This information is meant for teachers or staff at the K-12 level who are interested in educating their students about other countries and regions worldwide. Studying abroad is an effective way for students to develop global awareness and to learn more about the world. Students who go abroad often have a profound experience that remains with them forever and influences their further education and often their career.

Many teachers have had the personal experience of study abroad; the information in this section of the site is designed for teachers to be able to make presentations on their own. We also provide information that can be given to international students who may be able to come and present at K-12 schools and/or in classrooms.

Steps to Bring International Students to Your School

1. Contact the International Student Office at your local university
2. Advice on planning the presentation
3. Giving your presentation
4. Evaluation of presentation

Step 1 Contact the International Student Office at your local university

Start with the International Student or Study Abroad Offices at local university or college campus to find out if they have an international student outreach plan or program for global issues, international relations, visiting schools, etc. (E.g. a program where international university students visit K-12 schools).

• If they do, they can connect you to an international student and provide you with some advice on planning a presentation with them.
• If no such program exists, you may still be able to get general suggestions and/ or contacts to resources that can help, including international students or information about other schools which may have such a program.

In the event that there is no International Student or Study Abroad Office on campus or the offices are not able to help you get closer to your goal, here are a few suggestions:

• On your own, contact international students to organize and speak during presentations promoting study abroad.
• Enlist the help of a faculty member at your school or the local university who has expertise and potential contacts relevant to similar outreach projects and/ or international students. Pay particular attention to faculty members in Education, International Business, or other International Studies and Area Studies Programs.
• Use the resources on this site to do the presentation yourself about a country you have visited. These resources include PowerPoint presentations that have been created as customizable templates for your own presentations about international study. You may personalize these presentations with your own information or by adding and removing particular slides as you see fit. There are five different presentations, targeting 4-year college/university students, students at community colleges, high school, middle school and elementary school.

Step 2 Advice on planning the presentation Go Back Top

You may personally use this information if you plan to give an outreach presentation or provide this to an international student who has volunteered to give an outreach presentation in your classroom.

Download our Outreach Presentation Plan This is designed to help you plan your presentation.

Consider Using One of our Customizable PowerPoint Presentations. These PowerPoint presentations available on this website have been created as customizable templates for your own presentations about your international experiences. You may personalize these presentations with your own information or by adding and removing particular slides as you see fit. There are two sections of presentations you can use depending on if you are presenting to U.S. students about your home country or presenting to students back home about studying in the U.S. There are several different presentations including ones targeting African-American/ Black students, Latin/ Hispanic students, Asian/ Pacific Islander students, and Native American students, as well as general 4-year college/university students and students at community colleges.

Warm-up activities for PowerPoint presentations. Before beginning the official presentation, warm-up activities can be used to introduce students to the new countries, concepts of study abroad, and cultural appreciation. The activities are available on this site under the Additional Resources. .

Think about your audience. As you plan your session, think about who your audience is, how you will accomplish your objectives and how to keep your audience engaged. For example:

• Who will I be speaking to?
• What do they know about my topic already?
• What will they want to know about my topic?
• What do I want them to know by the end of my talk?

Make sure that the location where you are presenting has the technology or other tools you may need (e.g., projector, internet access, etc.) Make sure that each team member can contribute to the planning and delivery of your presentation.

Use objects from home. Objects from another country are indispensable for a quality presentation. At heart, this is a personal reflection and something the audience can see and hold is essential to keeping people interested. The object may include pictures, books, a map, or something your country is known for.

Planning grade specific presentations. For example: When presenting to elementary and middle school level audiences, try to balance lecturing with Q & A and group participation. Break things down into 10 – 15 minute segments. Incorporate VKAT (visual, kinesthetic, auditory and tactile) communication as much as possible in your presentation especially with elementary grade levels.

Again, see the PowerPoint presentations available on this site, which are specifically geared toward elementary, middle school, high school, and 4-year university and community college students.

Consult resources. A variety of resources are available on this site under the additional resources link. Here you will find Additional Resources for Teachers which include book lists, classroom activities, websites, etc. targeting elementary, middle, and high school students. You will also notice Additional Resources for Parents and Students, which include book lists, computer games, etc. also targeting elementary, middle, and high school students.

Be aware of logistics.In your correspondence with principals and teachers, make note of logistical issues for your presentation including time allowed for your presentation, number of students expected, classroom location, directions, parking availability and access to multimedia resources.

Step 3 Give a presentation Go Back Top

The following are guidelines for presenting K-12 outreach presentations. You may personally use this information if you plan to give an outreach presentation or provide this to an international student who has volunteered to give an outreach presentation in your classroom.

Involve the audience by asking occasional questions. Hypothetical questions are best as they show the gap between cultures. Try to ask genuine questions to which you do not already know the answer and show interest in any replies. Leave time for the audience to think. Try to avoid answering your own questions or telling members of the audience that their answers are wrong. Audience members should feel a sense of accomplishment after answering questions, knowing that they have contributed to the presentation.

Pause occasionally to ask if audience members have questions for you. You can also pause occasionally to ask if anyone has any questions for you. If a question disrupts the flow of your talk too much, you can say that you will answer it later (but don't forget to do it!). Before you ask for questions, make sure you are ready to pick up your presentation again when the Q & A session has finished.

Use visual aids to make the presentation livelier and help audience members follow your presentation. Many issues are communicated much more clearly with visual aids than through speech alone.

The two most common forms of visual aids are overhead transparencies and computer slide shows (e.g. PowerPoint). Objects that can be displayed or passed around the audience can also be very effective and often help to relax the audience. Some speakers provide printed handouts to the audience to follow as they speak. Others prefer to give their handouts at the end of the talk, because they can distract the audience from the presentation.

Step 4 Evaluation of presentation Go Back Top

After the presentation is completed, it is important to provide feedback to the presenter so that they can further refine and improve their presentation for the next time. Review the overall success of the presentation as well as planning issues, collaboration with contacts/ advisors, and other logistical issues.

You can download our presenter evaluation form here. These evaluations can be used by K-12 faculty who will be present at the outreach presentation.

After a presentation, K-12 teachers should maintain strong communication with international student advisors and/ or international student presenters to encourage collaboration in the future. Given that school and student demographics, interests and resources often change, it is important that presenters be encouraged to consider ways to make their presentations more innovative, attractive and relevant to a particular audience.

We hope you found this information helpful. We welcome your questions, comments, and useful resources you'd like to share! Please contact us at .