Degree Name
MA in International Education
First Advisor
Richard Rodman
Abstract
This capstone describes the design of an outbound, education abroad program that will take place in Dharamsala, India over a five-week period. It will bring together young adults from the U.S. and Tibet for an intercultural learning experience. The program will provide hands-on opportunities for participants to be engaged in academic, philosophical and personal growth. The educational workshops and activities will be centered on neuroscience, meditation, and Buddhist conceptions of science and the natural world. At the same time, themes of intercultural communication and competence will be explored in-depth.
As a foundation, the program will build from an existing partnership between Tibetan Buddhist monastic communities in India, and the ExplOratorium, a museum located in San Francisco, CA. The partnership has led to the formation of an organization called Science for Monks, which brings scientists from the ExplOratorium to India to teach Tibetan monks and nuns about science, and to explore together the differences and intersections between Western scientific thought and Buddhist beliefs.
For participants, the program design will help to develop intercultural competencies, increasing their understanding of both neuroscience and Tibetan Buddhism. The program will propagate global awareness and appreciation of cultural differences within communities in both San Francisco and northern India. It will further the educational missions of the two involved constituencies: the Exploratorium and the Tibetan Buddhist community. Lastly, the program design will contribute to both the international education and museum fields by providing a model of a short-term, education abroad summer program for youth.
Disciplines
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Interactive Arts | International and Comparative Education | Neuroscience and Neurobiology | Other Education | Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Rubin, Nina, "ExplOre, Educate, Expand: The ExplOratorium’s Education Abroad Youth Program" (2012). Capstone Collection. 2571.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/capstones/2571
Included in
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Interactive Arts Commons, International and Comparative Education Commons, Neuroscience and Neurobiology Commons, Other Education Commons, Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons