Purdue Ag in Spain, Study Abroad

Our primary learning outcomes were openness, cultural worldview. Secondary learning outcomes were curiosity and self-awareness.

We included a series of tools to evaluate student's position based on our learning outcomes. These activities included pedagogical and summative activities: hot buttons, say my name, research on topics, question teams, daily journaling, and ASKS2+ survey.

The hot buttons activity was not received greatly, with some students not willing to share or break the ice initially. We paired students in groups of roommates and ask them to share with each other, and then share with the group. While initially this tool was not considered relevant, I found students during the trip sharing with me how this tool helped them identify potential sources of disagreements and avoid such events.

The Say My Name tool was used pre-departure and I did not find much use of it, but it may come from my bias. 

We split students in teams to perform certain pre- and during-trip activities

1. Teams will research about a topic that will be covered/visited during the trip. We collected each submission and put together a folder of all information

2. Teams were in charge of engaging with our hosts at least one day during the trip. They would also be in charge of taking photos and uploading a daily review of the trip on our Facebook group that was shared with family of students.

Students journaled daily and were asked to answer 3-4 daily prompts on Brightspace. These questions were directly targeting self-awareness, openness, and worldview, as well as perceptions of daily activities. This was probably the most rewarding activity from my point of view, because they were able to internalize their experiences and then share among them and with me.

The ASKS2 survey was delivered 2 weeks post-arrival to the US. We asked students to respond first questions thinking back to pre-departure time and then respond the same questions based on their current experiences. We saw most students increased their status and reached milestone 3, which was our goal. In the future I would deliver the pre-trip questions a day or two before the trip, and the post trip survey 2 weeks after returning to the US, to reduce the likelihood any bias regarding answers. I feel more qualified to understand quantitative data so I felt comfortable assessing students gains in our leaning outcomes

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Ariana P Torres Bravo