What can be learned about teaching and applied to a university classroom from the unique fantasy experience of presenting lectures on a cruise ship in which the audience members see themselves, and are seen to be, uncontestably, "customers" rather than "students". There is no shortage of criticism, primarily by faculty, of the growing practice of treating students as "customers", though it can be difficult to deny the dynamic, as ever more large sums of money are involved, and universities’ need to retain enrollment grows more urgent. As there is more and more emphasis on life-long learning, might there be value in examining the student/teacher relationship and issues of motivation through the lens of a cruise lecturer? Observations will be drawn from more that twenty-five years of university classroom teaching experience, including three terms participating in the Semester-at-sea program, and nine years of "Special Interest" shipboard lecturing. This presentation will examine how and why a similar topic, "Characteristics of Chinese Art", for example, might be presented differently to students in a university classroom versus a group of adults on a cruise to China, but also what specific teaching skills and approaches can be successfully transferred from each experience and applied in each environment to improve the outcome for the learner, however they view themselves and are viewed, and wherever they are.

Authors:
Constance Kirker, Pennsylvania State University, United States

About the Presenter(s)
Professor Constance Kirker is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at Pennsylvania State University, United States

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