Sharing Resources and Adventures in Global Education
The views and information presented are the grantee’s own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.
This site was created as the capstone project for my participation in the TGC, Teachers for Global Classrooms, program. TGC is a year-long professional development fellowship, sponsored by the United States Department of State and administered by IREX, International Research and Exchange. Key components include completion of an eight-week interactive, on-line, course in global education, a two-day global education seminar in Washington, DC, and a 2-3 week field experience in a foreign country. You can read my blog to find out more about my field experience in Russia. The purpose of the capstone is to share what I have learned with my colleagues. I hope to encourage and facilitate global education initiatives and collaboration within my school and I also extend this invitation to other educators.
How to Use This Site
A good place to start is with an understanding of just what “global education” means. If you are like me, you probably have an idea. But, I found out that it encompasses a whole lot more than what I initially thought. I have included some explanations and rationales, below.
What does global education look like? The site includes work that I did to move towards globalization in my classroom such as updated standards and a sample unit. I have also included links to the work of other TGC fellows in other subject areas. You may find some things that you can use immediately in your classroom. If not, I provide these as examples that can help you to create your own globalized standards and lessons. There are also some assessment tools that can help you evaluate lessons for globalization.
You may want to check out the Global Education Resources to get ideas. Although, you could, of course, just Google resources, I have tried to connect the local and global to make this more specific to our school.
To get international perspectives from a Pocahontas County, WV point of view, I am including links to travel blogs and web sites of former students. I hope that these will provide enjoyment and inspiration.
And of course, there is a contact page. If you are in my school, you have other ways to find me. But please feel free to use this feature to share your ideas, ask questions, and make suggestions about additions to the site. Thanks for looking!
What does global education look like? The site includes work that I did to move towards globalization in my classroom such as updated standards and a sample unit. I have also included links to the work of other TGC fellows in other subject areas. You may find some things that you can use immediately in your classroom. If not, I provide these as examples that can help you to create your own globalized standards and lessons. There are also some assessment tools that can help you evaluate lessons for globalization.
You may want to check out the Global Education Resources to get ideas. Although, you could, of course, just Google resources, I have tried to connect the local and global to make this more specific to our school.
To get international perspectives from a Pocahontas County, WV point of view, I am including links to travel blogs and web sites of former students. I hope that these will provide enjoyment and inspiration.
And of course, there is a contact page. If you are in my school, you have other ways to find me. But please feel free to use this feature to share your ideas, ask questions, and make suggestions about additions to the site. Thanks for looking!
What is Global Education?
“The growing global interdependence that characterizes our time calls for a generation of individuals who can engage in effective global problem solving and participate simultaneously in local, national, and global civic life.” (Mansilla and Jackson 2011)
"Today, more than ever before, the global is part of our everyday local lives. We are linked to others on every continent:
● socially through the media and telecommunications
● culturally through movements of people
● economically through trade
● environmentally through sharing one planet
● politically through international relations and systems of regulation." (Oxfam)
You don’t have to look any farther than the labels in the clothes you are wearing to recognize one example of global interdependence. I recently heard a story on NPR, Planet Money Makes a T-shirt. In five segments, the story goes all around the world, following the steps in making a simple T-shirt. But global interdependence goes beyond business and economics. Solving the challenging problems of our time has become increasingly global in nature. How can we meet energy needs? How can we promote safety and wellness? What about climate change? These are not issues that can be solved by the politicians, scientists, and citizens of one nation. So, it becomes urgent that today’s students become globally competent.
In Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Youth to Engage the World, Mansilla and Jackson, describe four components.
They are:
1. Investigate the world beyond their immediate environment, framing significant problems and conducting well-crafted and age-appropriate research.
2. Recognize perspectives, others’ and their own, articulating and explaining such perspectives thoughtfully and respectfully.
3. Communicate ideas effectively with diverse audiences, bridging geographic, linguistic, ideological, and cultural barriers.
4. Take action to improve conditions, viewing themselves as players in the world and participating reflectively.
"Today, more than ever before, the global is part of our everyday local lives. We are linked to others on every continent:
● socially through the media and telecommunications
● culturally through movements of people
● economically through trade
● environmentally through sharing one planet
● politically through international relations and systems of regulation." (Oxfam)
You don’t have to look any farther than the labels in the clothes you are wearing to recognize one example of global interdependence. I recently heard a story on NPR, Planet Money Makes a T-shirt. In five segments, the story goes all around the world, following the steps in making a simple T-shirt. But global interdependence goes beyond business and economics. Solving the challenging problems of our time has become increasingly global in nature. How can we meet energy needs? How can we promote safety and wellness? What about climate change? These are not issues that can be solved by the politicians, scientists, and citizens of one nation. So, it becomes urgent that today’s students become globally competent.
In Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Youth to Engage the World, Mansilla and Jackson, describe four components.
They are:
1. Investigate the world beyond their immediate environment, framing significant problems and conducting well-crafted and age-appropriate research.
2. Recognize perspectives, others’ and their own, articulating and explaining such perspectives thoughtfully and respectfully.
3. Communicate ideas effectively with diverse audiences, bridging geographic, linguistic, ideological, and cultural barriers.
4. Take action to improve conditions, viewing themselves as players in the world and participating reflectively.
What does this involve? It is not all brand new. Many of the skills are ones we have already been teaching. In West Virginia, we have Content Standard Objectives in the categories of 21st Century Learning Skills (things like collaboration, communication, etc.) and Technology Tools. These are components of global education that we have already integrated into many of our lessons. Many of these are skills that empower students to meet the competencies outlined by Mansilla and Jackson. For example, a student may use a technology tool to better investigate the world or to communicate ideas.
Globalizing your classroom requires assessing the lessons you teach to see where you might already be addressing these competencies and where you might be able to incorporate activities that would further promote them. |
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Works Cited (These works are available for free download.)
Mansilla, V. B., & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competence: Preparing our youth to engage the world. New
York, NY: the Asia Society. Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/education/partnership-global-learning/making-case/global-competence-prepare-youth-engage-world
Oxfam (2006) Education for Global Citizenship: A Guide for Schools London, England: Oxfam Development Education. Retrieved from http://www.oxfam.org.uk/~/media/Files/Education/Glob20Citizenship/education_for_global_citizenship_a_guide_for_schools.ashxal%
Mansilla, V. B., & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competence: Preparing our youth to engage the world. New
York, NY: the Asia Society. Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/education/partnership-global-learning/making-case/global-competence-prepare-youth-engage-world
Oxfam (2006) Education for Global Citizenship: A Guide for Schools London, England: Oxfam Development Education. Retrieved from http://www.oxfam.org.uk/~/media/Files/Education/Glob20Citizenship/education_for_global_citizenship_a_guide_for_schools.ashxal%