A Flexible, Accessible Program
The Global Perspectives through the Narrative of Ireland Course is an online series of 16 modules to develop students’ cultural competency, critical and comparative thinking skills, and professional development, through a study of the narratives of Ireland, past and present. This program comes directly from ISAIreland, and the syllabus was developed in consultation with CCID and other community college partners.
The program has been delivered to over 1000 students in 30+ institutions, and there are myriad ways that you can integrate it into your program. Below are some key ways in which institutions have used the GPNOI Online Course.
How Institutions are using the course
As a stand-alone course:
Institutions can decide to deliver the course as a standalone learning experience, for credit or otherwise. Students can take the course asynchronously with their ongoing modules, with assignments reviewed by ISAI, and reports delivered on lecture progression and assignments submitted.
“In the summer of 2021, because of the pandemic, our students could not travel to Ireland for the study abroad course as we had before. Instead, they got to take the online Narratives of Ireland course. After spending the previous year at home due to COVID restrictions, the students were able to experience and learn about another part of the world and felt as though they had travelled to another country.”
Joben Rivera-Thompson, Central Georgia Technical College
Integrated into another course:
Institutions can use the GPNOI as a supplementary tool for courses in many disciplines, such as humanities, arts, social justice, business and more. Faculty may choose to use the parts of the program which align to their current course, or have students complete the full course in tandem with their ongoing coursework.
“I integrated the program into my Humanities course and offered it as an option for students pursuing the Global Distinction program. With the HUM 180: International Cultural Exploration course, the program allowed students to explore the cultural, historical, and literary dimensions of Ireland. By delving into Irish literature, folklore, and historical events, students gained a better understanding of Ireland’s narratives and their influence on our contemporary world. This interdisciplinary approach allowed them to connect various facets of Irish culture to broader humanities themes, fostering a clearer and more nuanced appreciation for Ireland’s contributions to global culture.”
Matthew Humphries, Isothermal Communtiy College
Pre-Study Abroad Program:
Students can often feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the idea of travelling to a new country that they do not know much about. Our institutions have found that delivering the GPNOI before.a study abroad program gives Students a base level of understanding of the country, culture and people in Ireland before making the big step to travel there. This can be used both for students signed up for Study Abroad, or to improve uptake on a future program.
“The Study abroad online course was an excellent opportunity for our students to “taste” the wonders of Ireland. Even though it was only a virtual experience, it allowed students to gain a better understanding of Ireland’s culture, history, language, and other aspects of Ireland. On a personally note, after two years of organizing the virtual class for Ireland. I was ready to go to Ireland, which I did in January 2024, with 13 students. In their final comments/reflection papers, several mention, they had an amazing time and created life long memories, which I also did”
Lance Kelley, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College
International Education Requirement:
Many institutions have delivered the Global Perspectives course as part of their International Education Week efforts, or when internationalisation credits are necessary. The course provides cultural comparisons that make it a perfect resource for furthering international connections.
“The course played a significant role in our Global Distinction program, particularly in meeting the Global Events requirement. I share the program with my students throughout the year, but I especially emphasize it during International Education Week. Many of my students are unable to either participate in the study abroad trip or take the Humanities course, but through this program, they are still able to gain an understanding of Ireland’s global significance, as well as its role in the development of our world in western North Carolina. This worked particularly well during International Education Week, which encourages them to consider the interconnectedness of historical and contemporary events on a global scale.”
Matthew Humphries, Isothermal Community College
Student Testimonials
FAQs
The course has 16 modules, which include a 35 minute online class, a reading list, and a prescribed assignment per each class. It will be available to students from September – December 2021. Students will receive a certificate from ISAI providing they complete each class and assignment.
Students will
Investigate the world beyond their immediate environment, framing significant problems and conducting well-crafted and age-appropriate research.
Recognize perspectives, others’ and their own, articulating and explaining such perspectives thoughtfully and respectfully.
Observe and evaluate the opinions and experiences of diverse audiences, with an awareness of geographic, linguistic, ideological, and cultural similarities and differences.
Engage in a personal way with the narratives and themes of each module and contribute creatively to an ongoing dialogue over the duration of the program.
Reflect critically on their role as a member of the global community and pursue ways to create positive change.
The primary lecturer is Dr. Niamh Hamill, Ph.D. in Cultural History, director of the Institute of Study Abroad Ireland and Professor of Global Studies, Drew University NJ. Guest speakers include Dr. Paula Meehan, Senator Eileen Flynn, Consul General of Ireland Claire McCarthy, Professors and lecturers from University College Dublin, Quinnipiac University, Penn State, and a diverse community of Irish advocates, experts and spokespersons.
If you enrol a minimum of 10 students in the program, they will be fully funded. Extra students can also be enrolled at a discounted fee of $50 per student. You may use the funding of $500 in conjunction with a small fee from students, or your own funding, to increase the amount of students who take part, but a minimum of ten students is required.
ISAI will need a liaison person who is willing to make students aware of the program, help them to enrol, and be available as a contact with the faculty at ISAI to receive student progress reports. Student assignments will be evaluated by ISAI, but your faculty / liaison person will have access to all assignments and evaluations
Please click the ‘expression of interest button’, complete the form and send back to us. We will contact you immediately to discuss any aspects of the program with you, and help you with the next steps.
The Institute of Study Abroad Ireland (ISAI) currently work with over 200 community colleges in the USA, usually on education trips to Ireland, but since Covid-19, we have created a virtual version of our educational study trip. ISAI is a long-term partner of Community Colleges International Development (CCID) and we agreed that there was a need to address the need to provide a cultural competency program for students who don’t, won’t, or cannot travel. The Irish Consulate at Austin, Texas kindly provided funding to debut this program in Texas, and give a number of colleges the opportunity to offer the program to their students for fall 2021.
The Institute of Study Abroad Ireland
http://www.isaireland.com
Community Colleges for International Development
https://www.ccidinc.org/
Consulate of Ireland in Austin TX
https://www.dfa.ie/irish-consulate/austin/
Dr. Melissa Whatley is responsible for evaluating the outcomes of this program. The tool we will use is the Global Perspective Inventory (GPI) is a survey instrument developed at Iowa State University (https://www.gpi.hs.iastate.edu/) that measures three dimensions of global learning: cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal. For the ISA evaluation, students complete the 32-item GPI at the beginning and at the end of their program to measure progress over the course of their virtual experience. For more information, please see our Evaluation Report here.