Addressing the “Study” in Study Abroad

Addressing the “Study” in Study Abroad
Presenters:
Jen Nielsen, Embassy of Australia
Steve Ferst, The Education Abroad Network
Daniela Ascarelli, Drexel University

Presentation outline
• Overview of research study and results
• Recommendations for hosting institutions
• Recommendations for sending institutions
• Case study: Drexel University
• Roundtable discussions
• Group reporting and discussion

About the Australian Trade Commission
• Austrade aims to increase collaboration and student
exchange between Australia and North America, and
foster education and research linkages and partnerships
• Education specialists are based at the Embassy of
Australia in Washington, DC and the Australian High
Commission in Toronto, ON

Background
• Australian study abroad program
• Extensive data collection on academic
performance
• Previous studies:
• Merva, 2003: “Grades as Incentives”
• Trooboof, Cressey & Monty, 2004:
“Does study abroad grading motivate
students?”

Research Question
How do American students experience
the academic environment of an
Australian study abroad program?

Project Design
• 11 students, July-Nov semester 2006
• Self-selected, a variety of backgrounds
• Mid-sized Australian urban university
• 3 rounds of interviews, open-ended
questions

The results
Studies as important Studies not a focus
5: Highly engaged 2: Externally focused
4: Engaged and performing 1: Disengaged
3: Engaged but struggling

1. Disengaged
“It‟s a three-hour lecture. I go, the professor talks and talks and
talks. He doesn‟t make any sense and one time someone in our
class even asked, „What‟s the point of this lecture?‟ And he
said, „Oh I don‟t know,‟ and kind of shrugged. So if the
professor doesn‟t even care about teaching us anything
important, you know… There‟s a woman who lectures
sometimes, and she‟s very good so I always go when she‟s
speaking, but usually I don‟t go. And most of my classes are
just paper assessments so it‟s sort of pointless to go to the
lectures.”
- Megan
“I think the university makes it really easy not to go to class.
They almost encourage you not to go to class. Everything‟s
online, you can read the lecture online, you can listen to the
lectures online. I‟ve never had that before.”
- Benjamin

2. Externally focused
“Priority of study? Travelling is, really…., I can study at
home. To be very honest with you, I did not come here to sit
in my room and read. Good doing the work and I foresee
myself getting good grades. I‟m still putting in the effort but,
I just… I don‟t know, there needs to be a balance. But if I
have to put it on a scale I‟d say that travelling is… doing
things I wouldn‟t get to do at home is, like, really important
to me right now. That‟ll keep till I go back.”
- Benjamin
“I‟m not really expecting too much, I‟m just hoping that I
pass. I mean, with some courses, I really don‟t care if I
pass because it‟s just being here and the experience is
enough for me.”
- Jessica

3. Engaged but struggling
“There‟s also less class time itself. Back home it‟s like
you have an hour and ten minutes for Monday,
Wednesday, Friday classes or an hour and fifty minutes
for Tuesday, Thursday classes, and so you‟re more
regularly going to class. Whereas here, it‟s sort of like,
okay my Mondays are dedicated to this class, my
Tuesdays, I don‟t have any classes so that was kind of
weird. Wednesday is dedicated to an hour of this class,
Thursday, you know, this class, Friday an hour of this
class. And so it was a lot less regular, sort of.”
- Amanda

3. Engaged but struggling
“It‟s a stupid system. It‟s a very stupid system. And I
understand it‟s for externals, it‟s for people who can‟t
come to class. Well then, don‟t make the lecture
available to someone who could be in class. You know,
I don‟t understand. And you know, I‟ve missed like two
classes the whole semester… and I‟ll probably be
graded the same way as someone who has missed
15%. As long as you don‟t exceed the limit, you‟re
graded the same way as someone who is in class 100%
of the time and that‟s not very reasonable.”
- Benjamin

