{"id":11238,"date":"2019-11-08T16:38:42","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T21:38:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/?p=11238"},"modified":"2019-11-15T08:24:25","modified_gmt":"2019-11-15T13:24:25","slug":"pack-hacks-for-faculty-taking-travel-lessons-to-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/news\/2019\/11\/pack-hacks-for-faculty-taking-travel-lessons-to-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Pack Hacks for Faculty: Taking Travel Lessons to the Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"\">Welcome back to Pack Hacks for Faculty. Each month, a member of the NC&#160;State faculty will provide quick tips, advice and other insight <\/span><span style=\"\">to facilitate your teaching, research, scholarship or engagement activities.<\/span><span style=\"\"> If you are interested in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/1NiXQYetQ07Ps9FWreJ-ePE9WPoO_Nots95-ir8Nq2Bg\/edit\"><span style=\"\">making a submission<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> for a future Pack Hacks for Faculty, please review our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/news\/2017\/08\/pack-hacks-for-faculty-submission-guidelines\/\"><span style=\"\">submission guidelines<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> and contact <\/span><a href=\"mailto:povost-communications@ncsu.edu\"><span style=\"\">provost-communications@ncsu.edu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> if you have questions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">This month, Gary Blank, <\/span><span style=\"\">associate and Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor and director of undergraduate programs in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources<\/span><span style=\"\">, gives advice on taking travel lessons back to your classroom.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Taking Travel Lessons to the Classroom<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/directory\/gary-b-blank\/\"><i><span style=\"\">Gary Blank<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11241 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/November-2019-Pack-Hacks-Gary-Blank-Headshot.jpg\" alt=\"Gary Blank\" width=\"270\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/November-2019-Pack-Hacks-Gary-Blank-Headshot.jpg 270w, https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/November-2019-Pack-Hacks-Gary-Blank-Headshot-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/November-2019-Pack-Hacks-Gary-Blank-Headshot-230x230.jpg 230w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 270px) 100vw, 270px\" \/>November is International Education Month, but at NC&#160;State, we Think and Do globally all year long. Whether leading students on a study abroad experience or introducing students to international ideas in the classroom, we seek to bring all corners of the world into our teaching, research and service at NC&#160;State. Here are a few ideas on how to share your international experience with students to enrich their education.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Take a Camera!<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"\">Whenever I travel, I take my camera and look for things that are pertinent to the courses I\u2019m teaching. For example, when traveling in Europe I\u2019ll try to take pictures of different examples of uses of wood, forest issues and ecosystems for my <\/span><span style=\"\">FOR 248 \u2013 Forest History, Technology and Society class. Mediterranean maquis vegetation is harder to describe than to photograph.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">I take lots of photographs \u2014 about 500-600 in a month \u2014 and organize them in a library that I can easily pull from depending on the topic I\u2019m talking about in class. If students can see something, rather than just hearing about it, that makes their educational experience more tangible and enriching. And you don\u2019t have to have a fancy camera either. Many cell phone cameras do an excellent job, or you can choose a dSLR camera like an EOS Rebel if you want better resolution.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Think About Home<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"\">When I\u2019m traveling internationally, I\u2019m thinking about how what I experience impacts what I do back home. I try to take photos that illustrate points that students should be thinking about regarding what they will be reading for a class. Always be on the lookout for the connection between what you teach and what you can bring from the context you are in when you are traveling.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Use Your Experience to Challenge Students<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"\">When traveling abroad, think about how you can challenge students to think differently. Try to present what you\u2019ve seen and learned in a way that gets them to think critically about things that they take for granted in the U.S.. Get them talking about the similarities and differences between how people and systems operate here and in other countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Don\u2019t Get Bogged Down in Text<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"\">Most of the time when I present a lecture on my experiences abroad, I intentionally do not use a lot of text on my slides. Thinking critically about a particular situation through interpreting images helps students get a better grasp of what they\u2019re learning and how that impacts the world around them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">For example, I\u2019ll show a photo of a 120-acre wind farm in northern Sweden when talking about the issues we need to be conscious of when doing an environmental assessment of placement of wind turbines. It is great when they are able to respond to the images in a thoughtful manner.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Make Connections<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"\">You don\u2019t learn by pulling open a drawer in a file cabinet drawer and slamming it shut \u2014 you have to look critically at a picture, a situation, and link what you see to what you\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 There is a connection between your experience and your education, and making those connections is what a university education should be about.<\/span><span style=\"\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"\">Regardless of where you travel abroad, you\u2019re sure to find unique aspects of each location to share with your students. By sharing your travels, you\u2019re both on a journey of learning about the wider world outside of NC&#160;State.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"\">Gary Blank is an <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"\">associate and Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor and director of undergraduate programs in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources in the College of Natural Resources<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"\">. He can be reached at <\/span><\/i><a href=\"mailto:gblank@ncsu.edu\"><i><span style=\"\">gblank@ncsu.edu<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"\">.