Any faculty member who has led groups abroad soon learns that you develop a very special relationship with your students, and that your role extends beyond what you may be used to at home. Students will look to you for advice and come to you with challenges along the way. You'll wear the hat of professor, friend, mentor, cheerleader, counselor and more!

One of Barcelona SAE's core values is to "Expect the Unexpected" and it is important to realize that each program and student is unique. There is no way to prepare yourself for every possible scenario or crisis that could arise, but here are a few examples and tips on ICC that may help you in a variety of situations.

We are here to make your experience a success! Our goal is to make sure that you have the resources and support that you need to facilitate an effective learning environment for your students onsite. We will coordinate the logistical pieces of your program so that you can focus on student learning both inside and outside of the classroom.

All of Barcelona SAE's staff are multilingual, have experience working with international students in Barcelona, and are passionate about the city's culture and history. We will take care of everything from your student's welcome orientation, arranging guided tours of the city, accompanying students on day trips, and packing your itinerary with meaningful visits that contribute to the students' academic learning.

We also are here to help with health & safety needs. We have relationships with Barcelona's hospitals and mental health professionals that speak English and are accustomed to working with students. There is a 24-hour emergency phone that rotates amongst the staff, available to both you and your students.

Faculty are responsible for designing their program, recruiting students, and instructing students onsite. In addition to instruction in the classroom, you should be helping your students in drawing connections to learning happening outside of the classroom... such as debriefing site visits and academic excursions.

Remember, you will be learning some new things as well! We hope you will come on this program with an open mind and a willingness to see things from a different perspective. Oftentimes, professors discover new things about Spanish/Catalan culture (or even about themselves) that lead to productive discussions in the classroom. Your role as a facilitator is to get the students engaged in this learning process. Challenge them to think outside the box - to look at the world differently than before. We've put together a list of tips to help you do this!

You should also be making sure that students are actively participating in educational activities by setting clear behavioral expectations and enforcing your attendance policy. This includes tracking attendance and punctuality for classes and activities and helping to keep students paying attention during tours. See more about our behavioral policies on our FAQ page.

We've found that the faculty have an important role in keeping a group positive and happy. The best way to do this is to lead by example. Point out the positive side of situations, listen to concerns, be flexible, expect the unexpected, and roll with the punches. These are important tools for anyone traveling abroad and you will be teaching your students these skills on the go! Below are some other suggestions from past faculty on activities to cultivate a positive group dynamic.

Mixing your students

• Make an index card with each student's name. When you get to a restaurant, shuffle them and place a card in front of each plate randomly, and have the student sit where their card is. This way your group will mingle bit by bit during group meals.
• If you feel that your group is cliquey or that someone is feeling left out, we encourage you to randomly assign rooms on any trips. You can also encourage participants to share their free-time plans with the group and open their activities up to others.

Checking in

• Take a few student out each day for coffee to see how they are adjusting and if they have any concerns. These check-ins with 2-4 students at a time can be a great way to get to know your students better and to be able to identify issues.
• If you notice that a student seems to be acting differently than usual, take them aside to ask how they're doing. Are they enjoying the program? Are they having any difficulties they would like to address?

Take advantage of wait times

• Use waiting times to prepare students for the upcoming experience. Some faculty members even utilize this strategy prior to arrival. If you are on a group flight, you can use the time in the airport lounge to ask students about what they think they will miss the most or what they expect to be their largest obstacles. Facilitate a discussion on how to prepare for that and give them some tips. Share some anecdotes from your previous travel experience to demonstrate that culture shock can also be fun!

Creating Self-Reliance

• Each student has an itinerary, but they'll come to you constantly with questions about meeting points and the schedule. Pick a student leader for each day! That person can be in charge of moving the group, mapping the route, reminding people of meeting times and points. Maybe they could even create a group blog post for that day.

Here are some ways you can help in ensuring that your program runs smoothly:

Be familiar with our rules and policies.

Build participation into your grading and make clear what participation means to you (punctuality, coming to activities prepared to participate, asking questions, respecting tour guides, etc). Remind students of your expectations throughout the program.

Add facts and tidbits from guest speakers and tours into your quizzes to reward those who were paying attention. Let students know in advance that this will happen to encourage students to pay attention or take notes during tours.

When we are meeting for an event or activity, the faculty member should take attendance or headcount their group. One tip is to assign each student a number chronologically and have them count off when you're gathering the group together. If there is a pause in the counting, you can quickly identify who is missing. Please notify the Barcelona SAE staff if someone is missing.

Reward positive behavior. Sometimes we buy local treats and give one to the first person who asked a question after a guest speaker, or the first person who was in the lobby and ready to go for a field trip. Even just saying thank you to the students after a day trip where you noticed they were particularly punctual and attentive goes a long way. One group made the last person in the lobby each morning sing "I'm a little teacup." It was silly, but no one wanted to be the last one down!

Assign a daily student leader. This student can be responsible for doing some basic research about topics touched on guest lectures or site visits. Ask them to give a brief overview of the day with the group and be responsible to bring up some questions during the lecture or tour.

During group lunches or any other gathering times, ask students to share what activities they have enjoyed the most, their favorite meal so far or what places they've discovered. This is a great opportunity for students to share about their experiences while getting some recommendations from their peers!