3. Engaged but struggling
“I have a paper next week that I‟m turning in that‟s 20 percent of
my grade, you know, and I was talking with a few people in the
class before the teacher showed up. Half of them were
American and half were Australian and I was like, “Geez, you
know, it‟s a 20 percent paper. Christ, how am I supposed to
write this? This is 20 percent of my grade. And the Americans
are like pulling out their hair, they‟re like, “What are we going to
do?” And the Australians are like, “20 percent of your grade!
That‟s nothing.” And I‟m like, “What‟s wrong with them? Of
course it is.”
- Jonathan
“I have two exams, one of them really is stressing me out. It‟s 60
percent of my grade, which for me is mind-boggling and it‟s
completely multiple choice, which, not just from a student
standpoint you know, is like really sucky….” - Amanda

4. Engaged and performing
“It‟s different from at home because it seems like there are
fewer assignments, but those assignments are harder and
require more research. So I can‟t say it‟s a heavier workload
but it is a more concentrated workload, when I do it.”
- Andrew
“…it‟s reading so, you know, I like to think that reading is an
easy version of homework, you know. My version of homework
in my head is always equations, math book, problems one
through 20, you know, something like that. It‟s not like that, it‟s
just really…and that‟s fun, you know.”
- Jonathan

5. Highly engaged
“I think there‟s a difference in how we teach history, because we‟re
thematic back home whereas here it‟s subject oriented… I think
that‟s generally all over the world that‟s how they‟re changing the
subject and so history is different…as people learn how people
learn, they‟re changing it. I think it‟s going to be different for
everybody, but ours is thematic back home, so a different reading
situation…”
“I love my education so, like, I love all of my classes this semester.
And I‟ve been telling my parents, „Oh, I love my academics way
better this semester than last semester‟ and I love, I like that fact
that I‟m starting to work at a museum „cuz that‟s what I was doing
back at home. I was volunteering and that kind of thing. I‟m getting
kind of back into what I did at home…” - Sarah

Academic Results
Rank
Before
Rank
After
Type GPA In GPA Out Category
1 2 Private 3.7 3.33 4
2 1 State 3.69 3.67 5
3 7 Private 3.67 2.25 2
4 6 State 3.65 2.33 2
5 5 Private 3.47 2.5 3
6 11 Private 3.21 0.5 1
7 10 State 3.2 1.33 3
8 4 State 3.05 3.25 5
9 9 State 2.48 1.55 3
10 8 Private 2.75 1.91 3
11 2 Private 2.46 3.33 4

Recommendations
Pre-departure
• Faculty-student relationships
• The informality of the Australian university
environment and appropriate interpretation
• Teaching/learning philosophy, including the
focus on assessment tasks not classroom
participation, and independent learning
• Samples of timetables, course structures and
assessment tasks

Recommendations
Orientation
• Workshops by Australian faculty
• Discipline-specific workshops
• Library 101 –undertaking independent
research
• Tools for success – balancing study and the
outside temptations, time-management,
goal-setting

Recommendations
Throughout the semester
• Workshops relevant to workload during
semester
• Peer mentors
• Greater assistance from faculty and
student support staff to understand
common problems & provide relevant
answers and support

Contact us
Leadership team
Alison McGuigan-Lewis
Senior Trade Commissioner, USA
alison.mcguiganlewis@austrade.gov.au
Ph: +1 202 797 3093
Brendhan Egan
Trade Commissioner, USA
brendhan.egan@austrade.gov.au
Ph: +1 202 797 3398
Stefan Trofimovs
Trade Commissioner, Canada
stefan.trofimovs@austrade.gov.au
Ph: +1 416 323 4281
Education team
Jen Nielsen
Education Manager – North America
jen.nielsen@austrade.gov.au
Ph: +1 202 797 3028
Sarah Wolf
Education Manager – North America
sarah.wolf@austrade.gov.au
Ph: +1 202 797 3478
Jenny Venecek
Assistant Education Manager
jennifer.venecek@austrade.gov.au
Ph: +1 202 797 3389
Fareeda Chand
Senior Director – Marketing
fareeda.chand@austrade.gov.au
Ph: +1 416 323 4284

