PrintWelcome!
EGEE 299/EMSC 299 is a course designed for students who want to earn credit for their international study experiences. The assignments you can see were created for students who plan to participate in one of The GREEN Program's (TGP) experiences. If you're participating in a different study abroad program and would like to earn credit, please contact the instructor to discuss your options!
We want you to get the most out of your time abroad! This course has been designed to help foster academic learning and personal growth while you're traveling and beyond. We've built this course around the Inquiry-Based Learning model, which means, instead of me telling you what you should be learning, you're encouraged to identify and research interest areas unique to your own journey. At first, you'll be asked to discuss what you're seeing, experiencing, and learning, but then you'll be asked to delve deeper, learn more, investigate, and build an understanding of those things. We want you to drive your learning - progressing from observation and foundational learning, through to questioning and investigation, and then, reflecting on the learning that you experienced while abroad. And, of course, we need you to be able to tell your story! So, while you'll be traveling and studying, you'll also be practicing telling your story and conveying what you've learned. We'll walk you through the practicing part, while you enjoy your program and soak in everything your host country has to offer!
Host Country Foundational Knowledge Report
In order to gain a better understanding of the country you're about to visit, you need to have a good idea of what you're getting into! In order to build a foundation, you'll be asked to do some research on the host country. We want you to have an overview of the country's government, politics, society, geography, ecological diversity, etc. We don't expect you to become experts in any of these areas, but to do some preliminary research and impress your hosts with your background knowledge! Once you've got that foundational understanding, all of the things you see and learn will make a lot more sense! Learn more on the Host Country Report page.
Group Discussion Meetings
As part of the course, you will be asked to read portions of the 2 books identified in the syllabus. Once you've read those sections, you will be assigned a small group. The group will get together on zoom to discuss the assigned topics related to the readings. To earn credit for the assignment, you are expected to record the discussion and submit a link to the instructor for grading on participation, preparation, and professionalism.
Quizzes
TGP requires all students to view some educational videos (link provided in Modules). You will be quizzed on the content of those videos.
Journaling
While a journal can serve as a record of your daily activities while traveling, your journal entries should focus on the learning that's happening throughout the trip. You'll be asked to write an initial journal entry before you go and share it with your peers. Then while traveling, you'll keep journal notes to revisit when you return. Once you return you can expand upon those notes for full entries. Finally, a reflection entry will wrap up your experience.
You’ll be asked to write about the academic learning, but you also need to focus on the personal growth you’re experiencing. There are prompts provided for each entry, so you can spend your time and energy addressing the prompts vs. deciding what to write about. You're required to submit 6 journal entries, with all but the first and the last completed while you are traveling. So, you'll want to take a tablet (the paper kind), or type up your notes in Word, and plan time every day to review the journal prompts and create notes. You can view the general Journaling Guidance page for the overall journal directions, but each entry also has a dedicated page with prompts that must be addressed. All journal notes are expected to be incorporated into complete journal upon your return.
You are welcome to submit your final journal as a word doc, or as a link to your online blog.
Capstone Presentation
As part of TGP curriculum, while traveling, you will work with a group students who have similar interests. You will develop a capstone project idea in which your group will:
- Identify a problem and the Why, How, and What
- Gain a strong understanding of the ethical and environmental impacts of the issue and the proposed solution
- Define goals and how they relate to the SDGs
- Apply and integrate:
- sustainability ideas
- educational backgrounds
- experiences throughout travel
- Provide a informative presentation
Summary Poster/Infographic
Once you've returned and completed your journal/blog, you'll need to complete the summary poster/infographic outline assignment. I will provide you with guidance asking you specific questions about your experience. You'll be asked to create an outline and submit it for review and feedback. Once the feedback is received, you can begin work on your infographic. The infographic will be your pictorial representation of your experience and growth - think of it as your journal, in a quick view format. It can highlight your personal growth and/or the academic learning that occurred during your study abroad. Ultimately, we want you to create something you can submit to the poster competitions on campus. Note to World Campus students: YES, you can do this! We have students successfully present posters remotely in the past. Read more about that here.
UN Sustainability Goals
You will be asked to identify a couple of the UN Sustainability Development Goals that you feel most closely align with your study abroad experience. The UN Sustainability Goals cover 17 areas that encompass the challenges to sustainability faced across the globe. If you're not familiar with them, get familiar; more and more of what you do will be framed within the context of these goals, and you'll need to know how what you're doing (or not doing) is directly linked to them. You can read more about each one on the About the Sustainable Development Goals page. Incorporate the 2 main goals into your infographic.