Go on a Trip
The ISP Trip Experience
You can make a lasting difference for future generations.
An ISP trip is designed for volunteers from the United States and Canada. They travel to countries where ISP conducts educational conferences with local teachers.
Every trip is unique because each volunteer interacts directly with educators who desire the specialized training ISP offers.
Teachers are among the most influential and respected members of every society. They have a direct impact on the lives of their students and peers.
Your ISP trip will include the following:
- Participate in a three or four-day professional conference
- Facilitate a small group of local teachers in a workshop setting
- Receive pre-trip and on-site training regarding your role as a small-group facilitator
- Equip teachers with ISP materials and strategies.
Your Role as a Volunteer on an ISP Trip
ISP
As a trip volunteer, you will:
- Meet daily with teachers in your small group and facilitate discussions
- Develop friendships and share your own life experiences
- Help teachers in your group as they develop lesson plans based on ISP curriculum
- Work together with national teachers who have already been trained by ISP
- Help build an ongoing movement of educators who want to make a difference in their country
Frequently Asked Questions
About ISP Trips
You will join a team of ISP staff and volunteers who engage teachers in a professional educational training conference designed to help teachers meet the needs of students. You will facilitate a small group of teachers. Through your interpreter, you will help teachers learn and interact with the ISP curriculum. You will also be trained how to share your personal story using a simple graphic called a Life Map. Training will be provided before you depart as well as on-site, so that you will be thoroughly prepared for your role.
Soon after your acceptance onto the trip, you will receive a link to the ISP Trip Orientation Notebook. This helpful resource gives you an overview of ISP and will help you prepare for your trip. You will also be assigned a coach to answer your questions and help prepare you for your role on the trip. Shortly before the trip departure, additional information is sent from each trip director so you will be familiar with the content and schedule of the teacher conference.
You may choose to pay for your own trip, or you can develop a team of sponsors who partner with you financially to cover some or all of your trip cost. ISP has coaches and materials available to help you find sponsors if you need assistance. Several discounts are available to help reduce the cost of your trip.
The base trip cost covers your international travel, visa (if required), in-country transportation, lodging (double occupancy), meals, and the materials you will need. The whole team stays in local hotels so that everyone can be together for meetings and training. ISP provides an interpreter for you during the conference sessions. Also included is limited medical coverage as well as emergency evacuation assistance insurance should it be needed.
Most trip alumni share that their ISP trip was one of the most fulfilling experiences of their lives, and many choose to go again. More importantly, you will make a significant impact on the lives of the teachers and will help develop them professionally, personally and in many other ways. You will likely work together with a key national teacher who has already been trained by ISP. This partner continues to meet with teachers after you return home to build teacher communities, thereby multiplying all that you accomplished on your trip.
It is important to have realistic expectations before you go on your trip. An ISP trip can be physically and emotionally demanding. It will likely involve the following:
- Long hours each day, including long flights and/or bus rides
- Carrying personal luggage up to 50 pounds
- Adjusting to jet lag and sometimes high altitudes
- Walking long distances (possibly up to one mile at a time)
- Sitting for as long as an hour or more without having a chance to stand or stretch
- Climbing multiple flights of stairs
- Unexpected changes in schedule and/ or activities
- Relating to people who speak a foreign language and are from a different culture
You may contact us at 866-477-1515 to get answers to your questions or email us at info@isponline.org.
