an innovative study abroad program: a model for professional fields in study abroad
TRANSCRIPT
An Innovative
Study Abroad Program
& Model for Professional Fields in Study
Abroad
Rich Kurtzman, Director and Founder
Barcelona Study Abroad Experience (BSAE)
Dr. Vickie Folse, Director and Professor
School of Nursing, Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU)
Stacey Shimizu, Director of International Office
Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU)
Outline for today
How it all began
Use of technology
Step by step how it was built
Lessons learned
Your turn: Workshop
How it works
Tailoring Our Discussion:
Who´s in the audience?How many of you:
• Represent universities sending students out?
• Represent programs or universities receiving students?
• Already have a semester-long faculty-led program?
• Build synchronous learning into study abroad?
• Use distance learning with study abroad?
How it Works
ONE ROTATING PROFESSOR
(“IWU FACULTY DIRECTOR”)
FROM BLOOMINGTON, IL…
BARCELONA, SPAIN
TO…
Every Spring
IWU class
Spanish
languag
e or
class in
Spanish
Spanish
Civilization
and
Culture
Cross-
Cultural
Psycholog
yOr many
others1
2 3 4UNLESS…
IWU
class
1
23 4
Spanish
languag
e or a
course
taught in
Spanish
Nursing classNursing class
In Bloomington, IL!
Bloomington, IL
8:00 AM
Pathophysiology
and Pharmacology
Barcelona, Spain
3:00 PM
How it all began
What Is It?
IWU Spain Progra
m
Semester-long study abroad program in Barcelona
(Spring only)
Led by IWU faculty director; offered in partnership with BSAE
Open to all students, but catering in large part to Spanish majors and sophomore Nursing majors
Uses synchronous learning technology to offer two required nursing courses in real time
Includes healthcare observation in Spanish hospitals and clinics
Establishing an Island
Program
Considerations
Pros/cons of creating own program
Curricular needs and studentinterest assessment
Program design
Financial analysis
Implementation
First Came…
IWU Spai
n
2005, IWU program in Madrid created
2009-11, IWU program moved to Barcelona
Partnership with Barcelona Study Abroad Experience (BSAE)
Then Came
IWU School of Nursing
School mission: “to prepare…leaders for nursing and global healthcare”
1998, creation of Spanish-minor for Nursing students.
2008, curricular revision based on AACN and IOM recommendations.
Responding to need for Spanish-speaking and culturally competent nurses.
Limited study abroad options
(May Term and summer)
…AND FINALly
Technology
Curricular Design and saturated teaching loads require nursing faculty to remain in U.S.
State pre-licensure requirements
Pedagogical factors central to small private
liberal arts university
Use of technology
Polycom Hardware and
Telepresence Software
• Allowed the Barcelona and on-campus students to
synchronously complete required nursing courses
in sequence:
• Pathophysiology and Pharmacology II
• Nursing Foundations II: Health Promotion and Risk
Reduction (theory)
• Synchronous delivery is consistent with value of
face to face instruction
Step-by-step guidelines
Planning Phase: Administrative
• Secure buy-in and interdisciplinary approval for synchronous learning model
• Obtain funding for technology
• Meet with International Office and On-site provider to discuss unique needs of nursing majors
• Secure observational experiences with hospitals and clinics and negotiate/modify contracts
• Conduct multiple site visits beginning 1-2 years in advance
• Address malpractice and legal issues
• Generate interest and recruit students
School of Nursing
Pedagogical and
Technological
• Securing and installing technology in both
locations
• Assuring ongoing technology support services
• Assessing nursing faculty readiness
• Preparing nursing faculty and students for
synchronous learning model
• Meeting with IWU faculty Director to discuss unique
needs of nursing majors
School of Nursing
Implementation Phase
• Assuring adequate faculty and student support
• Maintaining collegial relationships with University
IT and IWU faculty Director
• Delivering content from both campus and
Barcelona
• Maintaining dialogue about connectivity/bandwidth
issues
School of Nursing
Teaching Strategies
• Create a dynamic classroom learning environment for both on-campus and study abroad students
• Assure ongoing communication and academic success (e.g., Skype study session with tutors and faculty)
• Post powerpoint slides and other material in advance to accommodate time differences and travel schedules
• Accommodate unique test taking needs and lead time needed for on-site proctor
• Prepare students and professional staff for rigor of lecture as well as modules/clinicals upon return to campus
School of Nursing
Pre-departure Meetings
• Consider delay in content delivery until acclimation to
new culture occurs (beginning and end)
• Determine what didactic information needs to be delivered
before departure and what should be done face to face
• Clarify observation experiences may be different
between students, and are not direct patient care
clinicals
• Address logistics (e.g., textbooks, time differences,
holidays, balancing travel and homework, living
arrangements upon return to campus)
• Involve returned students
School of Nursing
Preparing for
Direct Patient
Care Clinicals
Returned to campus in May and
demonstrated competency in
fundamental nursing skills as well
as completed 40 hours of
supervised direct patient care in
regional medical center.
