高等教育领域的新手, study away programs offer transformative 学习 experiences that combine academic rigor with “travel-to-learn” immersion in the field (Brock et al., 2023, p. 62). Study away programs offer unique opportunities for hands-on experiences with current practices in one’s discipline that can enhance student 学习 and professional development beyond the traditional classroom setting (Stinnett & 俄勒冈州,2018). Study away programs are considered a high-impact practice for the positive effect that participation has on a student’s engagement, 学习, 和整体的学术成就(库, 2008). 在ODU, faculty-led study away programs are defined as for-credit courses that contain a short-term domestic travel component (Center for 全球 Engagement).
其中一门课程是COMM/QUST 495: 太平洋西北地区的LGBTQ+组织文化今年春天提供的. The course is led by instructor Alison Lietzenmayer and co-facilitated by instructors Professor Carla Harrell and Dr. 梅根·麦斯. 通过批判性文化研究方法, students are examining the ways in which major tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft support and celebrate LGBTQIA+ culture and workers within their larger organizational culture. 具体地说, participants are aiming to understand the ways in which organizational 政策 and gendered communication in these spaces promote equity and radical inclusivity. 首席讲师Alison Lietzenmayer解释道, “this immersive 学习 experience asks traveling students to consider how organizational policy might differ internally within an organization from the external messages of LGBTQ+ support.”
这学期的第一部分, 学生们分析了太平洋西北地区(PNW)总部公司的员工资源组(ERGs). 他们研究了广告等组织内容, 促销活动, 政策, and other artifacts in order to analyze these corporations’ cultural branding through the lenses of gendered communication and organizational communication, 以及两者的交集. This set students up to see the ways in which the LGBTQ+ community is actually supported by these companies – in society, 在家里, 在工作中.
This pre-work served as a springboard for the main event: a whirlwind six-day field-based experience in Seattle, 在大学春假期间在华盛顿. 除了参观太空针塔等典型景点外, 派克街市, 和西雅图水族馆, 同学们亦参观了路永博物馆及国际区的茶馆. Lietzenmayer解释, “课堂体验的一部分是置身于一个新地方，并能够探索其吸引力, 既受欢迎，也可能在该地区以外不太为人所知. Just as other high-impact practices like service 学习 and internships (or work-based 学习) teach us that many people learn by doing, 你不可能像自己安全、有道德地探索一个空间那样深入地了解一种文化. 去西雅图旅行可以让我沉浸在文化中. 天气, 速度, the communication style of the locals– it is all unique to the Pacific Northwest and not something that can be replicated in a classroom setting.“虽然这个项目的主要目的是体验企业文化, “it was important to me that we also learned and experienced firsthand the history of Pan-Asian Am埃里克ans and immigrants that supported the building and growth of Seattle.”
利岑梅尔利用她的个人关系安排了与微软和KING 5 (Tegna)的会面, 公司.). 在这些实地考察期间, students had the chance to learn from both regional scholars and professionals on the forefront of advocating for inclusivity and protections for the LGBTQ+ community and observe how professionals are enacting change in their workplaces that better represent intersecting identities of their workers and corresponding regional communities. 会议本身和组织会议的行为对学生来说都是学习经验. 正如Lietzenmayer所分享的, “我们可能永远不会知道我们的人际网络会如何与我们的个人和职业目标交叉. 我很幸运身边都是聪明人, 有趣的, women– and this experience was a chance to see them shine as leaders as well as 分享 their knowledge and professional journeys with the students.这样做的时候, Lietzenmayer hoped that students would develop a greater awareness of LGBTQ+ culture and how communication scholars study related issues and topics, thus introducing students to both practical and scholarly applications of their work and the importance of networking.
Students were additionally tasked with documenting and actively reflecting on their experiences in Seattle by way of a collaborative course ePortfolio. The goals were twofold: collect the sights and sounds of Seattle and contribute these individual experiences to a group product. 再一次，这些行为对学生来说是有意的学习经历. Co-instructor博士. 梅根·麦斯补充道:“作为ePortfolios的主管 & 数字倡议和一位英语学者, 我注意到学习经历的转变，因为我们鼓励在旅行中有意识地收集媒体资料. 例如, 鼓励参与者捕捉音景，为我们的活动注入了有趣的元素, 培养我们对周围环境的声音本质的高度意识. 这导致了惊人的发现, 比如目睹一场抗议被公共交通的声音淹没, 塞壬, 孩子们在附近玩耍. 实时收集这类媒体增加了我们合作组合的即时性, 使学生能够回忆起他们对所遇到的空间的情感反应.Lietzenmayer补充道, 通过完成一个合作课程(而不是个人作业), 我们通过强调集体而不是个人，使反思的经验变得古怪.“在本学期剩下的时间里，协作式电子作品集的工作将继续进行.
ODU students often 分享 that their study away experience was a highlight of their ODU careers because it allowed them to learn actively, 与他们的教授和同学交流, 并看到他们的课程内容在现实世界中“变得生动”(全球参与中心). The success of this course provides just one example of how students can benefit from immersive 学习 experiences without leaving the country. 但好处并不仅限于学生参与者. 教师-led study away experiences can lead to a richer and more fulfilling educational journey for instructors as well. 联合教练卡拉·哈勒尔解释道, “作为一名教育工作者，能够与学生一起分享学习，创造了丰富的经验. I enjoyed the more relaxed vibe of getting to know the student participants in a more collegial context and the opportunity to reflect on the 分享d 学习 throughout the week.”
虽然这可能是ODU提供的第一个关注LGBTQ+的出国留学课程, 这不会是最后一次. Lietzenmayer股票, “在未来的课程中，我希望我们能增加西北非裔美国人博物馆, 因为你可以猜到，我已经在计划这门课的下一个课程了!“我们鼓励有兴趣开发2025年春季或夏季学习课程的教师 提交提案 不迟于2024年6月1日. 可以找到更多信息 在这里 通过全球参与中心或联系内森·欧文斯，出国留学协调员，网址 nowens@hrfjk.com.
It’s important to note that the course was made accessible to students thanks to underwriting and support from both the department of Communication & 戏剧艺术与艺术 同性恋文化研究项目. It is because leaders such as department chair Tim Anderson and program director Cathleen Rhodes invest in these kinds of immersive 学习 experiences that our students are able to make the most of these opportunities.
作品的引用
布洛克,D.B.雷耶斯，J.M.海厄姆，R., & 海滩,维.M. (2023). A Scholar-Practitioner Examination of Experiential 学习: Student perceptions of the benefits of a study away experience. 行政问题学报:教育、实践与研究，第13期(1), 59-75. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1381131.pdf
G栏项目. D. (2008). 高影响力教育实践:它们是什么，谁可以使用它们，为什么它们很重要. 美国高校协会.
Stinnett B., & 俄勒冈州,E. (2018). 体育自习课的教学实践与课程考虑. 《最靠谱的网赌软件》，75页(3), 454-470. http://doi.org/10.18666/TPE-2018-V75-I3-8211