I went on a Brigade, now what? How to help volunteers take what they learned on Brigade and apply it to everyday life.
The Global Brigades Post Brigade Curriculum is meant to guide you through the process of digesting what you have learned on your Brigade and applying it to your everyday life on your campus and in your community.
The Brigade experience is not complete without reflecting on your role as a volunteer and how you can now continue on your lifelong journey of becoming a responsible and ethical Global Citizen. Be sure to read through this blog post on telling your #MyGBStory to ensure that you are respectful and ethical on social media or when speaking about your experience in person.
Post Brigade Curriculum
A Reflection Guide
You are probably returning home from your Brigade with not just muddy shoes and a few bug bites but also with experiences, memories, and perhaps a new perspective on international development. The Global Brigades Post Brigade Curriculum is meant to guide you through the process of digesting what you have learned on your Brigade and applying it to your everyday life on your campus and in your community.
Reflection 1: Digesting Your Experience
While on the bus ride home or waiting for your connecting flights, gather with your fellow Brigaders to reflect on your overall Brigade experience. Use the answers from the reflection questions below to develop a 30-second “elevator speech”. An elevator speech is a condensed version of the purpose and accomplishments of your Brigade that can be shared with friends, family, or colleagues who ask the age-old question, “How was your trip?”
Already back in your home country and back on campus? Gather together in a coffee shop or meeting space to talk about your “elevator speech” using the reflection questions below.
Reflection Questions:
Divide up into small groups of 3-5 and go around the circle, taking turns reflecting on the following:
- What made me laugh out loud
- What brought tears to my eyes
- My greatest personal insight
- My biggest cultural challenge
- My biggest cultural success or connection
Use your and your fellow volunteers’ reflections to create a brief and meaningful 1-3 sentence summary that you can use as a catalyst for conversations about your Brigade experience. Take out a notebook and write down your personal statement or “elevator speech”. After everyone has taken time to reflect on what they shared in their small group, gather in a larger group. If you feel comfortable doing so, share your “elevator speech” that you will use when friends and family ask about your Brigade.
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Individual Challenge |
Group Facilitation |
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Use your responses to the above questions to help develop your “elevator speech”. Use this speech to begin deeper conversations with your peers and family back home. Challenge them to share their personal perceptions of the country or region which you visited, or about student volunteering in general. |
Use the Liberating Structure, What, So What, Now What? to guide your group through reflecting on the above questions. This reflection should take approximately 15-30 minutes. |
Read Article: Reflection, Reconsideration, and Reconnection: Moving Beyond Re-Entry
Dig Deeper: Supplemental Questions
How can you and your Chapter bring the experience to our campus to share with the community? What methods of communication will you use to communicate your experience to your peers on campus?
Reflection 2: Bringing It Home
Many Global Brigades volunteers not only strive to make an impact in rural communities abroad, but they also bring their passion for sustainable development home as leaders in their local communities and campuses. Volunteers with Global Brigades are encouraged to apply their experience in leadership, development, and global consciousness to their local communities as well as on their Brigades. After groups return from their Brigade, it is important to engage in thoughtful discussion on similarities and differences between volunteering locally and abroad and how Chapters will play a part in both. Bring this thoughtful discussion and debate to your next post-Brigade Chapter meeting.
Main Reflection Activity: Peer Discussion
Discuss and debate the following questions with your Chapter. Split up into small groups and review each question. After 15-20 minutes of small-group discussion, come together as a larger group and share your main points of discussion with the rest of the Chapter.
- Why should we work abroad when we have problems in our home country?
- Why should we work domestically when poverty is far worse on an absolute scale elsewhere?
- How do we know what is the right course for any individual?
- How can you apply sustainability to your community at home?
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Individual Challenge |
Group Reflection |
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Reflect on the Everyday Leadership Ted Talk. How can you become an “everyday leader” in your community and on your campus? Do you already consider yourself an everyday leader? Make a list of ways you can put this type of leadership practice into your daily life and 3 next steps for making this happen. |
Use the Liberating Structure, Discovery & Action Dialogue to guide your group through the above discussion in small groups and then all together. This will take approximately 25-30 minutes. |
Read Article: Learning How to Become a Local Leader
Short on time? Be sure to focus on the section titled, “How Do People Learn How to Lead”
Watch Video (individually or as a group)
Drew Dudley: Everyday Leadership
Dig Deeper: Supplemental Questions
Why is it important to volunteer in your local community as well as abroad? Should volunteers only focus on working in their local community? Why or why not?
Reflection 3: Looking Back
As you begin to fall back into the daily routine of work or study, it is sometimes difficult to adjust back to your home environment, especially after experiencing global inequalities on your Brigade. Each Brigader has their own experiences that shape the way they view sustainable development. The final section of the post-Brigade curriculum will help guide you through re-adjusting back to your fast-paced university environment.
Main Reflection Activity: Personal Reflection
- What are some of the biggest differences you have noticed between your home community and partner community?
- How do these differences affect the way you view your Brigade experience and your subsequent interactions at home?
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Individual Challenge |
Group Reflection |
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Tell a story of a success from your Brigade, either big or small that inspired you and how do you think it will lead to success for the community in the future? Keep in mind The Danger of a Single Story which was presented in the Pre-Brigade Curriculum. |
Use the Liberating Structure, Appreciative Interviews to guide your group through reflecting on the above question. This will take approximately one hour. |
Read Articles
The Myth of the Field & Coming Home After Volunteering Overseas
Dig Deeper: Supplemental Questions
How can your story be used to share the importance of sustainable development work?
What are some ways in which you can expand on your experiences to large groups such as your classmates or student organizations?