore a myriad of questions not the least of which will be a definition of reorientation or re-entry. Understanding the logistical, personnel and financial constraints many representatives expressed during both the 2004 Symposium and the presentation at the Region VII conference, effective on-line courses, simulations and other experiential techniques that allow students to develop their own learning in meaningful and diverse ways before and after study abroad will also be defined.

The questions of reorientation and learner-based tools are ones that cannot be answered by a study abroad office or an academic program alone. Thus using the model of the recent Global Partners conference at Beloit College, we would like to encourage a faculty/staff team from each institution to join the symposium. The schedule for the Symposium generally will focus on defining reorientation for the student and the institution and will end with sessions on experiential learning tools and on-line courses for pre-departure and reorientation programs.

Thanks to the Global Partners grant, we will also be able to cover all travel, housing, and meal expenses for the symposium.

Resources for Study Abroad and Intercultural Communication

Adams, M. (Ed.) (1997). Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice: Sourcebook. New York: NY: Rutledge.

Arana, Marie. “American Chica.” Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global. Eds. Faith Eidse and Nina Sichel. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing; Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 2004. 297-305.

Bennett, Janet M. “Cultural Marginality: Identity Issues in Intercultural Training.” Education for the Intercultural Experience. Ed. R.M. Paige. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 1993. 109-135.

Bennett, M. J. (Ed.) (1998). Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication: Selected Readings. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

Bennett, Milton J. (1993) “Towards Ethnorelativism: A Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity.” Education for the Intercultural Experience. Ed. R.M. Paige. 2nd edition. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 21-71.

Chandra, G.S. Sharat. (1986) “Saree of the Gods. “ On Being Foreign. Culture Shock in Short Fiction. Ed. Tom J. Lewis and Robert E. Jungman. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 65-70.

Cushner, K. (2003). Human Diversity in Action: Developing Multicultural Competencies for the Classroom, 2nd Ed. New York: NY: McGraw-Hill.

De Courtivron, I. (Ed.) (2003). Lives in Translation: Bilingual Writers on Identity and Creativity. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Desai, Anita. (2003) “Various Lives.” Lives in Translation: Bilingual Writers on Identity and Creativity. Ed. Isabelle de Courtivron. Palgrave Macmillan, 11-17.

Eidse, F. & Sichel, N. (2004). Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing or Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

Evans, N. J., Forney, D.S. & Guido-DiBrito, F. (1998). “Perry’s Theory of Intellectual and Ethical Development.” Student Development in College: Theory, Research and Practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., 130-133.

Gauguin, P. (1985). Noa Noa. The Tahitian Journal. Trans: O.F. Theis. New York: Dover Publications.

Hall, E.T. (1966). The Hidden Dimension. New York: Doubleday Publications. Pp. 1-6.

Hall, E.T. (1977). Beyond Culture. Garden City, N.Y.: Anchor Books.

Hall E.T. (1959). The Silent Language. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday.

Hall, E.T. (1987) Understanding Cultural Differences. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

Hess, J.D. (1997). Studying Abroad/Learning Abroad. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Hoffman, E. (1989). Lost in Translation: A Life in a New Language. New York: Penguin Books.

Hofstede, G.J, Pederson, P.B, & Hofstede, G. (2002). Exploring Culture: Exercises, Stories and Synthetic Cultures. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Jhabvala, R. P. (1994). “Disinheritance” Altogether Elsewhere. Writers on Exile. Ed. Marc Robinson. San Diego, New York, London: Harcourt Brace & Company; 319-330.

Jordan, Kathleen A. Finn. (1998) “Third Culture Persons.” Culture, Communication and Conflict: Readings in Intercultural Relations. Needham Heights MA: Simon and Schuster, 242-249.

Kaplan, A.Y. (1993). “Boarding School in Switzerland.” French Lessons: A Memoir. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 45-58.

Kauffman, N.L., Martin., Weaver & Weaver (1992). Students Abroad: Strangers at Home. Yarmouth, MN: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Kim, Y.Y.K. (2001). Becoming Intercultural: An Integrative Theory of Communication and Cross-Cultural Adaptation. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi: Sage Publications; 4-10.

Kohls, L.R. (1984). Survival Kit for Overseas Living. Yarmouth, MN: Intercultural Press.

Kovacs, E. (1994). Writing Across Cultures. Hillsboro, OR: Blue Heron Publishing, Inc.

Kundera, M. (May 20, 2002). “The Great Return” The New Yorker. 96-105.

Lewis, T.J. & Jungman, R.E. (Eds.) (1986). On Being Foreign: Culture Shock in Short Fiction. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press.

LaBrack, B. (1991). The Return Home: A Re-entry Reader. Stockton, CA: University of the Pacific.

Lim, P., Jr. (1994). "Homecoming." Global Cultures. A Transnational Short Fiction Reader. Ed. Elisabeth Young-Bruehl. Wesleyan UP; 90-96.

Maraire, N. (1996). Zenzele: A Letter for My Daughter. New York, NY: Dell Publishing.

Miner, H. (1956) Body Ritual of the Nacirema. American Anthropologist.

McLeod, J. (2000). Beginning Postcolonialism. Manchester and New York: Manchester University Press; 37-40, 44-46, 205-222.

Muuss, R. E. (1996). “Marcia’s Expansion of Erikson’s Theory of Identity Formation.” Theories of Adolescence. Ed. Rolf E. Muuss. 6th ed. McGraw-Hill. 260-270.