Academic Engagement in
Learning Abroad
Preparing for Success
Stephen Ferst

Potts‟ Taxonomy
• Disengaged
• Externally Focused
• Engaged but Struggling
• Engaged and Performing
• Highly Engaged

Two Academic Populations
Well Prepared
Under Prepared

Two Academic Populations
Well Prepared
Under Prepared
• Engaged and
Performing
• Highly Engaged
• Disengaged
• Externally Focused
• Engaged but
Struggling

Case Studies
• Informal research tells the same story
• Location and Language are factors
• Type of program is a factor

Type of Program
• Free Standing or Island programs
– Allows for familiar academic setting
– Allows for tighter curricular integration
• Students tend to
match academic
achievement at
home

Type of Program
• Field Based programs
– Typically unfamiliar
academic learning
setting
– Allows for tighter
curricular integration
– But generally with US
faculty so structure is
generally similar
• Students tend to match achievement at home

Type of Program
• Full Integration programs
– Allows for new academic setting
– Allows for greater variety in coursework
• Students tend to be close to academic
achievement at home but it varies along
the Potts‟ divisions.

Under-prepared Students
• What do we know?
• What can we do to help?

Multicultural Learning
• We know about teaching to different
cultures:
– “Learning Styles, Culture and Inclusive
Instruction in the Multicultural Classroom”
Glauco De Vita, May 2001
– “Learning Styles and Culturally Diverse
Students” Irvine and York, 1995

Learning in Different Cultures
• Multi-Cultural Teaching is different than
Multi-Cultural Learning
– Multi-Cultural Teaching is about adapting to
the learner.
– Multi-Cultural Learning is about the learner
adapting to the teaching style.

Foreign Students in Australia
• Study of students from Malaysia, China,
and Hong Kong studying in Australia
– Volet, Simone. Learning across Cultures:
Appropriateness of Knowledge Transfer. 1999

Culture & Learning Potential
The cultural dimensions
are critical in determining
what are appropriate
forms of learning as well
as in realizing the learning
potential of individuals

Our Current Assumptions
Implicit assumption that the process of
enculturation in a new community is
mainly a cognitive
and social affair.

What should we focus on?
The focus should be on perceptions of
learning in the home and the host country.

Indicators of Success
• Deep approach to learning
• Informal peer support groups
• Diligence at cue-seeking in order to conform
to task requirements
• Realistic expectations regarding learning
and instruction, seeking help from teachers
during class, and low participation in tutorial
discussions

Where to go from here?
• We need to take an approach that
prepares students to study in the location
to which we are sending them.
• A careful look at the style of teaching is
relevant and important for success of
Potts‟ low-engagement groups.

Drexel University
• Located in Philadelphia, PA
• One of the premier co-op institutions in the US
• Offers a variety of study abroad program models
including full integration, island programs, hybrid
programs, short term study tours...
• Programs vary in length from one week to a full
academic year and can be study only or study+co-op.

What are students studying while
abroad?
• Specific content– ie things that cannot be
learned at home?
• Culture/language of the host country?
• Self- awareness in relation to global
awareness?
• Something else?

Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
Students study Bio Conservation and Environmental
studies in Equatorial Guinea in West Africa
• Research based program– unique location, unique topic
• Students are taught by both US and host country
instructors
• US instructor of capstone research courses begins
contacting students approx one month before
departure
• Students are required to present research findings to
local dignitaries at end of program

Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea
Program provides students with:
The opportunity to take on
individual research programs.
The opportunity to take
coursework that is not available in
the US
• The opportunity to experience living in a different
culture
• The opportunity to begin to understand the
complex role oil companies play in oil rich nations

