What do you get when you mix 36 graduate teacher candidates and faculty, take them to Western Europe for 15 days, stir gently, and expose them to numerous new educational experiences? A learning event called Niagara University Study Abroad!

In May, Drs. Erwin, Heaggans, and Sze led a tour group to parts of Western Europe, including Maastricht and Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Hasselt and Brussels in Belgium, and Aachen in Germany. Participants visited a variety of elementary and secondary schools, observed students and teachers, heard presentations from school leaders, and gained insights into European models of education.

Candidates observed many of the same principles of learning and teaching known from prior experience being used in these different cultural settings, but they also saw some new approaches. Noticing how different societies have developed these unfamiliar solutions to educational problems stimulated the candidates to think about how and why US and Canadian schools address these same issues as they do.

These direct experiences with school practices in other cultures develop teacher candidates with broader professional experience and insight than they would have otherwise, a plus for the candidates and for the College of Education programs. In this way the NU Study Abroad experience uniquely contributes to the professional preparation of outstanding teacher candidates.