The advantage of bringing global perspectives to history, geography, civics and citizenship, humanities, art, drama, physical education, social education, philosophy, literacy-in fact, to all learning areas not defined is being noticed by increasing numbers of educators. So what dispositions are being developed? Continue reading
Global competence is the capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance.
Globally competent students must have the knowledge and skills to:
Investigate the World
Global competence starts by being aware, curious, and interested in learning about the world and how it works. Globally competent students ask and explore critical questions and “researchable” problems—problems for which there may not be one right answer, but can be systematically engaged intellectually and emotionally. Their questions are globally significant, questions that address important phenomena and events that are relevant world wide – in their own community and in communities across the globe.
Globally competent students can articulate the significance of their questions and know how to respond to these questions by identifying, collecting, and analyzing credible information from a variety of local, national and international sources, including those in multiple languages. They can connect the local to the global, for example, by explaining how a local issue like their school recycling program exemplifies a global process far beyond their backyards.
From analysis to synthesis to evaluation, they can weigh and integrate evidence to create a coherent response that considers multiple perspectives and draws defensible conclusions—be it an essay, a problem or design solution, a scientific explanation or a work of art.
Also Global Competency Building part 1
http://asiasociety.org/about
We are in the last year of a fifteen year program, the Millenium Development Goals. In the year 2000, eight goals including the alleviation of poverty, education for all children until year 6 and the eradication of HIV AIDS and malaria were agreed to by 192 member nations of the United Nations.
The latest report examines the progress towards achieving the MDGs. It can only be said that the MDGs have made a profound difference in people’s lives. Global poverty was halved by 2010. It is believed poverty can be eradicated within the next generation. Ninety per cent of children in developing regions now enjoy primary education, and enrolment of girl has increased. Remarkable gains have also been made in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis, along with improvements in all health indicators. The likelihood of a child dying before age five has been nearly cut in half over the last two decades. We also met the target of halving the proportion of people who lack access to improved sources of water, although that is not uniform across the globe.
Suzanne Cridge-Goodwin Director Bright Spots Schools Connection at Social Ventures Australia
Philanthropic partnership can be hugely catalytic. What can and will make a difference in education equity both locally and globally? How do we develop strategy in partnership with philanthropy? Where are the best opportunities for maximum impact?
I felt compelled to answer Suzanne immediately… Continue reading
from NGV exhibition
Global education is a concept with a diverse number of understandings. Even the term ‘global education’ has different viewing platforms from global learning to global competencies from global citizenship to education for sustainable development. Continue reading
Family farming is inextricably linked to national and global food security. As the International Year of Family Farming comes to a close I want to mention climate change and family livelihood from the land.
Did you know that there are 570 million farms around the world and 500 million of them are owned by families?
These families live in both developing and developed countries.
Did you know that floods that occurred every 100 years are predicted to occur every 25 to 50 years?
So it makes sense to not only acknowledge the work these families do, but to also think about the ways we can continue to support them to continue feeding themselves and us.
When you plan a unit of inquiry around food, add a global perspective and look at families, farming, affect of the climate and our connections. In this way we can foster insight, understanding, empathy and the learning needed to find sustainable ways to overcome the challenges that face us.
Take a Virtual Farm Visit linking to the Australian Curriculum Year 4 – 7 Technologies Curriculum and Year 4 and 5 Geography
Activities for Investigating agriculture in Australia can be found at AgriFoods
Behind the brands explores the connection between big companies, sugar and land grabs
Food for thought is a game for learning about small scale farmers and fairness in the global food system
Take action at Aussi Smart
-Keep me posted with your units centred around food. Dig deeper, think wider and send me your global reach with your unit of inquiry.
So our learners aren’t learning Maths. Time and time again I hear learners saying, when asked to respond to solving an equation by adding two numbers, “I plus them,” or when multiplying numbers, “I times them.” When subtraction is required to solve an equation where two numbers are involved, I’d like a dollar for every time a learner says, “You minus them.” An equation is referred to as a ‘sum’. A ‘sum’ is the answer when you add numbers together.
A sense of number and what is done with numbers is difficult for many learners to internalise. The transmission of the language of maths is so poor in many instances that I wonder if intervention is needed in order to not only break the cycle of inadequate language to describe mathematical operations, but to model strategical and block building concepts to teachers. Perhaps maths mentors is the answer.
How can sustainability enhance the learning areas in curricula?
My favourite picture storybook is The Short and Incredibly Happy Life of Riley (Thank you Nuella.) You MUST read it. The message I took away was live simply so others can simple live. (Thank you Gandhi.)
A curriculum that has sustainable futures at its core will be a dynamic and value enriched program of learning. The ways in which we can meet our current needs without diminishing the environment or reducing the capacity of future generations to meet their own needs is what a sustainable future is about.
So as a learner and facilitator, I brainstormed all the concepts of a global curriculum centred around the functions of sustainability – cultural sustainability, economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability …..so here goes…….needs and wants, human rights, politics, Millenium Development Goals, belief systems, value systems, gender equity, poverty reduction, global cooperation, interconnection, human well being, peace, resolving conflict, partnerships, trade, water, forests, natural hazards and disasters, biodiversity, food security, endangered species, energy, desertification, effects of climate and its change, trading fairly, education, identity, child Rights, Agriculture, ethical consumerism, migration, immigration, refugees, population, intercultural understanding, cultural diversity, connections to the past, indigenous culture, global health…… phwew!! And that’s just for starters.
Write down these learning areas- Civics and Citizenship, Geography, Science, History, Technologies, Maths, The Arts, English, Health and Phys Ed, Languages and Economics.
Now try and fit any one of the concepts above under just one learning area. Can’t choose? That’s because sustainability and global learning cross all areas of the curriculum. A rich curriculum has interconnected learning.
The best way to work out where you can work with these concepts in your curriculum is to do a concept map.
Take a look at your existing curriculum. Could you enhance it and open the eyes of your learners a little wider by including a concept around sustainability?
How I look forward to Mondays. I am having some sessions with Helen Blunden from Activate Learning, exploring the use of social tools for learning. Our discourse has been stimulating and the learning I liken to an inverse maths concept. If you don’t add anyone to your learning, you minimise the benefit from your outcomes and reduce the impact of what that learning could be. Share that learning and you multiply your outcomes, knowledge and opportunities. More people learn even more. Go figure!