If you build it….
they will comeFirst cohort of five nursing majors launched inSpring 2012 with intermediate or above Spanishlanguage skills
School of Nursing
If you build it….
they will comeSeven nursing majors participated in Spring 2013
• One native speaker and two with limited Spanish
language skills
If you build it….
they will comeTwelve nursing majors participated in Spring 2014
• Additional clinics and hospitals needed for observations
• Larger classroom space and enhanced technology needed on site
School of Nursing
If you build it….
they will come
Seven nursing majors are registered for Spring 2015
and will be arriving in January
School of Nursing
Step-by-Step on-site
SEMESTER OPTIONS | SUMMER PROGRAMS | INTERNSHIPS | CUSTOMIZED PROGRAMS
Logistics we had to organize
Can you fit in the scheduling?
• Scheduling synchronous learning classes
• Scheduling their other classes
• Combing with on-site experiential learning
Do you have the technology?
• Laptop
• Fixed IP and enough bandwidth
• Microphone
• Screen
Separate orientation
• Health and Safety
• Transportation
• Cultural
• Specific orientation for Nursing students
• Cultural differences in the work place
• Concepts of time, space, relationship-building
Working in unfamiliar
environments
8 ― 2 =
12 + 4 =
4 x 3 =
6 ÷ 2 =
9 + 3 =
7 x 4 =
4 ― 2 =
8 + 4 =
12 x 2 =
20 + 10 =
NEW RULES
― means to multiply
÷ means to add
+ means to divide
X means to subtract
Adding health care
observations1. Find the hospitals
2. Convince the hospitals
3. Organize schedules
4. System of follow-up and
evaluation
Adding the Cultural
Component
Workshop on
cultural
differences in
health care
between Spain
and the U.S.
Adding the Language Component
Lessons Learned
Lessons Learned
• Staffing: Assigned 1 full-time person just focused on needs of Nursing program
• Scheduling: When it is 8 a.m. in Illinois, it´s 3 p.m. in Barcelona except…
• Scheduling part two: Spring break (s)
• Projects:
• All students to keep a cultural journal
• All students to complete a final presentation
ON-SITE
Lessons Learned cont…
• Continuous evaluation and feedback
• Delay the start of observations to overcome
culture shock
• Need a dedicated study space open late
ON-SITE
¿?
ON-SITE
Lessons Learned
• Faculty directorship:
selection and training
• Communication
among all parties
Study Abroad Office
Lessons Learned
• Schedule numerous pre-departure meetings and assure ongoing communication with key stakeholders
• University faculty Director (rotating); International Office Director, and on-site Director
• Anticipate problems and quickly strategize solutions for ongoing program improvement
• Continuously enhance technology support
• Collaborate with internship coordinator to oversee clinical experiences and provide avenue for student/program evaluation
• Cultivate relationships with leaders at hospitals and clinics
• Explore implications of ideal language skills, academic performance, number of students accepted into study abroad program
School of Nursing
Lessons Learned:
Assessment
• Discipline-specific assessment (e.g., comparative
understanding of healthcare in Spain v US, clinical
preparedness)
• Be intentional from the outset, but also be flexible
• Longer-term assessment (e.g., employability)
• “Standard” study abroad
assessment (e.g., language
progression, cultural
competence)
Evaluation
• Significant interest generated among prospective students and families (increased applications to SON) and sustained interest (solid enrollment in study abroad)
• Only one of 24 students left the SON (minimal attrition)
• No significant difference in nursing GPA between first semester and second semester of sophomore year or between cohort grades regardless of location (academic performance)
• Reports of satisfaction with experience on exit interviews (life transforming experience and perceived increased cultural competence)
School of Nursing
Summary
• Use of synchronous learning allows innovative
approach to cultural competence for programs
whose study abroad options have traditionally been
limited
• This program can serve as a model for other
institutions and disciplines
Clinical
Observation
Experience
Now it´s your turn:
Workshop
Rich Kurtzman, Director and Founder
Barcelona Study Abroad Experience (BSAE)
Dr. Vickie Folse, Director and Professor
School of Nursing, Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU)
Stacey Shimizu, Director of International Office
Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU)
An Innovative
Study Abroad Program
& Model for Professional Fields in Study
Abroad