Internationalizing “Engaged” Learning: Enhancing Travel Study in Cuba

This research note presents the results of a pilot project to enhance the international travel study program at the University of Nebraska Omaha through an innovative integration of service- and experiential-learning techniques in a course titled “Cuba at the Crossroads.” This course is designed to enhance the student’s knowledge and understanding of what I term “global engaged learning” that specifically seeks to integrate civic participation and political learning in an international context. This includes the development of a deep understanding of the political, economic, and social context of the Cuban reality where the students work with a Cuban social service organization to promote the well-being of, and sustainability in, Cuban society through service-learning projects. The outcomes are measured through the completion of the projects, as well as the dialogical journaling and reflection exercises, lectures, readings, discussions, and site visits while in Cuba.