Exchange program in
Taiwan
• Program provides students
the opportunity to
– Focus on language and culture acquisition as well
as personal awareness
– To be enrolled in host institution but take courses
created for Drexel students
– To take courses taught by local faculty
– Be paired with host students for language study

Exchange program in Taiwan
• Students take course entitled “Crossing the
Bridge”
– Taught on line by Drexel faculty member
– Faculty member goes to Taiwan for 10 days of
intensive on site work with students
• Deliberate attempt to “help students to enhance
their intercultural competence by developing a
different lens through which to view the world,
and by generating a project which will tie the
intercultural experience to a present or future
goal (a tangible project which can be shared with
family, friends or future employers). “

Drexel in Iceland
• Iceland Design and Merchandising week
– Students take a course before and after spring
break trip
– Purpose of trip is for on-site research on design
and merchandising in Iceland
– Post trip course focuses on synthesizing research
done while overseas

Course of opportunity: Drexel in
Shanghai: World’s Fair
• Shanghai World’s Fair
– Open to students enrolled in
regular summer course
– Focus of program is for
students to move from
theories about world fairs to
reality
– Past courses have included
FIFA World Cup in S. Africa
– Course being planned for
2012 Olympics

Things to think about
• Better define what the purpose of program is and be more
deliberate in linking program design/assessment to this
goal
– Is your program a language immersion program?
– Is the program aimed at replicating home school courses in a
different academic setting?
– Is the goal of the program for students to take coursework
unavailable at home?
– Something else?
• Create courses that are explicit pathways for students to
achieve this goal
• Be realistic– it is very unlikely that one program can do all
things, ie provide language acquisition, deep cultural
knowledge, increased self awareness, intercultural
superstars…

Questions to Consider
1. What are you doing on your campus/at your study abroad site to
prepare students for the academic experience they are about to
have abroad?
2. How much time do students with whom you work spend thinking
about the academic system they are going to enter?
3. What strategies do you have for putting the “study” back in study
abroad?
4. How integrated is your institution‟s study abroad program with its
academic programming?
5. How relevant to a student‟s college education is all of the extracurricular
activity that takes place on study abroad?
6. Which locations are easiest for your students to assimilate into, and
why?

1. Academic Preparation
• What are you doing on your campus/at your study abroad
site to prepare students for the academic experience they
are about to have abroad?
• Most orientation not focussed on academic
• Connectin students with exchange students already on campus –
setting up time to talk, discuss topics, include discussion on
differences in academic systems, ask what to expect to study.
• Ask students to request syllabi from courses (to get approved) –
have they read it? Ask them to digest it, answer some questions,
go through and ask how much time to do an assignment, reading,
etc. to prepare and set expectations on how much work the
course will be

2. Education System
• How much time do students spend thinking about the
academic system they are going to enter?
• Not a lot. When it looks like the American system, looks like it‟s
all the same.

3. Strategies
• What strategies do you have for putting the “study” back in
study abroad?
• Small liberal arts – faculty led, not so much an issue
• Study abroad focus only focus on study – what are academics
like, less time on travel because students will do that on their
own. Constantly focussing back
• Engineers – difficult not to study. Some is major-specific
• Study is up to the student to a certain degree – how they want
to interpret is their choice

4. Academic integration
• How integrated is your institution’s study abroad program
with its academic programming?
• Responses:

5. Extra-Curricular Activity
• How relevant to a student’s college education is all of the
extra-curricular activity that takes place on study abroad?
• Imporance of how we present extra-curricular – use “cocurricular”,
not trips
• Break down divisions between these activities
• There‟s learning that occurs in and out of the classroom –
making it more intentional helping students make connections
between how and what students are learning
• Continued engagement with students pre-, during and post-,
whether it‟s an online course or program

6. Academic Assimilation
• Which locations are easiest for your students to
assimilate into, and why?
• Sometimes the more similar, the harder it is to assimilate
(they assume it‟s the same and don‟t adjust)
• Seems that students feel more comfortable in faculty-led and
island programs rather than direct enrol