<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"<span style=\"\">Welcome back to Pack Hacks for Faculty. Each month, a member of the NC State faculty will provide quick tips, advice and other insight <\/span><span style=\"\">to facilitate your teaching, research, scholarship or engagement activities.<\/span><span style=\"\"> If you are interested in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/forms\/d\/1NiXQYetQ07Ps9FWreJ-ePE9WPoO_Nots95-ir8Nq2Bg\/edit\"><span style=\"\">making a submission<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> for a future Pack Hacks for Faculty, please review our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/news\/2017\/08\/pack-hacks-for-faculty-submission-guidelines\/\"><span style=\"\">submission guidelines<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> and contact <\/span><a href=\"mailto:povost-communications@ncsu.edu\"><span style=\"\">provost-communications@ncsu.edu<\/span><\/a><span style=\"\"> if you have questions.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"\">This month, Gary Blank, <\/span><span style=\"\">associate and Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor and director of undergraduate programs in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources<\/span><span style=\"\">, gives advice on taking travel lessons back to your classroom.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<h2>Taking Travel Lessons to the Classroom<\/h2>\r\n<a href=\"https:\/\/cnr.ncsu.edu\/directory\/gary-b-blank\/\"><i><span style=\"\">Gary Blank<\/span><\/i><\/a>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"\"><img class=\"size-full wp-image-11241 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/November-2019-Pack-Hacks-Gary-Blank-Headshot.jpg\" alt=\"Gary Blank\" width=\"270\" height=\"270\" \/>November is International Education Month, but at NC State, we Think and Do globally all year long. Whether leading students on a study abroad experience or introducing students to international ideas in the classroom, we seek to bring all corners of the world into our teaching, research and service at NC State. Here are a few ideas on how to share your international experience with students to enrich their education.<\/span>\r\n<h3>Take a Camera!<\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"\">Whenever I travel, I take my camera and look for things that are pertinent to the courses I\u2019m teaching. For example, when traveling in Europe I\u2019ll try to take pictures of different examples of uses of wood, forest issues and ecosystems for my <\/span><span style=\"\">FOR 248 \u2013 Forest History, Technology and Society class. Mediterranean maquis vegetation is harder to describe than to photograph.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"\">I take lots of photographs \u2014 about 500-600 in a month \u2014 and organize them in a library that I can easily pull from depending on the topic I\u2019m talking about in class. If students can see something, rather than just hearing about it, that makes their educational experience more tangible and enriching. And you don\u2019t have to have a fancy camera either. Many cell phone cameras do an excellent job, or you can choose a dSLR camera like an EOS Rebel if you want better resolution.<\/span>\r\n<h3>Think About Home<\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"\">When I\u2019m traveling internationally, I\u2019m thinking about how what I experience impacts what I do back home. I try to take photos that illustrate points that students should be thinking about regarding what they will be reading for a class. Always be on the lookout for the connection between what you teach and what you can bring from the context you are in when you are traveling.<\/span>\r\n<h3>Use Your Experience to Challenge Students<\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"\">When traveling abroad, think about how you can challenge students to think differently. Try to present what you\u2019ve seen and learned in a way that gets them to think critically about things that they take for granted in the U.S.. Get them talking about the similarities and differences between how people and systems operate here and in other countries.<\/span>\r\n<h3>Don\u2019t Get Bogged Down in Text<\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"\">Most of the time when I present a lecture on my experiences abroad, I intentionally do not use a lot of text on my slides. Thinking critically about a particular situation through interpreting images helps students get a better grasp of what they\u2019re learning and how that impacts the world around them.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"\">For example, I\u2019ll show a photo of a 120-acre wind farm in northern Sweden when talking about the issues we need to be conscious of when doing an environmental assessment of placement of wind turbines. It is great when they are able to respond to the images in a thoughtful manner.<\/span>\r\n<h3>Make Connections<\/h3>\r\n<span style=\"\">You don\u2019t learn by pulling open a drawer in a file cabinet drawer and slamming it shut \u2014 you have to look critically at a picture, a situation, and link what you see to what you\u2019re talking about.\u00a0 There is a connection between your experience and your education, and making those connections is what a university education should be about.<\/span><span style=\"\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\"\">Regardless of where you travel abroad, you\u2019re sure to find unique aspects of each location to share with your students. By sharing your travels, you\u2019re both on a journey of learning about the wider world outside of NC State.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n<i><span style=\"\">Gary Blank is an <\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"\">associate and Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor and director of undergraduate programs in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources in the College of Natural Resources<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"\">. He can be reached at <\/span><\/i><a href=\"mailto:gblank@ncsu.edu\"><i><span style=\"\">gblank@ncsu.edu<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"\">.<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i><i><span style=\"\">\u00a0<\/span><\/i>"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This month, Gary Blank, associate and Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Professor and director of undergraduate programs in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, gives advice on taking travel lessons back to your classroom.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7,18,24,25,8],"tags":[217,27,31],"class_list":["post-11238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty-and-staff","category-homepage","category-international","category-newswire","category-students","tag-international","tag-pack-hacks-for-faculty","tag-teaching-mentoring"],"displayCategory":null,"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11238"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11245,"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11238\/revisions\/11245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/provost.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}