More Fun Than Ought to be Graded: Assuring Student Learning in Study Abroad Programs

Abstract

Study abroad courses provide an excellent opportunity for students to augment their degrees by practical experiences and exposure to new sets of cultural and professional norms and customs. To maximize the utility of such courses, careful planning and execution of itineraries and learning objectives is crucial, while simultaneously allowing students to gather experiences on their own. We highlight lessons learned from a study abroad course with the focus on IT and Data Science, with the aim of enabling other instructors and researchers to set up their own study abroad courses. In addition to a detailed description of planning and management activities, we describe different types of evaluation that can be used to assess a student's participation in such a course. Together with presented lessons learned this article is as a useful resource for educators planning an IT-related study abroad course.