Learning
THE
World
Here are some resources to help you get started.
Digital and Online Global Teaching Tools
Thinglink allows you to annotate images and videos. Here are some ideas I have for using Thinglink in my ELD classes:
1. Teach students how to add images, videos, sounds clips of pronunciations, etc to a vocabulary word, and then have them make their own to teach their classmates their words.
2. Students can create an interactive map of their hometown to teach the class about where they are from.
3. I can create a digital library of images of the book covers in my classroom library and link to book trailers, summaries and reviews, etc. Students can use these to choose their independent reading books.
Global Ed Assessment Tools
Being convinced that teaching my students to be global citizens is my duty was a great first step, but I didn't start seeing a real change in my teaching or my outcomes until I accessed assessment tools that I could apply to my curriculum and my students' knowledge. Before these tools, I was putting in one-off "global" lessons or activities when it seemed to work, but now I can plan my year and my units around all the skills my students need, and I can use these tools to center global ed learning targets as well. All three of these assessment tools are great for both planning and then assessing after implementation.
Global Education Checklist
This is a tool to self-assess your students' knowledge of global issues and cultures. It is a great way to shine light on areas of strength and areas for growth in your curriculum and school culture. The checklist's introduction states: "Among the skills that students can develop are issue analysis, problem solving, interpretation, reasoned persuasion, and research/investigation. Students should be encouraged to be actively involved at the local, state, and national levels practicing their civic duty through relationships with our economic, social and political systems." This checklist serves as a reminder of the skills we should be trying to embed in all our curriculum.
Global Awareness Rubric
This is a rubric to assess individual students' global awareness on the following criteria:
Globally aware students...
"are aware of how technology links nations and individuals, as well as how it enables the global economy.
understand the interconnectedness of the global economy.
are aware of how the global economy impacts political decision-making – including the formal and informal pacts nations enter into.
are aware of the social, environmental, and micro-economic impacts of global decisions made by both national and international (e.g. the U.N., the I.M.F.) organizations.
understand how cultural differences (e.g. beliefs, traditions, religions) impact personal and national participation at the global level.
understand the impact of ideology and culture on national decisions about access to and use of technology. participate in the global society through interactions with persons in another country or culture."
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It could be used for actual student assessment, or the proficient and advanced descriptors could serve as a guide when planning units and lessons.
Asia Society Global Competence Matrices for each Content Area
This provides language for student skills in each subject area for each of the 4 global competencies: investigating the world, recognizing perspectives, communicating ideas, and taking action. This is great for teachers who are looking for more specific guidance, and are especially helpful for teachers of content areas outside of the arts. This is the perfect companion when backwards planning the year and individual units.
Local Resources for Global Education
The mission of the World Affairs Council of Oregon is to "broaden public awareness and understanding of international affairs and to engage Oregonians with the world. The Council's staff and programs work to serve as a community resource on international affairs, enhance international education in the schools, and sponsor international professional visitors."
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The Council offers many opportunities for all Oregon residents to become more global citizens, but they also have specific programs for educators and students. These include providing culture boxes to classrooms, the International Youth Leadership Program, and Teach the World conferences and workshops for educators to continue our learning.
IRCO stands for the Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization. IRCO's mission is to "promote the integration of refugees, immigrants and the community at large into a self-sufficient, healthy and inclusive multi-ethnic society."
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IRCO houses both Africa House and the Asian Family Center. They also provide employment and training, family programs, youth afterschool programs, economic development programs, language services, and so much more. They are a great place to start if you are looking for diverse presenters in your classroom or trying to find resources for a student or family.
Impact NW has many youth programs, including:
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"AKA Science (All Kids Are Scientists) is a fun, hands-on science program that gets kids in kindergarten through 6th grade excited about learning.
Independent Living Program supports young people transitioning out of the foster care system through job readiness classes and skill-building events.
SUN Youth Advocacy Program helps troubled teens improve their self control, develop better conflict resolution skills, and communicate more effectively with adults and peers.
SUN & SHINE Community Schools offer extended-day activities that engage students & parents, transforming high-poverty public schools into vibrant community centers.
Urban Opportunities offers job training and employment opportunities for at-risk youth."
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Many PPS school sites have SUN and SHINE programs, and they are an outstanding resource. If you aren't working with your school's SUN site coordinator, start now!
International Project Based Learning Opportunities
1. Epals
Epals essentially provides a platform for electronic pen pals with classrooms from all over the world. I used it to pair each of my students up with one student in a classroom in Taiwan to discuss class themes with by making Google Slideshows and responding to one another. You can collaborate with the teachers any way that you wish, so you could also use Epals to create connections with other classrooms and set up things like Skype discussions. Math and Science classes could also use it to collaborate and gather real life data from different parts of the world to work with.
