Graduate & Professional Development Credit

GEEO has developed a multi-tiered system to ensure that both teachers and their students receive as much educational benefit as possible from our travel programs. The educational and for-credit components of the program were developed by GEEO staff in consultation with professional educators with expertise in elementary to graduate-level education.

We award professional development certificates at the end of the program at no cost. Every state has different requirements on professional development credit, so the amount of credit an educator receives for participating in one of our programs varies.

Participants can also enroll in an accompanying online graduate course through Southern New Hampshire University. The graduate course is completely optional and only for classroom teachers who wish to earn graduate credit related to their participation in one of our programs. Registration and payment for the graduate course are separate and in addition to registration and payment for the GEEO travel program. Course participants enrolled in a graduate program must confirm in advance that the credit will be accepted by their degree-granting institution’s program, as no refunds will be made on the basis of inability to transfer credit. Please see here for a more detailed course description.

Here is a brief summary of the graduate course:

Title

PDED-501GE: “Bring the World into Your Classroom”

Course Description

In this course, you will travel on a GEEO travel program and use the knowledge, artifacts, and skills acquired during your journey in your future teaching practice. After returning home, you will prepare and implement a student learning experience that integrates both local standards and a global competency framework. You will then document and reflect on that experience. By engaging in this cycle of practice and reflection, you will experience powerful growth as an educator.

Credit Hours

3 graduate credit hours

Tuition

$600 in total

Full application/payment/registration begins:

Rolling. This is flexible.

Full application/payment/registration deadline:

Rolling. This is flexible.

Coursework submission deadline:

December 1st for summer programs; June 1st for winter and spring programs

Responsibilities prior to departure:
  • Meet with your cohort over video conference twice for a total of 3 hours.
  • Submit your classroom action plan here.
Responsibilities during the travel portion of the course:
  • Participate in a curriculum discussion when you can further develop or revise your classroom action plan.
  • Collect relevant artifacts that provide information about the history, environment, culture, geography, politics, and/or education system of your destination(s).
  • Learn about your destination(s). Participate in the program’s scheduled visits to historically and culturally significant locations, cultural immersion, nature experiences, and other educational and mind-opening activities.
Responsibilities after re-entry:
  • Reunite with your cohort over a video conference to discuss the next phase of the course.
  • Create and implement a student learning experience that includes the following:
    • At least one state or national grade-level standard
    • A global competence framework
    • A student work sample (product) demonstrating learning
  • Once you are finished carrying out this student learning experience, you will submit the following to be reviewed and assessed:
    • A minimum one-page double-spaced description detailing the student learning experience and any relevant instructions given to students. You should explicitly highlight the standard(s) and global competency framework you used. This description may also take the form of a blog post or video.
    • An exemplar work sample (product) that demonstrates student learning (e.g. annotated photographs, papers, posters, podcasts, videos).
    • A minimum one-page double-spaced reflection on how your travel experience has impacted your teaching practice.
How to Enroll:

You first must register for your GEEO travel program. Then, send a check for $600 made out to “GEEO” to GEEO, 2945 Morris Rd., Ardmore, PA 19003. We will enroll you with SNHU, connect you with your cohort and instructor, and let you know when you can log in to SNHU’s system to request your transcript. Please see the full course syllabus here. If you have any questions about GEEO’s graduate course, feel free to contact us.