2023 Institute on Teaching and Learning Abroad
Moving from school trips to impactful immersion programs
June - December, 2023
2023 Institute on Teaching and Learning Abroad
Please fill out the following application to be considered for participation in the Institute on Teaching and Learning Abroad, a professional development program led by Aric Visser, Founder of Baserria Institute. The deadline for applications is April 15, 2022. Acceptance decisions will be made shortly after the deadline.
A hybrid learning experience with an immersion practicum in the heart of the Basque Highlands
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June - Online Coursework
All participants will work together on coursework focused on designing engaging global programs abroad. We will be working with research-based strategies to promote student growth in a number of competencies, as well as learning how to assess that growth. Coursework is both synchronous and asynchronous in nature. You will finish coursework with a new toolbox to apply to your school’s global programs.
Course topics include:
- Creating competencies for global programming.
- When to get on the plane and when to stay home.
- Assessing student learning abroad.
- Designing activities for maximum engagement.
- The importance of relationship building.
-The hidden dangers of “service.”
- and much, much more…` -
July TBA, Immersion Practicum, Goierri Valley, Basque Country
You will travel to the heart of the Basque Highlands, to a town where the local market has been held every Wednesday for more than 500 years. you will learn by designing, participating in, and reflecting on activities using the strategies learned in the June coursework.
The theme for our work will be “Food Culture: From farm to plate.” This is a full-immersion experience where you will live with a local educator or a family from the local school community, work side by side on activities, and share meals from farm to plate.
You will put yourself out there and reach outside your comfort zone. You will try new things and fail, try others and enjoy the satisfaction of achievement. You will learn to apply design strategies by applying them to your own experience, and along the way, you will make new friends and understand the power of place in a profoundly delicious way.
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August to December - One on one design mentoring
Starting in August and continuing through early December, you will take what you have learned and practiced in June and July and apply it to global programming on your own campus. You may choose between building a global program from scratch or redesigning an existing program using your new tools and strategies.
Each month you will meet one-on-one with Baserria Institute Founder Aric Visser, who will guide you through the process and provide advice and help you fine-tune your program design along the way.
Finally, in December, all participants will gather one last time for a portfolio-style exhibition of their work.
“Working with Baserria Institute helped us challenge ourselves to improve on what we know is a solid program at our school. Our work wasn't really about fixing something that was wrong, but rather exploring ways to do what we already do even better. Aric was able to meet us where we are and provide personalized guidance; he achieves a great balance of providing concrete suggestions with a menu of options for our consideration as a department within our broader school culture. It's pretty exciting!”
— Wendy Levithan, The Hotchkiss School
2023 Institute on Teaching and Learning Abroad
Who: Designed for Directors of global ed., teaching faculty or administrators who are involved in designing , implementing or teaching student programs abroad.
What: A hybrid program for educators interested in building high-quality global programing from scratch or redesigning existing programming.
Where: The program begins and ends online. In July, participants gather in the Goierri Valley of the Basque Country for a one week intensive experience.
When: Coursework begins in June. The in-person experience takes place July TBA. One-on one design metoring takes place in the fall.
Why: We believe that bringing groups of students abroad for educational purposes must be pair with a dedication to effective teaching and learning strategies and a culturally sustainable approach.
Tuition: $2,950 USD
We’ll see you soon in the Basque Highlands…
Our region has 18 villages, most of them with fewer than 1000 inhabitants, and all with views of the two national parks: a rare occurrence you can only find in Goierri, a region between two mountain ranges. In Goierri you will be delighted not only by our nature and gastronomy, but by the Basque culture and history: in the highest points of the region you can find very early evidence of human life like tumulus and menhirs, in both sierras, Aralar and Aizkorri.