The City as Classroom

Active and Place-Based Learning 

Experiential learning is at the core of CEA CAPA’s identity.  It leverages the urban context to enhance and enrich academic content. It combines where we are and what we teach and study through the intentional integration of curriculum and experience.  Our academic approach is designed to engage with the way these cities have been imagined, invented, and transformed by the forces of globalization and the realities of urbanization. 

Our active and place-based learning equips students with an intentionally defined and guided approach for ways to explore their new urban environments. Our goal is to give students access to unique and valuable opportunities that help them make the most out of their experience. 

‘City as Classroom’ Activities 

Our robust slate of active and place-based co-curricular activities includes a range of engaging social events and cultural activities that offer opportunities for reflection with staff members or professional guides, or through reflective questions on self-guided explorations.  

• Barcelona: Visiting the Picasso Museum to learn about Barcelona's most famous painter and the historical events that influenced his artwork. 
  
  
• Dublin: Visiting the National Museum of Ireland to explore an amazing collection of artifacts dating back to 7,000 B.C.
  
  
• Florence: Walking through the secret rooms of the Medici family at Palazzo Vecchio, now Florence’s town hall.
  
  
• London: Participating in a walking tour of the diverse Brick Lane neighborhood followed by a curry dinner.
  
  
• Sydney: Attending TropFest, the world’s largest short film festival and one of Australia’s most prestigious and most iconic cultural events.

The activities may be led by CEA CAPA staff or a professional guide, while others are self-directed with background information and reflective questions provided. Activities range from free to low-cost.