Experiential

Learning & Study

Abroad
IDS 154 Fall 2018
Sanford-Challenge and Support
● Need both challenge and support to learn
and grow
● Too much support--comfort zone. No
learning
● Too much challenge--panic zone. Shut
down, can’t process, retreat to comfort
zone
● ~learning zone~ Just right

(Sanford, 1966 as cited in Harvey, 2017)

Sanford-Challenge & Support
● {1 min paper} Think back on intercultural experiences you have had, here in
the USA or abroad. What are examples of moments you were in the comfort
zone, learning zone, and/or panic zone?
● {Pair & Share} What are ways to push yourself out of your comfort zone
while abroad?
● What are ways to find support to keep yourself out of the panic zone while
abroad?
○ It’s ok to retreat to the comfort zone when you’ve stretched yourself too far and
gotten into the panic zone. Recuperate, then get back out there and learn.
Kolb-Experiential Learning Cycle
“Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience”
(Kolb, 1984, p. 38).

Effective learning comes from processing through 4 stages.

1. Concrete experience. A new situation or experience, or a new interpretation of that experience.

2. Reflective observation. Reflect on the experience, especially on differences between the
experience and your understanding - Cognitive Dissonance
3. Abstract conceptualization. Reflection leads to new concepts or modification of existing ideas
4. Active experimentation. Learner applies new and modified ideas actively to the world around
them to see results.
Kolb-Experiential Learning Cycle
● You can enter the cycle at any
stage, but you must complete all
four stages for effective learning

(As cited in McLeod, 2017)

Kolb-Experiential Learning Cycle
● Learning does not happen automatically. You have to reflect on your
experiences.
● {Share out} What are some experiences you will have abroad that you think
will create opportunities for experiential learning?
● {1 min paper} What are some resources you can use to help you process what
you are experiencing?
Learning With not From: Avoiding Exploitative Travel

This is a pitfall that it can be easy to fall into when moving from a privileged
society into another, especially if coming from a western society with a history of
colonization (like ours).

Remember, yes you are learning in study abroad, but the people you meet and
the society you enter does not exist for you to learn from them. They do not have to
teach you, it is not their responsibility to teach you.

What is exploitative travel? Why is this an issue?

Avoiding Exploitative Travel
Keep in mind:
● This country and those who live there are not passive subjects in a
laboratory for you to learn from. Intercultural learning is a two-way process
and involves give and take. Be mindful of the impact you have on others and
that this is their home, not your playground.
● The “exotic other”--examine your bias that may be affecting how you view
and interact with others (are you making any assumptions about them?)
● Think about the impact your travel is having on the place. Are sacred places
being overrun with tourists? Are animals being abused for tourism? (i.e.
riding elephants)
Culturally/Environmentally Responsible Travel
● Culture is not a museum display--it’s living and changing. Just because you learned
one thing about a culture doesn’t mean it is true for everyone, and that it can’t change

● Do not fetishize “authenticity”. Visitors can over-emphasize difference and see

others as a homogenous and static culture. There is a lot of variation within a culture
(for example, the United States).

● Think about how you can volunteer/get involved in the community in a sustainable
way, that gives the local community the power & initiative

● Support cooperatives, eco-friendly tourism that does not exploit animals, always shop
local
Neocolonialism in Study Abroad
Think about the issues of power and privilege at play in the society you are in.
Both within the domestic society, and those that you bring as you come in from
outside with potentially “U.S. American privilege”.

E.g. locals need to go through the metal detector at the mall, but you as a white
American, are waved through.

Local racial/ethnic biases and slurs, gender roles, economic privilege--these can
all look different in another country, and are important to pay attention to.
Scenarios
● What’s the problem in each scenario?

○ You spend every weekend in a different major city, checking off a bucket-list of
museums and tourist sites, and on weekdays in your home base city you mostly
hang out with your American friends

○ You volunteer with a local nonprofit reading to children in poverty. You take lots
of pictures of yourself volunteering for social media with cute hashtags. When
you tell your friends and family about it, you mention how great you to feel to be
able to help these poor, uneducated people and how terrible it is that the culture
doesn’t value education.
Documenting Your Experience
Documenting your experience both helps you remember it and share it with
others, and it can also be a way for your to process your learning and growth

● Blogs & Vlogs

● Videos
● Social media (Instagram, Facebook, Flickr)
● Journaling!
● Scrapbooking
● Collecting souvenirs (ticket stubs, etc.)
● Art, making music

Some useful sites about documenting your time abroad:

https://capaworld.capa.org/22-ways-to-document-your-time-abroad
https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/tips-for-documenting-your-experience-abroad
Pros/Cons
Blogs:

1. Candace Rose Rardon: https://www.candaceroserardon.com/blog/ (art!)

2. Flora the Explorer: http://floratheexplorer.com/

Videos:

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67jwvSiVygM
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdJ4L_u8Vh0
3. One Second a Day: https://1se.co/

Instagram:

1. https://www.instagram.com/ky.le_20/?hl=en
2. https://www.instagram.com/nomadic_rik/?hl=en

Journaling: http://thestudyabroadblog.com/journaling-jotting-down-memories/

Scrapbooking/Souvenirs: http://www.thetraveltester.com/unique-souvenirs/
Documenting your Study Abroad Experience
{Pair & Share}

1. What methods do you think you will use to document your experience?
Why?
2. How will one or more of these methods help you process your learning
while you are abroad?
3. How will you find the balance between documenting your experience and
living in the moment?
References
Harvey, T. (2017, June 22). Getting beyond the comfort zone [Blog post]. True North Intercultural Blog. Retrieved

from: http://www.truenorthintercultural.com/blog/getting-beyond-the-comfort-zone

Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1).

Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

McLeod, S. A. (2017). Kolb - learning styles. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html

Sanford, N. (1966). Self and society: Social change and individual development. New York: Atherton Press.