Honors Students are Going Global

Students in UC's Honors Scholars program are at work designing their own personal program of international learning as they draft a contract on what they plan to achieve through global study. The students got some valuable advice Feb. 7 on how to begin the process as Riall Nolan, director of UC's Institute for Global Studies and Affairs (IGSA), held informational sessions in the Honors Lounge of the Old Service Building.

The 15 students are designing their contracts for a Certificate in Global Studies, a new addition to the Honors Scholars program last spring. The new international element is the creation of Nolan, Philip Way, director of the University Honors Scholars program, and Way's predecessor, Suzanne Soled, associate professor of educational foundations.

The global studies certificate requires students to complete an introductory global issues course, four internationally oriented electives, and an overseas trip which could involve anything from studying abroad, to working as an intern or performing community service. Students finish the experience with a capstone seminar. The seminar is a one credit-hour course on campus that examines what the student learned overseas, how they approached their studies and how their contract guided them through the program. The capstone course begins this spring. Nolan says a substantial cost of the overseas study will be funded by the IGSA.

"Identifying your learning needs can be approached by asking yourself, where have I been, where am I now, and where do I want to go," Nolan explained to one session of students. "We will give you advice when it comes to criteria."

In addition to stating their learning needs, students will be setting their learning objectives, determining strategies and choosing resources to help them achieve their goals, as well as specifying the outcome of the experience and deciding how they will be assessed. "Keep in mind that a performing arts student will have different criteria than what an electrical engineer is expected to produce," Nolan said.

UC senior Kate Melnick of Yellow Springs, Ohio, is an English literature major with a minor in French. She is developing a contract for her certificate after doing independent study last year in Europe and West Africa. At the Institut de Touraine, Melnick studied language and culture as well as civilization and history. Her tour of France included visiting artist Claude Monet's house and garden in Giverny, and the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach. In her journal, she wrote that the stop gave her an entirely new perspective of World War II.

Her European trip also included a trip to Ireland, where she studied literary greats James Joyce and William Butler Yeats. In Burkino Faso, West Africa, Melnick stayed with a host family and studied language and culture at the University of Ougadougou. Melnick will be one of three UC Honors Scholars completing her capstone project in the spring, and she says the time overseas literally opened up a whole new world.

"Ironically, I don't think I experienced culture shock overseas as much as I did when I got back home. When you come home, you think you know what to expect, but you don't find it...your perspective changes."

"For instance, at first, I was scared to use the Metro in Paris. Then when I came home, I was wishing I could ride a train to UC. Traffic lights are everywhere over here, where we have more people, more cars and no public transportation."

Way says he expects the overseas experience will change students' attitudes. He adds the independent contract of study is a more European approach to education. "Typically in America, there's a more structured method of learning, whereas in Europe, the student decides how to learn, given the content of the course. It's really self-managed learning over there, and I think by going through this process, our students will develop an ability to manage their own learning that will continue to serve them later in life as they come across new knowledge or techniques that they need to know more about."