Space Travel: Past, Present, and Future

This course combines traditional classroom learning, community based service learning, and on-site international field experience in the Maya world of Yucatán. Specifically, this field study abroad course provides students with direct experiential training in and academic knowledge of international tourism development and the unique problems of creating sustainable community oriented tourism. The course consists of one and half weeks pre-travel seminar conducted on-campus followed by three and half weeks in the Yucatán Peninsula, México. The primary on-site location is the Indigenous Maya community of Pisté located 3 kms. from the New Seven Wonder and UNESCO World Heritage site of Chichén Itzá. Pisté is a town that provides the majority of tourism services to Chichén. Student work in teams and are paired up with community partners in order to create strategies and projects for increased tourism development that directly benefits local peoples and communities. There will be required orientation meetings before the course starts; initial meeting is held in early March and a follow up in the second week of April.

Course Background Today's business environment moves rapidly and often unpredictably. At any given time, funding and political support may wax or wane. Technology changes in areas such as computers, new materials, or breakthrough products are rapid and profound. The competitive landscape shifts daily. Goals evolve and often are interpreted differently, depending on the perspective of the stakeholder. Uncertainties create risk that must be managed. Industries, organizations and people are more interdependent than ever, relying on each other in areas such as specialized technical expertise and facilities. Businesses must collaborate to produce a product or service. Leaders can no longer rely on power, roles or processes alone to influence outcomes when they work interdependently with other organizations. To be successful in this complex and dynamic environment, project managers and leaders must demonstrate abilities beyond experience, technical and process insight, communication ...

2010

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2008

Pre-service teachers from Texas and Indiana in the United States and from Queensland, Australia, observed the Moon for a semester and compared and contrasted their findings in asynchronous Internet discussion groups. The 188 pre-service teachers were required to conduct inquiry investigations for their methods coursework which included an initial Moon observation assignment, an Internet Moon discussion, and a final project. The Moon context was chosen for its motivating capability, its inherent interdisciplinary makeup, its inclusion in the National Science Education Standards, and its ability to be viewed worldwide. This study was of a mixed method research design and involved pre-service teachers’ journals, summative reflections, Internet discussions, final projects, and the Lunar Phases Concept Inventory (LPCI). Analysis of the qualitative data was conducted through the exploration of patterns and themes that illustrated pre-service teachers’ conceptual development, and the LPCI was administered as a pre/post assessment. We found that our project led to increased knowledge concerning the mathematics and science involved with understanding the Moon and its phases. We also found that it was beneficial to have Internet discussions with pre-service teachers from around the world, but it was not without its problems (e.g., coordinating schedules and lack of participation by some participants). We discovered that pre-service teachers’ exposure to the new uses of technology for teaching and learning did not necessarily translate to their planning to adopt similar techniques in their own classrooms.

Journal of Business and Technical …, 2010

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