Here are a few photos from the Oceans course, Culture and Ecology of the Andaman, wrapping up the first course section focused on mangrove and seagrass ecology, and the coastal village and its efforts to conserve and sustainably use the coastal resources.

Drawing on experience with participatory rural appraisal (PRA) and other innovative approaches to learning, rather than sitting together and talking and using the whiteboard, we took an experiential and hands-on approach to review and synthesis of the material.  PRA has been used for years in village appraisals, and can produce very deep and sophisticated representations of local knowledge and systems.  So we took the approach of PRA and applied it to the course material to synthesize and analyze what the students had learned in the first module on coastal resource management.

Students broke into two groups, and were given the task of building a representation of the coastal ecology and related systems out of objects they could find on the beach.  The models had to be comprehensive, sophisticated, and be able to explain the ecosystem and stakeholder relationships that they had been reading about and experiencing first hand.  Each of the groups then had to explain their model to the other one.

We also played stakeholder and resource base charades (a good break and hilarious to see someone acting out mangrove clearing shrimp farm!), and then moved to a discussion of ranked issues and concerns in the coastal zone, using pieces of driftwood to “vote” and create histograms of each issue.

Here are some photos to give you an idea of what a creative seminar can be like when you’re not confined to a classroom, as well as a few photos from today packing the boat and heading out to the islands for the second course module.

Great YouTube video making the rounds about the current state of students and classes today!

Today was our first workout with the spring semester students.

Given the demands of adapting to Thailand’s climate, as well as the demands of the courses we do (backpacking, skin diving, sea kayaking), being in reasonable shape is important.  We’ve found that fitness leads directly to better academic performance — if you’re tired while hiking through the forest, it is hard to learn about forest ecology.

With the focus on functional (real world) movement and constant variance, CrossFit has proven to be perfectly suited to our needs for both staff and students.

With its emphasis on having a healthy life, good nutrition and eating real food (The Omnivore’s Dilemma is a favorite book for CrossFit), it also fits well with ISDSI’s focus on sustainability. This last year ISDSI established the first official CrossFit affiliate in Thailand (CrossFit Chiang Mai). ISDSI is a project of the Foundation for Experiential Learning, and CrossFit also gives us and our students lots of opportunities for that — learning key leadership skills, self discipline, teamwork, and other aspects of what it takes to be successful on expeditions.

It is also a lot of fun, and today was the first day of CrossFit for the spring students and they did great!  Well done! Jump over to cfcnx.com for more photos and posts of our daily workouts together.

The start of a study-abroad semester at ISDSI is full of intensive Thai language, academic seminars (sustainability, history, ecology, etc.), and lots of experiential learning opportunities to get out in the field and use the language, start to learn about ecology and sustainability, etc.

Here are a few photo sets of three fun — and important — parts of the first few weeks during our Foundations course:

Rock climbing — This is a great day climbing, learning about working together as a team, and starting to develop the leadership and teamwork skills that will be critical to success on the Expedition Field Courses.

12►

Retreat at Mok Fa waterfall — Each semester we do a retreat, which includes an open water swim assessment, getting to know each other (students and staff), learning about risk and responsibility, how to manage emergencies in the field, and lots of free time and games.

12►

Host family farewell — The Foundations course ends with a farewell “kantoke” dinner with our host families and students.  While there is some traditional dancing, in recent years there has been a lot of host families teaching the American students to do Thai dances — which is a lot of fun for all!

The first week at ISDSI students got an opportunity for a field study to a rural development project that raises fish — the Northern Thailand Foundation For Enablement.  The project is a great example of how an NGO can play a pivotal role in sustainable development — helping a large network of farmers be more self sufficient through aquaculture.

The students learned about the fish hatchery, and then go to work helping clear ponds, collect fish eggs (tilapia are mouth brooders), and harvest fish.  They also had a great lunch of VERY fresh fish!

Click through to the photos for more!

12►

New things are happening at ISDSI.

Good things!

Check it out here.

Our approach to language learning for study abroad at ISDSI is based on functional competency — we want the students to be active learners and able to use Thai to function in everyday interactions as well as while learning in the villages where our Expedition Field Courses take place.

And it is active!

Here are a few photos from the first morning, with students learning some basic words (mostly “come here!”).

(click on the thumbnail to enlarge and scroll through the photos)

For each semester, the students arrive throughout the day on Friday.  To make it easier on our Thai host families, we have the families pick the students up the next day on Saturday.

Ajaan Wilasinee teaching the "wai" greeting to the students (with Pi Ben and Pi Pu helping)

We spend about an hour with the students talking about dress, behavior in the host family, and answering questions.  We stress the idea of “cultural competence” — knowing the culture makes you safer, and helps you to learn more and better enjoy your time in Thailand.

Students learning the Thai way of greeting...

After the orientation, the students are picked up by their families and we don’t see them until Monday — when the full orientation week starts with intensive Thai and other topics (health/safety/program policies, etc.)!

A weekend with a Thai host family does a lot to increase motivation for learning the language!

The final course of the spring semester study abroad program at ISDSI is our course on Coastal Ecology and Culture.  This is the capstone of the semester, and brings together leadership skills, cross cultural and language skills, as well as expedition skills so that the students can study the reefs, sea grass, mangroves and local communities in Trang, Southern Thailand.

Here are a few photos taken by our instructor, Pi Ben, to give you a bit of a feel of what the course is like.

The prow of a new longtail boat on Mook island.

Krissy and Nikki paddling in on a double seakayak.

Ben sea kaking, leaving the beach for the crossing to Mook island.

Ben and Karen, leaders of the day, explaining the day's route by sea kayak.

Ben landing on the beach and pulling up his kayak. The ISDSI support boat in the background.

Dinner with a view. Camping on the beach in Trang.

Karen padding into the beach.

A longtail crossing by after a storm.

Karen and Ben, leaders of the day, sorting out the kayaks after a day's paddle.

Riley identifying different types of seagrass during a study of seagrass ecology and dugong feeding behavior.

A real pirate cave -- a great location for a seminar by Bang Hed, a village elder, about mangroves and community. (The pirates have been gone for a long time... at least that's what Bang Hed says...)

Jack and his host family, Baan Iet, Ja Mai, Nong Chock, and Nong Lin.

Pi Noi, usually in the office, but also working the occasional field course, and Pi Toto, field instructor.

The host families of Jao Mai village with their students.

Mid-course seminar with Ajaan Mark. ISDSI field seminar rooms don't have WiFi, but we like them!

Ben watching the sunset over the Andaman Sea.

The students got back from the Forests Course just before spring break for the Thai Songkran holiday.  Here are some photos from the course to give you a taste of what the expedition was like.  Great course, and a great group of community-based instructors and host families.

Students after finishing the ridge hike from Nam Hu village to Huay Hee village.

Taylor with a dried "saba" pod found on one of the forest hikes.

Nam Hu village.

Jump to Caroline’s blog for more great photos from her.

Betsy, Krissy, Kristen and Riley cooling off in the Huay Puling falls.

One of the host mom's spinning cotten before dying and weaving it.

Kristen helping her village mom to prepare food for the pigs.

For a great blog post from a student about the Forests Expedition, jump to Caroline’s blog post, Stories from the Forest.