Teacher Travel Abroad
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Huraa Island, Summer Program in the Maldives 2022
The South Asia Institute (SAI) actively promotes opportunities for K-12 educators to travel abroad to build their own background knowledge and gain invaluable experience overseas that they can bring back to their classrooms to share with their students.
Short-Term Teacher Travel
To meet the demand of educators who want a quality travel experience that is tailored to the specific interests and needs of educators, SAI frequently offers shorter programs abroad. These trips combine an academic approach with a short, intense travel experience. SAI conducts these programs during Texas's spring break (usually the second full week in March), and during the summer months. In addition to visiting sites under the guidance of an experienced, credentialed guide, groups are accompanied by an academic escort from the University of Texas who helps participants process the experience for their classrooms. We try to keep these affordable for educators and can often offer travel scholarships for teachers to offset the costs.
Past Programs:
Teachers/Educators at the Government Hight School in Diffushi Island, Summer Program in the Maldives 2022
Summer Program in the Maldives (2022)
"I hope to gain first-hand knowledge of life/education/climate change in the Maldives, and plan to create curriculum materials that focus on the impact of climate change on island communities around the world, using the Maldives as a case study. I hope to make connections to other island communities using knowledge gained during my recent travel to the Galapagos Islands (summer 2021) and Iceland (summer 2022)."
- 1st grade Social Studies Lead Teacher from Arlington, Virginia
Prayer flags at Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Summer Program in India and Nepal (2018)
"The visits to the various women-led schools and development organizations were a definite highlight of my trip. It was inspiring to see firsthand all the amazing work they are doing to empower their communities and families. UT SAI’s academic representative provided enriching background information based on her own research with women in Varanasi. There is just so much for me bring back to my students!"
- 9th grade World Geography Teacher from Texarkana, Texas
Summer Program in Myanmar (Burma) 2016
Serious students pose with teachers at Myinka Village School during Summer Program in Myanmar (Burma) 2016.
“The culture, traditions, history and sights of Myanmar will provide an endless fount of topics for class discussion including religion’s role in people’s lives, choices governments make as they provide access to modern technologies for their people, the components needed for a consistent strong economy, and so much more.”
- 6th grade World Cultures Teacher from Dallas, Texas
Summer Program in Sri Lanka 2015
Fishing boats in Negumobo Port.
“When I return to school equipped with new curriculum resources on Sri Lanka, I will create a lesson on its geography, both physical and political, a lesson on its 32-year civil war, a lesson on the breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage sites, on Galle Fort and the country’s colonial legacy. But the most important lesson, I will bring to my students is the one that will inspire them … to travel, to learn, and to educate themselves and make each one a better person, a more tolerant individual, an individual whose mission in this life is to serve others and make our world a better, more loving world. “
- World Geography Teacher from Laredo, Texas
Spring Break in India 2014
Window of a home in Bharatpur Village in Rajasthani.
"We departed India having learned so much about the country, its cultures and faiths, its people … but this information sparked the beginning of a greater learning about ourselves as well."
- English Teacher, NYC
Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad
Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad (SA) provide short-term study and travel seminars abroad for U.S. educators in the social sciences and humanities for the purpose of improving their understanding and knowledge of the peoples and cultures of other countries. The South Asia Institute has organized the pre-departure orientation for the SA programs including “Sustainable Development and Social Change in India” in 2016 and “India and Sri Lanka: Ancient Civilizations in the 21st Century” and “Math and Science Teaching and Student Achievement,” both in 2008. As part of these programs, teachers created country-specific curriculum units that are complete and ready to use in K–16 classrooms, which can be viewed here.
The U.S. Department of Education through it's Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad (SA) provides short-term study and travel seminars for U.S. educators in the social sciences and humanities for the purpose of improving their understanding and knowledge of the peoples and cultures of other countries. SAI Outreach organized the pre-departure orientation and now hosts the curriculum units developed by two South Asia programs: India and Sri Lanka 2008 and Seminar for India Math and Science 2008.
For more information on current programs and how to apply for a Seminar Abroad, please visit http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpssap/index.html.
2016: Sustainable Development and Social Change in India
2008:India and Sri Lanka: Ancient Civilizations in the 21st Century
2008:Math and Science Teaching and Student Achievement
