"It Was Definitely Great to Learn About a Place, in a Place": Study Abroad and Experiential Learning in Morocco and Indonesia

• In Event: 42.083 - Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: 42.083-22 - Teaching and Learning Through an International Lens

Abstract

This study presents an alternative view of experiential learning that brings the physical environment and human-environment relations to the forefront. It is informed by iterative and systematic analysis of how physical environments contribute to the processes involved in the production of experiential learning spaces within two study abroad programs, and the contextualized meaning students make of their experiences. Data include 7-weeks participant observation, 209 narratives collected with 19 CUNY students during programs in Morocco and Indonesia, and one-year post-program interviews. Preliminary findings, through content and narrative analyses, indicate that using the physical environment as a pedagogical tool has powerful impacts on student learning about the self and world while studying abroad—the effects of which appear robust a year later.

Author

• Jennifer M. Pipitone, College of Mount Saint Vincent