After strong interest and participation in globalsl.org’s first webinar on September 2nd, another group convened for the second in the series on October 16th titled Going to the Action: Stay Home and Generation Abroad. In addition to the full version of the webinar other great resources were shared through the chat.

The panelists responded to the documentary “Help your Own Country” and considered dimensions of engaging locally and abroad. The conversation addressed the loss of not moving beyond our cultural context while also embracing the connection that learning abroad has with understanding local challenges. For example, Cynthia Toms shares an example of a domestic course where students are engaging with immigrant communities in their own city. A student in the course recently spend time in Mexico through a  service-learning program, and is now grappling with how to address the issues of immigration right in her own backyard. Her approach is different than other classmates who view immigration as merely a policy issue. This is just one of several examples in the webinar that scholar-practitioners emphasize “Doorstep to Planet” learning.

Resources Mentioned Include (Additional resources are shared in the video and many others with links shared in the chat.):

Azusa Pacific University has developed a program where students engage in learning in Los Angeles called The L.A. Term. The program is focused on cultural immersion, social change, and community engagement. Many students participate in this program before participating in a Global Learning Term.

Richard Kiely discusses Transformational Learning here are some resources to learn more:

• Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress, Mezirow
• A Chameleon with a Complex: Searching for Transformation in International Service-Learning, Kiely
• Transformative Learning Model for Service-Learning, Kiely
• And a recent blog on Considering Critical Reflection, Kiely

Janice McMillian reflects on hearing students from the U.S. or Europe at the University of Cape Town sharing feelings of heroism for being abroad and “helping.” She shares the resource Developmental Tourism vs. Development Tourism that calls into question the purpose of students engaging in global service-learning.

Panelists included:

• Dr. Richard Kiely, Director of Engaged Learning & Research, Cornell University
• Dr. Janice McMillan, Senior Lecturer, Director: University of Cape Town Global Citizenship programme
• Dr. Cynthia Toms, Director of Global Education, Westmont College
• Introduced and facilitated by Dr. Eric Hartman, Staley School of Leadership Studies at Kansas State University & globalsl.org