Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

a number of projects designed to promote internationalization in higher education.Internationalization is defined here as “the process of integrating an internationaland intercultural dimension into teaching, research, and service functions of theinstitution” (Knight and de Wit 1995). This paper reviews two major projects thatthe AAG is conducting to help geography faculty members participate in the internationalizationprocess. The first project involves collaboration between the AAG,the American Council on Education, and three other disciplinary organizations todevelop an action plan for internationalization. The second project is developingexperimental educational materials for geography in higher education, with the aimof creating online learning environments to engage students in international learningand discussion.Ace internationalization projectThe AAG, along with three other disciplinary associations (the American HistoricalAssociation, the American Political Science Association, and the American PsychologicalAssociation) and the American Council on Education (ACE), are part of a newproject promoting the internationalization of teaching and learning at U.S. collegesand universities. The project, entitled “Where Faculty Live: Internationalizing theDisciplines,” is being funded by a Carnegie Corporation grant to the ACE. As partof the project, each association is charged with three goals: (1) articulate globallearning outcomes relevant to its membership that will inform both the major andgeneral education and communicate those outcomes to the membership, (2) developan action plan to promote internationalization within its discipline, and (3) explorehow the work on internationalization accomplished by the disciplinary associationscan be integrated into institutional strategies to promote internationalization.To assist the participating associations in this work, ACE has formed a steeringcommittee consisting of representatives of the associations and several otheracademic organizations, including the American Association for the Advancementof Science, American Council of Learned Societies, the Consortium of Social ScienceAssociations, and the National Humanities Alliance. The committee will serve as amechanism for the exchange of ideas among the participants and will explore howthe work of the project and overall institutional efforts to enhance internationalizationcan be mutually reinforcing.It is expected that the ACE project will demonstrate how disciplinary associationscan take a leadership role in promoting the internationalization of student learning.The project will also provide guidance to faculty in the participating disciplines tohelp them incorporate an international dimension into their teaching and the experiencesof their students, in both upper-level courses in the major and in courses thatcomprise general education or the core curriculum. To achieve these goals, the AAGis leading a study to measure how faculty and departments perceive the value ofinternationalization for geography education and research. The survey is collectingdata on the social and professional characteristics of academics who practice internationalizationand describe their experiences with international teaching and research.It is designed to identify the tactics that geography departments are using to inter-213