What I learned from a WorldStrides program:
As I reflect on the past year, I am pleased and encouraged. I traveled for the first time with my students on a WorldStrides program. I became excited about the idea of traveling because I remembered past times in my life when I took a road-trip with my own family. Traveling actually means something to me. I want to remember this trip not only for the smashing success and amazing reactions that my students had, but also for the outcomes and how much I learned and felt during the process of planning.

My goals in setting out to complete this project were to:

1) become more comfortable working with parents in my school
     community;
2) learn new ways to incorporate critical thinking and inquiry into my
     daily lessons; and
3) develop a new way to teach students about the world they live in.

As I think about my experience, I am reminded of the progress I have made throughout the year. My anxiety about this trip in week nineteen is much different than my anxiety about my first parent meeting in week two. With the help of my WorldStrides support-team and my mentor, I can now present to parents more naturally. I am now comfortable with transitions and my clarity in public speaking. I was able to convey a feeling of trust and respect in my ability to lead students and keep them safe.

As a young teacher, this has made a tremendous impact on my everyday teaching style. Perhaps my single greatest area of improvement is how I handle questions of inquiry or critical thinking with my students. This trip has taught me how to respond to questions more quickly, accurately, and my responses are now less of “an answer” and more of “a reflective question” back to the student.

Prior to my WorldStrides trip, I found that questions I could not immediately answer threw me off guard. I found it difficult to respond and often, made mistakes or became too defensive. In theory, I welcomed their inquiry, but in practice, I did not want to look stupid or weak if I did not have the answers. To improve, I began by reading through the resources I was provided by WorldStrides about the sites I would be visiting with my students. I began to incorporate the lessons into my planning and I gradually became more comfortable with my students asking LOTS of questions. I began to feature “questions-of-the-day” that I didn’t prepare ‘set’ answers for. On my trip, I was able to really test my learning because I was not sitting next to a book or computer when we were visiting the sites. When students asked questions, I practiced “thinking on my feet” and taking advantage of teachable moments. The activities that were provided to me from WorldStrides allowed the students to ask questions and develop their curiosity about our travels. Together, we all learned so much.

This trip was my best teaching yet. I believe that students learn best when they are provided with an environment that fosters discussion, exploration, and active learning. I want to teach my students that asking questions, taking risks, and trying new things are the foundation to a great life as an adult. This is why I chose to travel on a WorldStrides program with my students. This trip was about finding a new way to teach students about respect, responsibility and opportunity. I began working with my students early-on to develop a sense of team building and leadership. I asked several students to take on such jobs as speaking at our parent meeting or student meetings, copying maps or lesson plans, searching the Internet, or taking pictures to document our adventure. We were able to pass everything onto our own website, www.MyTrip.worldstrides.org, that WorldStrides gave to us! The students learned to help each other and to work with others whom they might not normally associate with. This was very valuable to me and to our entire school community. We worked together to raise funds, motivated one another during the busy months, and overall, developed a special bond as a group. I have never felt the power of such teaching before. I believe that this trip was so beneficial for my students.

In the end, we all learned so much about each other, the sites, and about what it means to be independent and a leader. I, however, believe I learned even more. This trip will have an effect on all my students in the future, as the lessons I have learned not only apply to this trip, but to my overall teaching philosophy and methodology.

Thank you, WorldStrides, for the best professional development ever!