Study Away as a High Impact Practice

Study abroad for students is a well-known and well-utilized high impact practice (HIPs). It allows numerous opportunities for students, by immersing them in new cultural, linguistic or informational settings, to achieve a transformative learning experience. However, often funding and resources can become impediments to the consistent delivery of these programs or for broad student access.

One form of experiential learning that can provide a quality high impact learning experience is “Study Away.”

Study Away can most simply be described as exploring and understanding the diversity, economics or cultures present locally or regionally. The premise for its effectiveness, according to Neal Sobonia, who has done seminal work on the topic, is that today, “the United States has become so richly diverse that a student does not need to travel more than a few blocks from campus to encounter other facets of the world or to have cross-cultural experiences.”

As a high impact practice, these programs fit well in that they require time and effort, facilitate learning outside of the classroom, and foster meaningful interactions with faculty and students. These experiences, if carefully mapped for teaching effectiveness (properly established learning outcomes) can become much more that field trips. They can offer students an immersive and transformational experience.

Steps to organizing your Study Away

The nearness of Study Away opportunities can often inspire many ideas for faculty but there are several considerations that if given proper attention, can make a more effective plan of study. It is important to carefully integrate the essentials of high impact practice into the coursework. These elements include, most importantly, thoughtful collaborations with diverse others and effective instructor feedback. Here are a few steps to follow:

Decide on your learning goals

Always begin with the desired end outcome in mind: What do you want in a successful Study Away experience to accomplish. This outlook can be synthesized into measurable goals that you can build the course around. Stay with no more than four or five strong goals for a course and make sure they can be measured by a realistic assessment.

Target a transformational opportunity

Opening your eyes to a community and its region can yield an overwhelming number of Study Away ideas. The type of engagement you choose will depend on the discipline and the program of the instructor. For example, Study Away programs may align with program outcomes or they may have a goal of increasing Global awareness or a service learning objective.

Make contacts to enrich the experience

Do a little homework and legwork after receiving your inspirations. Making community contacts can give greater breadth to the experience and make planning and logistics much easier. It is a very effective tool for cross-community relationship building.

Study Away presents a great opportunity to expose students to a broad array of experiences that can be unique and transformational. It can also be very affordable and accessible, especially as compared to Study Abroad. It is flexible enough to fit within any program and can cover short or long-term time frames.

References

Engsberg, M. ( Sept/Oct 2013). The influences of study away experiences on global perspective-taking. Journal of college student development. 54 5,466.

Homeyer, M;Leggette, H R;McKim, B;Walker, J. (Jun 2017) Visualizing Connection: Using PhotoVoice to Understand Students’ Study Away Experience. NACTA Journal; Twin Falls. 61, 2 113-120.

Sobonia, N. (2015) Putting the local in global education. Sterling, VA: Stylus Press.

Sobania, N & Braskamp, LA. (Fall 2009 ) Study Abroad or Study Away: It’s not merely Semantics. AAC&U. 11, 4.