Study

Defining Global Competence and Global Education

On the landing page of twiac.com, there is a brief definition of global education:

"Global education is identifying local problems and understanding that they are global problems. And seeing global problems and understanding they are local. In our increasingly interconnected world we have to be able to learn from another’s perspective, think critically, and help create solutions in an innovate manner. This is the least that a global education can do. It is not another initiative for teachers to take on, rather it is a mindset that shifts the manner in which we teach our content. Instead of learning a specific content in a silo, we are learning the content in the context of the global and local."

It gives the reader and idea of what to expect from a global education person. However, having a global education is much more than the simple definition provided on the homepage. Having, or providing a Global education includes being globally competent. This competence has four domains: Investigate the World, Recognize Perspectives, Communicate Ideas, and Take Action, (per the definition of Global Competence from the Asia Society). Per Tichnor-Wager, et al "global competence is the set of knowledge, skills, mindsets, and values needed to thrive in a diverse, globalized society...[these are] the underlying attributes that allow students to thrive in a world that is complex [and] interconnected.."(Becoming a Globally Competent Teacher, 2019). While there are many resources for teachers to use to help their students learn to be globally aware and competent, below are a few that I use on a regular basis as a Mathematics Instructional Staff Developer. 

The study page is set up in three sections:

Each of these sections above have an extensive list of resources that can be used to bring the local and global together. Find one or two that sound interesting and start exploring! Don't forget to tell a friend, discuss it over a meal and see what you can create!

Below is the image of the SDGs and the YouTube video I use to present the SDGs to students. 

Global Education Assessment Tools

• Global Leadership Performance Outcomes for ages 12- 14.

I put this first and foremost, because it was the most useful for me. I was able to take the entire rubric and assess students on pieces of it, instead of trying to assess everything all at once. There are so many aspects to global education that it is nigh impossible to assess them with the entire rubric with one project or assessment. Additionally, I would highly encourage making this rubric available to students, as well. When students have access to the standards upon which they will be assessed, they know the road map in which to be successful. 

Using parts of this rubric, I was able to create a road map of global contexts for my lessons. Accompanied with this road map was a built in assessment system that I just had to adapted to the grading scale used by my district. 

• The Globally Competent Teaching Continuum

If we are assessing the students will a global rubric, then it is only fair that we assess our own understanding and implementation of global education, competencies, and connections as educators. This is a rubric that is a continuous tool to be used for reflective practice for teachers. How are we embedding global connections? Do we know the connections between contents that create deeper understandings? Do we know how to accurately assess a site for its validity? Do we keep up with current events of the world and now how they are connected to past events? While it is not necessary for a teacher to be marked "advanced" in every category, it does give a baseline for a teacher and, then, that teacher can re-assess at the end of predetermined set of time to see if they have grown in any of the categories. Just like students, we want to see the growth mindset from teachers and the desire to keep improving. This is a tool that can help you understand the demands of a global classroom from the teacher perspective. 

• Desmos
  This site can be an irreplacable tool for math teachers. Even though it is not explicitly tied to anything "global," it is a tool that can increase students' understanding of data and equations that are presented to them in an unfamiliar context. Additionally, teachers can search the library of lesson plans (after making a free account) or create their own based on the needs of their learners. With a lesson, or activity, in Desmos, teachers can monitor student progress, achievement, common misconceptions and mistakes, and more! Because the nature of Desmos is flexible, it can suit the needs of a global classroom in a variety of capacities! 

Digital Learning Environment

Here is a list of tools that are pertinent to a math teacher! 

• GeoGebra.com - This is a site made for Algebra and Geometry teachers, but has many resources for grades 4 through 12!. It provides a way for Geometry students to practice constructions without the frustrations of a loose compass or other tools and space for students to recognize patterns in Algebra, and a spot to determine different statistics. 

• Desmos.com - see the description in the section above

• Canva.com - Do you need to be creative but are stuck? Try the templates in canva! It provides a lot of templates for educators from worksheets to presentations to "get to know me" activities. 

• Dan Meyer's Three-Act Math Tasks - specific to middle grades (6-8) and can provide a nice "low floor, high ceiling task" for students

• Harvard University Project Zero Thinking Routines - a website with  TONS of  ways to get kids thinking and communicating.