To the Editor:
In “Teaching in an Age of ‘Militant Apathy’” (The Chronicle, February 15), you ask if immersive education can become the norm when traditional curricula ignore students’ lived experiences. You make an important point about the lack of room made in higher education for meaningful and sustained learning experiences.
Immersive learning comes from various aspects of the college experience, within and beyond the classroom. In response to students’ growing anxiety and disconnection, you note that many universities seek ways to minimize the transactional feel of higher education, suggesting that the answer lies in emphasizing high-impact practices like study abroad. We respond that study abroad is one strategy in the much broader integrative education approach of global learning and point out that students engaging in global learning experience positive transformation regardless of whether they leave their home campus.
Global learning is the process of diverse students working together to analyze and address complex issues that transcend borders of all kinds. Through a combination of global learning (GL) courses and activities, institutions like Florida International University, North Carolina State University, and the Alamo Colleges District have created global-learning spaces that allow students to put the pieces of their global learning together. The global learning that happens in these spaces helps students connect their co-curricular and personal experiences with their coursework. Through this process, students develop essential global competencies such as knowledge of the interconnectedness of local and global issues, engagement in effective interactions across cultures, and the willingness to take action for collective well-being.
One such integrative global learning space is the Global Learning Medallion (GLM) program at Florida International University (FIU). This self-selective program combines GL coursework with ample globally focused co-curricular activities, a capstone project, and an e-portfolio. Students report that participation in the GLM program often makes the difference in their personal and academic success, and that global learning becomes their approach to life.
Another example of global learning is programming linked to the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at North Carolina State University. Their Global Learning for All plan uses thematic clusters based on the SDGs combining instruction, mentorship, co-curricular student activities, and other high-impact experiences. Students in this program have multiple opportunities for engaging in social-impact projects and directly applying their learning and understanding.
A third example comes from the Alamo Colleges District. The Alamo Global Student Distinction is a multifaceted program which includes a specific set of global-learning outcomes and has three separate levels of engagement, inclusive of approved global learning-designated courses, study-abroad opportunities and virtual-exchange programs, and a variety of co-curricular opportunities.
At the end of your article, you ask if higher education will “continue down the path of credentialism and skill building” or instead embrace more expansive and inclusive curricular goals and educational practices. Our response is that these expansive goals and educational practices can indeed be attained — through global learning.
Hilary Landorf
Assistant Vice President, Global Learning Initiatives
Associate Professor, International & Intercultural Education
Florida International University
Miami
Ana Prado
Assistant Director, Global Learning Initiatives
Florida International University
