Author: Fred Schwarzbach
The imperative to “go global” is universal these days – and among the many strategies to be global are classes that incorporate an international travel experience. Yet, on a short trip, it can be challenging to integrate the travel into the course and to provide students with meaningful opportunities for research. All too often, however, the travel component is a variety of tourism rather than a productive academic exercise.
For the past two years, I have been teaching such a class, the Dean’s Global Research Seminar (DGRS). The class is a very special one: the students are members of the Liberal Studies honor society, some 25 sophomores chosen from among about 150 applicants. Students need an A- GPA even to apply, so it goes without saying that they are academically gifted and accomplished. The course is two credits but spread over the full academic year, and the the topics vary year by year. Last year it was “The Globalization of Higher Education.” In January 2015 we all traveled to London for one week of class activities and individual research.
The centerpiece of the class is a research project that is due in April; for most students, this will take the form of a traditional research paper of about 3500 words (though, with permission, some few will develop digital media or creative projects). Planning begins early: in October, they conference individually with me to develop a topic; then they identify a faculty member with whom they will work closely; and, in early December, they submit a prospectus, outlining in more detail the topic, sketching their research plans for the trip, and appending a preliminary bibliography. The spring semester has fewer class meetings and provides them with more time to work on the research project. The class culminates in a research fair in early May, when they make poster presentations of their work.
The key to having the travel register as an academic exercise is careful planning. In addition to all the work done before we leave New York, while we are away we are studying, first and foremost. Most mornings while we were in London, students participated in a workshop at the NYU study center in Bedford Square, essentially a class conducted by senior academics from such institutions as University College London and the London School of Economics, as well as from NYU London. Students also were expected to engage in primary research connected with the topic they had previously identified, and virtually all of them did.
Based on my own experience, I would offer the following guidelines for those designing a class with a travel experience. These address issues before travel:
- Be certain that the destination and the course objectives closely align, to ensure that there are many opportunities to arrange appropriate co-curricular activities. It is always difficult to schedule events and activities – when you are there, the people you want to engage may be busy or there may simply be no room at a particular site. Having more from which to select ensures that you will have a rich program for the students.
- Start preparing the students for the travel itself on day one. I engaged our own Liberal Studies Global Programs and Student Life teams to assist in planning and also to develop whatever educational resources were necessary prior to travel. Address issues like safety away from home, alcohol abuse, drug use, and other behavioral concerns well before you travel. A mandatory pre-departure meeting in December covered all the essentials.
- Help the students imagine the research they will do well before they travel, and guide them in reaching out to key people and institutions as appropriate. Good advance planning will help them identify research opportunities (e.g. interviewing a key person in the field, visiting an institution, spending time doing primary research in a library or archive) and then they can make whatever arrangements are necessary well in advance. By the time we landed in London, every student had a plan that was pertinent and practicable.
These concern the trip itself:
- Remember that traditional age students need a great deal of support. Travel with sufficient staff to deal with any all eventualities, from a student getting lost to an injury or illness requiring repatriation. I’ve traveled with student groups many times, and most trips, nothing will go wrong. But when it does, be ready.
- Allow for a balance of structured and unstructured time each day. I imagine every day of the trip (including weekends) as having three parts, morning, afternoon, and evening. A typical day will schedule one or two of those parts, but leave one or two free. This will allow students enough time to pursue their individual research projects.
- Provide familiar academic exercises and activities. Good students are good at being students – and they thrive in the classroom. The workshops that began most days set the tone for serious engagement with the course content and modeled for students how they might use their free time. For some, what they learned in the morning could be tested in the afternoon on their own. Other activities provided guided field experiences that emphasized content related to the class.
- Check in with the students as often as possible. I tried to speak for at least a few minutes with each student every day, to ask about how they were doing in general, but also to learn how they were proceeding with their research. More than once, I was able to offer advice that helped them solve an otherwise intractable problem.
- Last, but definitely not least, remember that traditional-age students (indeed, I reckon ALL students of any age) need time just to have fun and to enjoy each other’s company. Some of that can be structured – for example, on our trip we had two dinners for the group, and among our non-academic group activities were a trip to the London Eye at sunset and an outing to the theatre – but much of it is spontaneous.
My final word of advice is to select a topic that you love and a place that you know well. Students will always sense your passion and translate it into a joyous spirit of exploration on their part.
Post Script: This year, my class is exploring “Museums in the 21st Century” and I returned to London with a different but no less talented group. The proof will be in the pudding – i.e. the projects they submit at the end of the spring semester – but the early indications are that it was fully as successful an experience for them as was last year’s trip.