With this GPS initiative, Provost Pettigrew has called for the faculty to further internationalize the curriculum. Now is the time to re-think your courses.
The GPS Narrative is a 1500-3000 word narrative in which students organize and synthesize their experiences abroad, including what was the purpose of the event, who were the agents involved, what were the initial goals, what were the specific interactions, and how did the circumstances change the expected results. They can take the form of essays, journal entries, diaries, even video-documentaries.
These narratives are primarily an assessment tool, a way to insure a consistency of student learning outcomes across the many possible experiences in the GPS.
Core assessment committees will be looking for a majority of slo's within the narrative, so it will be important to review those prior to departure.
In a nutshell the narrative should address how the student 'crossed borders' – how the cultural differences impacted their study and experiences.
A faculty liaison from the Foreign Language department will be available to help faculty conceptualize these narratives, and how best to incorporate them into coursework or travel events. Foreign language faculty will assist the CAC in assessment. The narratives from all travel options in the GPS will be collected in drop-boxes on Angel and the collection coordinated by the Global Education office. Faculty/students will have up to four weeks after the end of the semester to submit these documents.
A sample (fictional) GPS Narrative is available for review in the ‘Current GPS documents’ folder on the Core Community Group login required site on Angel
