visiting scholars

&

distance learning

distancx

 

You can make a change

in the life of STUDENTs

All over the world!

What is the Visiting Scholar ? Is it for you?

You are a life-long learner who has completed your Masters Program,  PhD, DBA, or a fellowship after your Doctorate. You have already made a commitment and taken the risk to improve your life and contributions to the world. My upcoming book - Visiting Scholar: Teaching and Traveling the Wrinkled World - focuses on just this.

 

Do you like Adventure? New Challenges?

Improve your skills and your teaching CV or International Business Resume !

  Do you like traveling? Exploring and experiencing new cultures? Resourceful to figure out how to deliver quality instruction perhaps without all the technology available in the United States?

 

  If you answer “YES” to any of these, you may be a perfect fit for a Visiting Scholar.

Visiting Scholars are Professors and Lecturers who contribute to international Universities and Colleges. A Visiting Scholar may mean travel to a foreign country or another domestic University to teach. And it may mean being able to effectively teach remotely online.

 

  We often see a person coming to a University to give a lecture or a special presentation. The Visiting Scholar, however, travels to the foreign university for 2 to 4 weeks to teach in the classroom, meet the students and administration, deliver a program and learn about the educational and cultural expectations. Visiting Scholars then return home to complete their class remotely for the rest of the semester.

 

  Sometimes, this is a problem for established University faculty who already have a fully scheduled workload at their University; however, a Visiting Scholar program allows that professor to take 2 to 4 weeks from their busy schedule and return home with valuable insights while getting paid to travel, stay for free, and teach a few additional classes in their expertise.

This is a tremendous opportunity for existing faculty, adjuncts and NEW professors regardless of your Age or Experience. With the current global Covid pandemic issues, travel may be on the horizon but learning effective online distant learning class instruction methods are critical.
 

  This website is dedicated to the concept of You becoming a Visiting Scholar – whether through travel or remotely online AND for all of us to learn from each others’ knowledge and experience. I will be Blog posting as well as posting excerpts from my upcoming book - Visiting Scholar: Teaching and Traveling the Wrinkled World - which covers many of these concepts and challenges. I will also provide links to Resources we all may find valuable.

 

  There’s no age limit, and this is a timeless and location-free opportunity for all those educated and professional professors and teachers throughout the world. If you are new to teaching at the university level, these opportunities are like low hanging fruit. Something you can get started quickly…you just need some guidance, support and an Internet connection. That is WHY WE ARE HERE!

 

Do you have what it takes?

If you can answer "YES!" to some – or all of these – this may be for you!

Here are some key questions to ask yourself…

 

1. Do I like travel and adventure?

  New countries and cultures often surprise me. I relish those surprises (like no air conditioning or clothes dryers available!) and just must adapt to those differences. See my Blog posts and Resources on travel experiences – the good, the bad, and the surprising!

 

2. Do I need to be fluent in a foreign language?

  No! Many universities LOOK FOR professors fluent in your home language. I speak only English in classes (my Mandarin is just OK for conversations, travel and shopping). Other Universities are looking for Spanish, French or other native language speakers. Our goal is to help you find opportunities that BEST FIT YOU! See our Blog posts and Resources page for ideas and contacts (Membership is required for Contact Resources).

 

3. Does my AGE matter?

  YES! You should be young or old! Working now, between assignments, or retired from the working world or academia? That's OK. The key is, can you answer the following questions with your goals in mind?

 

4. Do I need prior experience?

  YES! But not just teaching experience.

  Have you ever been to school or held a job? Many of us have. These experiences can be enough if they are in your chosen teaching discipline; however, most schools do require a Masters or Doctoral degree along with that experience, but may or may not require prior teaching experience.

 

5. Can I adapt my concepts of “Academic Rigor” to the expectations of the foreign University?

  Sometimes these are more rigorous than U.S. standards, but often International Universities in developing countries have lower expectations. See my Blog posts, Resources, and book – Visiting Scholar: Teaching and Traveling the Wrinkled World on “International Higher Education Standards”

 

6. Can I adapt my lifestyle and expectations of “Living Accommodations” to those provided by the University? Can I adapt to a foreign culture?

  This is a very personal decision…most of the time, conforming to expectations and local culture is relatively painless. But if you are expecting 3 Star Hotel accommodations, you may want to make your own arrangements for the few weeks of living abroad. See my Blog posts and Resources for professors living abroad.

 

7. Am I comfortable with uncertainty?

  International Universities often have different standards of living and treatment of professors. International Universities often are not as communicative or planning-oriented as U.S. universities. See my Blog posts, Resources, and book – Visiting Scholar: Teaching and Traveling the Wrinkled World on “International Higher Education Standards”. 

 

8. Am I comfortable with reduced or uncertain Medical support in foreign countries?

  This can prove a serious consideration depending on WHERE you are visiting and WHAT may be existing or pending personal medical issues. See “Staying Safe Abroad” in my Blog posts, Resources, and book – Visiting Scholar: Teaching and Traveling the Wrinkled World.

 

9. Do I yet have the skills to adapt to foreign Universities’ Learning Management Systems (LMS) or LACK of these tools?

  Experience with Blackboard, Canvas, Moodle or other Learning Management Systems (LMS) will often help prepare you – but that is no guarantee. And some schools don't rely on any LMS. Your experience with social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, WeChat, WhatsApp, posting Blogs, YouTube, Vimeo and other software and recording options are also valuable. See my course: Hi-Tech Teaching and Distance Learning (coming soon).

 

10. Do I enjoy learning how other international professors teach?

  After a day of teaching, wouldn’t it be fun to sit in on other Professors’ classes and see how they teach these students? Can you find a truly loved and effective Professor to learn from? What do they do? How do they reach and teach their students? What is the cultural student-professor relationship? This is often one of the highlights of my experiences as a Visiting Scholar!

 

Return here often as we develop this website and add content.

 

Join us as a Member to get updates and begin your journey!
 

Is being a visiting scholar for you?