Symposium Date: Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Symposium Location: Walnut Room, Talley Student Center
The Study Abroad Symposium is an opportunity for NCSU students and faculty to share with the university community the academic and personal impact of study abroad. By incorporating short paper presentations, posters and panel discussions, the Study Abroad Symposium aims to recognize the academic growth of students resulting from study abroad and to raise awareness on campus of how important study abroad is to strengthening the university as a whole.
Symposium Program:
Brazil Ecosystem Services Student Exchange Program: Personal Experiences in Vicosa
Presenter: Charles MacIntyre
Mr. MacIntyre will discuss the Brazil Ecosystem Services FIPSE/CAPSE Exchange Program, which provides an opportunity for students to gain an appreciation for and competency in Forest and Soil Ecosystem Services, or the benefits that ecosystems provide to humanity, in an international context. Students from NC State University, University of Georgia and University of Florida have the opportunity to exchange with students in one of three Brazilian universities: Universidade Federal de Paraná, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, and Universidade Federal de Tocantins.
Cultural Correspondents: Sharing Study Abroad with North Carolina Classrooms
Presenters: Emily Gray and David Boyd
The Cultural Correspondents program is a partnership between the NC State Study Abroad Office & NC Center for International Understanding, in which study abroad students partner with K-8 classrooms in North Carolina public schools, predominately in rural areas, to deliver lessons from abroad via web cam. Ms. Gray will present on her experience of giving monthly web conference lessons to first graders at Carolina Forest Elementary School in Fayetteville, and Mr. Boyd will speak about his experience of corresponding with a kindergarten class at Burgaw Elementary in Burgaw.
The Impact of Africa: Words of Study Abroad Participants
Presenter: Dr. Craig Brookins
Over the past 10+ years Africana Studies and the Africa Project at NC State have collected the reflections of student participants in Africa-bound study abroad programs. Through sharing students’ words and pictures, Dr. Brookins will focus on the significant beneficial themes that cross all of these student experiences.
Using the Comfort Zone Model to turn Study Abroad into an Optimal Experience
Presenters: Summer Hunt and Dr. Diane Beckman
How does Study Abroad affect students' individual lives in the long-term? To answer this question, Dr. Beckman and Ms. Hunt developed a retrospective survey for Lille (France) Study Abroad students from 2004-2009. The goals of the project were to give these students a chance to reflect on their experience and to present to other faculty and students the ways in which study abroad pulls students out of their comfort zone to maximize the opportunity for personal and social growth. Dr. Beckman and Ms. Hunt will present their findings.
Summer in Brazil: Examining Primary and Secondary Education in Sao Paulo and the Amazon
Presenter: Chris Touch
Mr. Touch, a Masters of Arts in Teaching graduate student, will discuss the SCILINK Summer in Brazil Program. He will compare the educational systems, both primary and secondary, in Sao Paulo, Brasilia and the Amazon. He will also touch on the diverse cultures within Brazil and the ecosystems of the Amazon Basin.