FAQs for teachers
1. What is the average team size?Average team size varies by destination, but is normally between 12 and 20 students. In addition to the teacher, an Expedition Leader from World Challenge will travel with every team. There is a maximum student to adult ratio of 8:1.
2. What if my team size is under 12 students?
In order to have a successful, fun, engaging expedition, World Challenge looks to have at least twelve students on every team. This is also the minimum team size to support free travel for a teacher.
Hopefully you should have plenty of time to recruit a full team of students between when you launch and when you travel (this is one of the reasons why World Challenge expeditions involve such a long build-up). Your team will still travel with fewer than 12 students, but teachers will be asked to make a contribution to cover the costs of their travel.
Please refer to our Teacher Contribution Matrix for more information on this. If your team size slips below 7 students World Challenge will link your team with a few students from a different school so that your students will be able to benefit from a “team experience” on expedition. When coordinating link-ups we try to keep destinations and dates of travel the same, but we cannot always guarantee this.
3. How often should I hold team meetings?
We recommend that you meet with your team every week or two during the school year. Team meetings should help your keep students engaged in the program and motivated towards earning for expedition. The World Challenge Newsletter will give you monthly suggestions on what sorts of activities to work on with your students. Remember to pass over responsibility to the team and have them decide on action items. Having effective team meetings is the #1 way to prevent kids from dropping out.
If students can’t come to meetings it’s important that the team find alternate ways to stay in touch. You can use the team’s personalized “My World Challenge” website to post messages and plan your next fundraisers, or your team can create a Facebook group.
4. How can a World Challenge expedition further my professional development?
Participating in a World Challenge expedition will not only benefit your students, it can also help you advance your career and accomplish professional goals. If you are applying for tenure, a World Challenge expedition is a great accomplishment to list. You can also learn new classroom facilitation tools from our Expedition Leaders, who are well-versed in connecting with students though experiential education. Many teachers who have travelled with us have noted that they come back from expedition with a whole new perspective on how to engage with their students in the classroom. See what other teachers have to say about what they’ve learned on expediton by watching the World Challenge video.
5. Two teachers at my school want to travel. Can we both go on expedition?
In order to give the students a real sense of ownership of the expedition, World Challenge does not encourage unnecessary chaperones travelling with teams. However, we recognize the value of being able to experience an expedition with students, so we’re always happy to help get more teachers abroad.
The easiest way for multiple teachers to travel from the same school is to have a large team size. With 17 or more students 2 teachers can travel for free. Alternatively, if you have fewer than 17 students a second teacher may be able to make a teacher-contribution to cover the marginal costs of their travel. Refer to our Teacher Contribution Matrix for more information.
6. How often should we hold fundraisers? How much does team fundraising contribute towards the total expedition cost?
Fundraisers are great ways to help your group of students come together as a team. They teach students important organizational skills which can help them feel empowered in regards to approaching their own personal earning targets.
World Challenge encourages teams to hold 2 to 3 fundraisers per semester. For inspiration, teams can reference their personalized “My World Challenge” website, the World Challenge blog and our monthly Newsletter.
The amount raised varies from team to team, but on average teams earn just enough to cover each individual’s spending money ($80-300) for expedition. The real bulk of expedition funds comes from individual earning – team fundraising should not be relied on to pay for a substantial portion of the expedition cost.
7. What equipment is provided by World Challenge?
World Challenge provides all team equipment. Depending on your destination, team equipment will include tents, safety equipment (ropes, harnesses, team shelter, throw line, survival bag), a comprehensive medical kit (including sterile supplies, malaria and altitude emergency medication), cooking equipment, water purification, and buoyancy aids.
All teams also carry Satellite Phones and EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) so that they can always be in touch with the World Challenge Operations Center. In an emergency World Challenge can quickly mobilize air or land support from embassies, local rescue services, and our privately contracted international medical teams to send teams the most appropriate assistance.
8. What sort of qualifications do Expedition Leaders have?
World Challenge is dedicated to staffing exceptional men and women as Expedition Leaders, as without them an expedition would not be successful. World Challenge leaders go through an extensive evaluation course prior to being staffed on an expedition. During this course their technical abilities, decision making skills, and ability to interact with young people are all evaluated. Each leader has developing world travel experience, has led previous outdoor education trips for young people, and has a current WFA (Wilderness First Aid), WFR (Wilderness First Responder), or WEMT (Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician) certification. Read the bios of some of our current Expedition Leaders.
9. How does World Challenge keep teams safe?
Safety is World Challenge’s top priority. We follow advice from the State Department and various embassies, and have an extensive network of on-the-ground contacts in each of our destinations. Every itinerary is thoroughly risk-assessed by our Planning Managers, who specialize in knowing the local details for each region that teams travel through.
On expedition, all teams carry Satellite Phones and EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) so that they can always been in touch with the World Challenge Operations Center. In an emergency World Challenge can quickly mobilize air or land support from embassies, local rescue services, and our privately contracted international medical teams to send teams the most appropriate assistance.
10. What happens if a student misbehaves on expedition?
Because of how strongly we believe in safety, ensuring that conscientious, trustworthy people are involved with the team is an important part of our safety pledge. World Challenge retains the right to remove students from the team either before expedition or during expedition for any observed or reported behavior that might present a risk to themselves or their team, be it physical or emotional. This decision will not be taken lightly and will be made at the director level in consultation with the leadership team on the ground. Any repatriation costs are the responsibility of the parent/guardian. The school administration can also withdraw a student from the team at any time.
11. I don’t know if my school board will approve the trip – am I or the school board in anyway liable for the expedition?
A World Challenge expedition is not a school trip; the contract is between World Challenge and the student’s family. We carry master liability insurance for all expedition related incidents, which covers the school, school district, administration and any staff for over 10 million pounds (this figure is current for 2011, as the contract is renewed every year).
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