Paige, M. R. (Ed.) (1993). Education for the Intercultural Experience. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Paige, M. Cohen, A. Kappler, B. Chi, J. Lassegard, J. (2002). Maximizing Study Abroad. University of Minnesota, MN: CARLA Working Papers.

Pavlenko, A. (2001). “In the world of the tradition, I was unimagined’: Negotiation of identities in cross-cultural autobiographies.” International Journal of Bilingualism 5:3 (September): 317-344.

Peace Corps. The Peace Corps Cross-Cultural Workbook: Culture Matters. Washington, DC: Peace Corps.

Pollock, D. C. & Van Reken, R.E. (2001). “Where is Home? Erika’s Story.” Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press. 5-17.

---. (1989) “Reflections on Exile.” Reflections on Exile and Other Essays. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP, 2000. 173-186.

Ribeyro, Julio Ramón. (1986) “Alienation.” On Being Foreign. Culture Shock in Short Fiction. Ed. Tom J. Lewis and Robert E. Jungman. Trans. Dianne Douglas. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 23-33.

Said, E. (2000). “Reflections on Exile.” Reflections on Exile and Other Essays. Cambridge, MA: Harvard UP; 173-186.

Said, E. (2001). “Orientalism.” The Post-Colonial Studies Reader. Ed. Bill Ashcroft, Gareth Griffiths and Helen Tiffin. 5th Edition. London and New York: Rutledge. 87-91

Saville-Troike, M. (1978). A Guide to Culture in the Classroom. Rosslyn, VA: InterAmerica Research Associates, Inc.

Schütz, A. (1998). “The Stranger: An Essay in Social Psychology.” German Sociology. Ed. Uta Gerhardt. New York: Continuum; 81-94.

Seelye, H. N. (Ed.) (1996). Experiential Activities for Intercultural Learning. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Smith, S.L. (1998). “Identity and intercultural communication competence in reentry.” Readings in Intercultural Contexts. Ed. J. Martin Nakayama and L. Flores. Mountainview, CA: Mayfield Publishing; 304-314.

Spring, J. (2000). The Intersection of Cultures. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

Storti, C. (1994). Cross-Cultural Dialogues. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Storti, C. (2001). The Art of Coming Home. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Storti, C. (2001). The Art of Crossing Cultures. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Stringer, D.M. & Cassiday, P.A. (2003). 52 Activities for Exploring Values Differences. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, Inc.

Theroux, Paul. (1986) “Yard Sale.” On Being Foreign. Culture Shock in Short Fiction. Ed. Tom J. Lewis and Robert E. Jungman. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 273-280.

---. (1998). “Transition Shock: Putting Culture Shock in Perspective.” Basic Concepts of Intercultural Communication: Selected Readings. Ed. Milton J. Bennett. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 1998. 215-223.

Weaver, G.R. (Ed.) (2000). Culture Communication and Conflict: Readings in Intercultural Relations. revised 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Pearson Publishing.

Weaver, G.R. (2000). “The Process of Re-entry.” Boston, MA: Pearson Publishing.

Wellman, D.T. (1977). Portraits of White Racism. 2nd ed., Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Press.

Web sites:

Abroad View Magazine - Readings and writing contest for publication of students’ experience after study abroad. Re-entry packet of combined resources from other publications on-line.
http://www.abroadviewmagazine.com

Academics Abroad Handout
www.northwestern.edu/studyabroad/forms/academicsabroad_upd.pdf

Asia Society Initiative
Resource to improve teaching and learning of other world regions for K-12
http://www.internationaled.org

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships Program
Comprehensive study abroad resource list
http://www.iie.org/programs/gilman/resources.html

CARLA: Center for Advanced Research in Language Acquisition
Maximizing Study Abroad Project: http://www.carla.umn.edu/maxsa
List of Simulation Games and Resources for Cultural Learning: http://www.carla.umn.edu/culture/resources/exercises.html

Center for Strategic and International Studies
An on-line resource to teach policy aspects of globalization
http://www.globalization101.org

Intercultural Research and Value Patterns—Overview
http://stephan.dahl.at/intercultural/about_culture.html

Language Strategy Use Survey/Cohen, Andrew
http://www.carla.umn.edu/about/profiles/CohenPapers/Language_Survey.pdf

Learning Styles Self Survey and Tips – Vark
www.vark-learn.com/english

Learning Style Survey/Cohen, Andrew
http://www.carla.umn.edu/about/profiles/CohenPapers/LearningStylesSurvey.pdf

Macalester College Orientation Web site
http://www.macalester.edu/internationalcenter/ORIENT/orient.htm

NAFSA -- COOP Project Report
Click on Professional Development, then Institutional Grants, then COOP Program
http://www.nafsa.org

National Geographic
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geographyaction/

Returning Student Experiences – Readings
http://www.theglimpse.com/newsite/frontpage2.asp

SAFETI Clearinghouse
On-line course syllabi of Bruce la Brack, University of the Pacific
http://www.lmu.edu/globaled/safeti/orientation.html

School for International Training Web site
http://www.sit.edu/studyabroad/parents/reentry.html

Watching America
Reports and article providing an outsiders insight on the U.S.A.
http://watchingamerica.com

What’s Up With Culture Project
http://www.pacific.edu/sis/culture

World Press
On-line access to journal and news articles from publications around the world
http://www.worldpress.org