Description
Educators are expected to help students grow into well-informed, open-minded global citizens. Delivering only academic content is no longer enough.
However, for many teachers, creating lessons that are meaningful experiences for students and connected to the wider world can be a real challenge, especially when traveling isn’t an option.
Many educators are searching for new ways to spark curiosity, build intercultural understanding, and bring real-world relevance into the classroom.
That’s where this course comes in.
Travel-inspired teaching offers a creative, cross-curricular approach to education that is based on the power of global experiences without leaving your city.
The focus is on making sure students feel more engaged, more connected, and more curious about the world around them.
During the course, participants will explore the ideas behind travel-based learning, like experiential and place-based education.
They’ll take part in hands-on activities like photo-report challenges, virtual field trips, and collaborative travel project planning. Teachers will also explore digital tools such as Google Earth and Padlet to create interactive stories and cross-cultural exchanges.
Working together in small groups, participants will develop travel-themed lesson plans that link together subjects like language, geography, history, and citizenship.
There’ll be plenty of space for sharing ideas, trying things out, and building practical resources that will be ready to use once you are back at school.
By the end of the week, they will leave with a toolkit of ready-to-use strategies, a customized travel-inspired project, and new confidence in using creative methods and digital tools.
But maybe more importantly, participants will return with a refreshed perspective – and the skills to help your students explore the world with curiosity, empathy, and a sense of adventure.
What is included
Learning outcomes
This course will help participants to:
- Promote global citizenship and intercultural awareness through creative, travel-inspired classroom activities;
- Understand and apply experiential learning;
- Use digital tools to create immersive virtual journeys and student storytelling projects;
- Design cross-curricular lessons that connect language learning, geography, history, math, art, and many other subjects;
- Develop and present a travel-themed project or lesson plan;
- Integrate place-based education approaches to connect local environments, communities, and cultural landmarks with meaningful learning experiences.
Tentative schedule
Day 1 – Introduction to the course
- Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
- Icebreaker activities and warm-up games;
- Presentations of the participants’ schools.
Theoretical foundations
- Travel: Different ways of traveling, benefits of traveling;
- Interculturality;
- Travel and education;
- Group reflection.
Day 2 – Experiential learning and teamwork
- Experiential learning;
- Games using languages, communication skills, and intercultural skills;
- Outdoor activity: cultural heritage or museum or biodiversity exploration.
Day 3 – Methodology and digital tools
- Place-based education;
- Designing cross-curricular travel-based lessons;
- Web solutions and digital tools.
Day 4 – Case studies
- Examples and case studies;
- Games and activities for an unforgettable school trip.
Day 5 – Designing your own travel-inspired lesson plan or a school trip project
- Teamwork;
- Designing a school trip project;
- Presentation and discussion.
Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities
- Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
- Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
- Excursion and other external cultural activities.
