Embedded study abroad for first year students: the instructional design of syllabi for curricular internationalization

Abstract

The Arcadia University Preview Program for First Year and Transfer Students (Preview) is a program design built into the university curriculum to allow all First Year and Transfer Students the opportunity to study abroad. The Previews are part of an institution-wide strategy to provide an action to meet the vision, need, and circumstances that are particular to the university’s internationalization dimension. The Preview courses are 2-credit courses taught in the spring semester. They last six to eight weeks and include a 1-week trip to an international location. ☐ The purpose of this Executive Position Paper is to describe how professors design the learning environment of their embedded study abroad courses. In doing so, the work connects these design characteristics to best practices in study abroad and describes student experiences using course evaluation questionnaire data. ☐ The initial goal is to document the instructional design of the Preview courses. The second goal is to determine the relationships between the course subject matter, learning goals, assessment strategies, and field study activities in the Preview syllabi. The third goal is to compare the Preview syllabi to good practices in study abroad course design. The final goal is to review students’ satisfaction with their Previews using course evaluations that students complete after the international field study.