Study Abroad Awareness TrainingMeaghan O’Brien, Meghan Harder, Vicky Berry, & Julia Brown
Target GroupO Who: Study abroad students in
universities (aged 18+)O 20-25 studentsO Minimal study abroad experience
O Atmosphere: “Hello from Around the World”
O Goals:O Help new students get
acclimated into a new social, scholastic, and environmental setting
O Learn to integrate and interact with individuals from different cultural groups
O Getting the most out of your experience abroad
Introduction
FrameworkO Client: University Study Abroad
OfficeO Where: Easily accessible location on
college campuses O Length: 3 Hours O Method: Interactive Workshop
Needs Assessment & Potential Problems
O Students not venturing out of their comfort zones such as:O Fear of interacting
with localsO Failure to learn
about unique cultures
O Lack of resiliency in stressful situations
O “Simply sending students to a location abroad for academic studies is not sufficient toward facilitating the larger goal of creating effective global citizens” (Lederman, 2007).
O Improvements on intercultural development index are marginally significant (Pederson, 2009).
Agenda for the Day
IntroductionGoal 1Goal 2Goal 3Wrap Up
Agenda O Introduction O Comfort ScalesO Circle UpO Country GameO CharadesO Goal 1: Results &
DiscussionO Challenging
SituationsO Goal 2: Action
PlanO EnergizerO All About YouO Goal 3:
Discussion & Results
O Wrap Up & Round Up
IntroductionO Introduction of facilitators with
personal experiences of studying abroad
O Explanation of the overall goal of this training
O Guidelines:Safe Place
Judgment Free Zone
Respect Each Other
Ask Anything
No Phones
Comfort Scale O Method: Each participant is given a personal
Comfort Scale along with numbered stickers to place on the sheet
O Objective: Visual representation of progression of feelings
O Materials: Premade scale and 8 stickers per person
O Directions: Throughout the day participants continue to place stickers based off of their feelings of comfort at that given time
Introduction of the StudentsO Form and circle with all the studentsO Ask students to state name, study abroad
location, and what they are hoping to gain from this training
Country Game: 20 Questions O Method: Asking people
questions what country they are
O Objectives: Engagement, Comfort with asking questions
O Materials: Paper cards with country names
O Directions: Everyone is given a card with a name of a country and instructed to not look at what is written on the card. They will place is on their forehead and walk around the room. They are allowed to ask one question per person. Once they figure out their country they may be seated.
O Duration: 5-10 Minutes
Charades O Method: Act out given scenarios & have your team
figure out the situation without the use of speech O Objectives: Using nonverbal communication,
Interacting with groupsO Materials: 2 groups of 10 & scenario cardsO Direction: Players are given a scenario with one
restriction and have 60 seconds to reenact the situation
O Duration: 15 minutes
Goal 1: Reflection & Discussion
Challenging SituationsO Method: Drawing out adverse
situations that they have encountered or are fearful of
O Objective: Identifying feelings during challenging situations
O Materials: Groups of 4 or 5. Each get their own poster board and writing utensils
O Directions: Split everyone into even groups and make them draw out difficult situations in with they have encountered or some situation they fear that might happen while abroad. Once completed, one member of each group will stay at their poster while the other members move around to learn other situations and add their feelings to the area surrounding the picture
O Duration: 30 minutes
Action Plan, Goal 2: Discussion & Reflection
O Method: Discussing action plans to cope with stressful situations abroad
O Objectives: Adapt and cope in challenging situations
O Materials: Poster board and writing utensilsO Directions: Talk in small groups about ways to
cope while abroad. Write down actions you can take and share one with the whole group.
O Duration: 30 minutes
Fast Ball/ Parachute Game
O Method: Tossing a ball around a circle of people
O Objectives: Energizer, Realizing similarities
O Materials: Ball, stopwatch
O Directions: Remember who threw you the ball and to whom you throw the ball. After students practice a few times, facilitators will call out a category or experience, and all of the students for whom this is true will run into the middle and switch places with each other. In the new positions around the circle, repeat the original order of throwing the ball.
O Duration: 10 minutes
All About YouO Method: Asking questions in order to find 3
cultural differences between partnersO Objectives: Communication skills, Learning
about othersO Materials: 1 Partner and 1 Piece of paper and
penO Directions: Without using “I” statements,
partners of 2 ask each other questions in order to find out 3 cultural differences between each other
O Duration: 15 minutes
Goal 3: Discussion and Reflection
O Why do you think we did this?O Why is it important to learn about
others while abroad?O Listen first
Wrap Up/Round UpO Wrap up:
O 5 most important things you have learnedO Pair discussion for favorite quote or drawing on
back of panic to comfort scaleO Round up:
O Everyone in a circle and share their quote or drawing
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