I. General Information

1. Course Title:
Global Studies Experience - International Travel Experience

2. Course Prefix & Number:
GLST 1491

3. Course Credits and Contact Hours:

Credits - Variable: 1-3

4. Course Description:

Students in this course will have the option to participate in a travel-study trip. Topics of study may include art, culture, natural history, geoscience, and geography of the country of focus. Classroom time prior to trip will involve basic lessons and preparation for travel. Post-trip classroom meetings will emphasize a shared reflection of travel experience and learning. NOTE: The travel-study trip is optional. Travel expenses are the responsibility of students who elect to travel. Students who do not travel will be given an alternate method of participation and/or research assignment with a cultural/language component related to the country of focus.

5. Placement Tests Required:

Accuplacer (specify test):

Reading College Level CLC or Reading College Level

Score:

6. Prerequisite Courses:

There are no prerequisites for this course.

9. Co-requisite Courses:

There are no corequisites for this course.

II. Transfer and Articulation

1. Course Equivalency - similar course from other regional institutions:

HUM 1515 International Study Experience - Minnesota North College, variable credits, Sp 2024

III. Course Purpose

1. Program-Applicable Courses – This course fulfills a requirement for the following program(s):

 Global Studies Certificate

2. MN Transfer Curriculum (General Education) Courses - This course fulfills the following goal area(s) of the MN Transfer Curriculum:
Goal 8 – Global Perspective

IV. Learning Outcomes

1. College-Wide Outcomes

College-Wide Outcomes/Competencies	Students will be able to:
Demonstrate interpersonal communication skills	Apply their best foreign-language skills and cultural awareness to target-country situations.
Apply abstract ideas to concrete situations	Apply the concepts they learned in the classroom to simulated or in-country situations and experiences.
Apply ethical principles in decision-making	Apply lessons of cultural-awareness and ethical behavior in making day-to-day decisions while traveling or in simulated travel situations.

2. Course Specific Outcomes - Students will be able to achieve the following measurable goals upon completion of the course:

MNTC Linked objectives

• Demonstrate knowledge of cultural, social, religious and linguistic differences of country of focus MnTC Goal 8;
• Analyze specific international problems of country of focus, illustrating the cultural, economic, and political differences that affect their solution MnTC Goal 8; and
  
• Understand the role of a world citizen and the responsibility world citizens share for their common global future MNTC Goal 8.

Variable objectives.  Faculty will choose from among the objectives below to tailor the course to specific discipline(s), country of focus, and credit maximum.

• Observe the norms of cultural awareness in every aspect of their behavior;
• Integrate their observations (and/or experiences) into previous learning;
• Prepare themselves spiritually, mentally, physically and economically in order to make the most of their experiences;
• Utilize travel tips and strategies in order to travel safely, efficiently, comfortably;
• Reflect on their experience upon return to the United States (and/or on the experiences of their classmates) in order to integrate these experiences into previous learning;
• Identify basic travel foundations (what to pack, how to communicate with home while gone, getting through security, transportation means, safety issues);
• Identify foreign currency and unit conversions for country of travel;
• Observe a mutually agreed-upon code of conduct for travel study;
• Compare and contrast verbal and nonverbal cultural foundations in preparation of travel, during travel, and reflection upon returning from travel (if opting to pay for the optional travel portion of the course);
• Connect prior learning to travel experience (of self or of others);
• Reflect on and discuss personal travel experiences (of self or of others);
• Document learning and/or individual growth that resulted from travel experience/ or from observation of others' travel experiences;
• Critically evaluate the environmental and natural resources issues of the country;
• Evaluate critically the environmental and natural resource issues in-country, especially in the context of interactions between people and their environment, how ecosystems respond to human presence, and how humans respond to changing ecosystems and natural resource bases;
• Propose and assess the many solutions to environmental issues in the country of focus, especially in the context of responses to similar issues in their own country; and
• Analyze international problems of resource management and environmental protection, illustrating the cultural, economic, and political differences that affect different solutions to the same problem.

V. Topical Outline

Listed below are major areas of content typically covered in this course.

1. Lecture Sessions

Pre-Trip Class Periods

1. The Geography, political climate, history, culture, and art of country
2. The Geoscience of country 
3. The Climate of country
4. The Natural History and Environment of country
5. Environment and environmental issues
6. Pre-Trip preparations:
7. Multicultural awareness
8. How to behave when travelling abroad
9. International travel logistics; money, packing, passports, visas, airports, security checks, in-flight behavior, hotels, transportation in-country, etc.

During the Trip (Travel is optional. Students who choose not to participate in the travel portion of this course should meet with the instructor before registering for this course and must make alternate arrangements with the instructor for this portion of the learning.)

1. Travel to country and apply concepts learned in-class to day-to-day activities in the country being visited.

Post-Trip Class Periods

Individual reflections on studying abroad (or on student's alternate study arrangement) will be shared as a written paper and/or oral presentation.  Post-trip classroom sessions will be for developing the reflections and final submissions of those reflections.

Students who enroll in the course but do not take the trip to the country of focus will be given alternate assignments to complete Goal Area 8. These assignments may include, but not be limited to:

1. Daily participation in the appropriate language sessions via a virtual platform.

2. Completion of an assessment related to basic travel foundations (what to pack, how to communicate with home while gone, getting through security, transportation means, safety issues)

3. A research paper on the Natural History and Environment of the country of focus: 

• propose and assess the many solutions to environmental issues in-country, especially in the context of responses to similar issues in their own country, OR
• analyze international problems of resource management and environmental protection, illustrating the cultural, economic, and political differences that affect different solutions to the same problem.

4. A research paper on the basic societal systems of the country in focus, including: monetary system, political system, and major cultural influences. This paper would focus on contemporary systems only.

 

2. Laboratory/Studio Sessions