The Foreign City as Classroom: Adult Learning in Study Abroad Coryell, J. E. (2011). The Foreign City as Classroom: Adult Learning in Study Abroad. Adult Learning, 22(3), 4-11.

Research Examined adult learning within the context of a short term program in Italy. Used Wenger’s (1998) concept of learning: Suggests a community of practice is a collective learning enterprise encompassing socially-constructed practices and relations. He further suggest that learning occurs within a community of practice (CoP) CoPs are a collection of people who share a common interest and engage in a shared learning endeavor

Research Question What is the nature of the learning interactions (the socially constructed practices and relations) within a short term study abroad community of practice?

Method Study took place over two years with two different groups of a study abroad program in Italy Statistics 22 undergraduates & 2 graduate students 6 male students & 18 female students Ages between 19-46 years 5 different colleges 12 identified as Hispanic, 2 as Vietnamese-American, 1 as Pakistani-American, remaining 9 students self identify as White or Caucasian 9 had never traveled out of the US, 7 had journeyed into Mexico, and the remaining 8 participants had traveled to countries outside of the US & Mexico None had been to Italy nor studied the Italian language

Method What he tracked Reflection survey How data was analyzed Took field notes during scheduled program activities, during evening debriefing sessions about each day's learning, and during midterm and end of course reflection exercises Provided a summary of the students' input to the professors in order to aid them in making necessary changes Individuals names and identifying information were not recorded during the field note taking Reflection survey Individually completed and anonymous. Open-ended individual reflection survey on specific meaningful experiences/activities at the end of the course How data was analyzed Used the constant-comparison method (Glaser & Straus) Identifies codes, categories, and eventually themes across the data set.

The Study Abroad Course Course Development & Content Pre-departure Preparation Objective of program was for learners to acquire certain tools for learning about a foreign cultural community Learning objective was to learn to read Italian urban culture Focused on urban historical theory and urban physical form and its symbology/mythology First year students & professors met ten times for 21 hours Second year, students & professors convened six times for 17 hours Students completed self-reflection exercise where they define their own personal definitions of culture & preconceived notions about Italian urban culture Conducted learning excursions in the students’ own urban setting Town squares/city café/public transportation/tour of local museum/how to take notes/etc

Daily Instructional Design 17 days of the 21 day course learning activities took place Instructors explained the learning objectives for the day and clarified the prompts upon which the students would reflect in their journals Students were heterogeneously assembled (3-6 per group) in order to promote collaborative learning opportunities Instructors held mini lectures In the evenings the whole group assembled to reflect and debrief on the day’s learning Individual feedback & assessment Completed at the halfway point in order to provide feedback Included four components Learner participation & engagement Learning journal responses Creation of an individual coat of arms Final take home essay

Findings Learner w/ other Learners & Professors Living and learning in close contact w/ each other for three weeks helped them to broaden their perspectives through group discussions & develop interpersonal skills, including “negotiation,” “compromise,” “understanding,” and “empathetic consideration” for other Feedback instructors got back from the midway point led to shifts in their teaching approaches and instructional design both summers Learner w/ Academic Content Participants expressed an appreciation for physically experiencing & interacting with each new city, while studying the academic content gained in activities before, during, and after the experience Learner w/ Native Culture/Individuals Indicated that specific cultural activities were important in learners’ understanding Learning occurred through the union of the physical & communicative experiences the learners had Experiences supplemented and enhanced their learning in ways that would not likely be possible at home

Findings Learner w/ Self Fourteen participants affirmed personal growth in their individual reflections “Independence” “More courage” “Self-confidence” “Better decision making” “being able to stick up for myself” “Enhanced curiosity about different cultures” Most suggested they were committed to continued cross-cultural learning Half of the participants indicated that learning interactions at spiritual/religious centers in urban settings cultivated reconnections with their personal faith systems

Discussion & Implications Teaching practice suggest facilitators of adult learning in these programs must re-conceive the learning design Analysis says that interrelationships among learners, professors, the academic content, the foreign culture and individuals, and the individual learners themselves, should anchor effective program design The “mock excursion” approach was very useful Free time is essential to a holistic learning approach in short-term study abroad programs Study is limited in that is investigated the CoP interactions of just this one program