Generation Global offers teaching modules around dialogue, differing perspectives, discussion, etc. They offer themed videoconferences in which your students discuss global themes with classes from around the world. Some of the videoconferences are at times that work with our time zones. My biggest challenge was that I could only get one section of my class to be a part of the conference. Would work well for teachers with only one section of a class or with a student group.
3. Global Education Conference
The Global Education Conference "is a collaborative, inclusive, world-wide community initiative involving students, educators, and organizations at all levels. Our activities are designed to significantly increase opportunities for connecting classrooms while supporting cultural awareness and recognition of diversity and educational access for all. The event is free and takes place entirely online." It takes place every year online for free, so check out the website for this year's information. The website alos includes recordings of all of last year's sessions, so no need to wait for the conference!
Globalizing the Common Core
Globalizing our curriculum does not mean starting over. It is not just one more thing to switch to. We can relatively easily take the standards that we are charged with teaching and "globalize" those standards by finding the global citizenship skills within those standards. Here is an example of two English Language Proficiency standards that I "globalized" for my unit reading the novel Inside Out and Back Again:
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Standard:
English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards with Correspondences to K–12 Practices and Common Core State Standards Grades 9-12
9-12.5: An ELL can... conduct research and evaluate and communicate findings to answer questions or solve problems.
By the end of level 4, a student can…
• carry out both short and more sustained research projects to answer a question
• gather and synthesize information from multiple print and digital sources
• use search terms effectively
• evaluate the reliability of each source
• integrate information into an organized oral or written report
• cite sources appropriately
Integration of Global Education
• Students will recognize that while the ethnicities and cultures of refugee groups across the world may differ, many the reasons for seeking asylum are the same.
• Students will develop empathy for refugee groups across the globe by examining the reception of refugees by other countries.
• Students will recognize the perspective of others by reading first hand accounts of refugee experiences from around the world.
Specific Lesson Plan Modifications for Global Competencies
• Students will conduct research about refugees from a country of their choosing and answer questions about the causes for people needing to leave, how and where they seek asylum, and the experiences they have when they arrive to new countries.
• Students will brainstorm solutions for refugee crises.
Informal Outcome Assessments
• Students will be able to write PEAS paragraphs about refugee experience they have researched.
• Students will be able to teach the class about their focus topic using technology to aid their instruction.
Standard:
English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards with Correspondences to K–12 Practices and Common Core State Standards Grades 9-12
9-12.5: An ELL can... participate in grade appropriate oral and written exchanges of information, ideas, and analyses, responding to peer, audience, or reader comments and questions.
By the end of level 4, a student can…
• participate in conversations, discussions, and written exchanges on a range of topics, texts, and issues
• build on the ideas of others
• express his or her own ideas clearly
• support points with specific and relevant evidence
• ask and answer questions to clarify ideas and conclusions
• summarize the key points expressed.
Integration of Global Education
• Students will participate in a socratic seminar in which they compare and contrast all the refugee experiences and histories they have learned about.
• Students will recognize and explore similarities across borders and time.
• Students will apply knowledge of refugee experiences around the world to what is happening in their community right now.
• Students will be encouraged to suspend prior judgments and beliefs in order to develop more sound global perspectives.
Specific Lesson Plan Modifications for Global Competencies
• Students will use primary and secondary sources from the US and abroad as evidence in their discussion about refugee experiences.
• Students will be asked to make connections between the resources studied and their own lives to draw direct connections between what is happening globally and what is happening locally.
Informal Outcome Assessments
• Students will write a socratic seminar summary and reflection to evaluate how well they examined differing perspectives and made connections across the globe and between the local and the global.
• Teacher notes on socratic seminar - mapping participation
Digital Learning Inventory
The technology resources in the Portland Public School District are extremely varied.
All PPS educators do have access to:
1. A Google Drive account with unlimited storage
2. Google Classroom for hosting class websites, a classroom blog and assigning all students assignments - I used Google Classroom a lot for collaborating with classrooms around the world, as we could share our work easily and securely.
3. A NewsELA Pro account, with which you can assign leveled news articles to your students - This is a great way to globalize lessons by finding related articles tying current events around the world to your current content.
4. NEW: Canvas accounts. Training hopefully to come soon
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PPS ESL educators also have access to:
1. The PPS ESL Technology Library, from which we can check out classroom laptops, microphones, and laptops for newcomers
2. All our National Geographic curriculum's online resources
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Madison High School teachers have access to:
1. 2 Chromebook carts (must be reserved)
2. 2 iPad carts (must be reserved) - Great for Flipgrid assignments.
3. 2 computer labs (must be reserved)
4. Limited computers in the library when conducting research (must be reserved)
5. 2-3 iPads and tripods for checkout from the library for filming (must be reserved)
6. Individual student tech - Much of the assignments such as Flipgrid and Padlet and even NewsELA can be done on students' phones if other tech is not available.
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