Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ĚĐŲČǺȚİǾŇ ȚŘĚŇĐȘ
Bỳ Dana Mortenson
Đěčěmběř 22, 2014 Ųpđǻțěđ Jųŀỳ 23, 2015
Over the next generation, whether they work for corporations, small businesses, government
organizations, nonprofits, or other organizations, many U.S. employees will move from working primarily
with American colleagues, bosses, and customers for American organizations in U.S. cities, to being
part of global teams. As leaders, they will use technology to bridge geographic divides, build
organizations that transcend borders, and work together with colleagues from around the world on
issues such as climate change, food security, and population growth issues that require multinational
teams coming together to effect change.
For those whose work is closer to home, the changing demographics of the U.S. will mean that their
colleagues, customers, and neighbors may look a lot less like them, and have fewer shared histories
than American colleagues, customers, and neighbors have shared in the past.
The challenges today's students will face as tomorrow's leaders will involve working more closely
across geographic borders, and with people who have very different backgrounds, beliefs, and
experiences. In short, diversity and global citizenship are our common future.
Will our children be ready, and is the education they're receiving today preparing them for the world
they'll inherit in a decade or two? Skills that globally competent students will require to successfully
navigate college, career, and life in the 21st century include:
An appreciation for cultural differences
An ability to understand and consider multiple perspectives
Critical and comparative thinking skills
Problemsolving abilities
Comfort with ambiguity and change
An understanding of globally significant issues
Based on our work with more than 2,000 U.S. middle and high school educators on building global
competence, following are five core strategies that we've seen educators adopt to effectively create the
classroom of the future – a classroom that will build the necessary skills for educating globally
competent students, and truly prepare them to thrive as responsible global citizens in the 21st century.
case studies of significant global issues that have local impact, and use them to encourage selfdirected
learning. Here are examples of three case studies
(http://www.worldsavvy.org/professionaldevelopmentinstituteresources) one on drought and desertification in
Burkina Faso, one on water issues in Bolivia, and a third on the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Leveraging this kind of material and encouraging students to think deeply and creatively about
implications, parallels in their own community, and how they can affect change builds strong critical
thinking skills and global context. For additional resources, check out National Geographic Education's
case studies, such as this one
(http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/activity/marineecosystemcriticalissuescasestudies/?ar_a=1) on
critical issues facing marine ecosystems, or its Current Event Connection
(http://blog.education.nationalgeographic.com/category/currenteventconnection/) page.
complexity of an issue, then design and implement solutions based on the students' own research. This
helps students build an appreciation for the challenges of addressing both global and community
issues. A teacher who challenges and encourages students to be comfortable with changing
environments and circumstances simulates the realities of our deeply dynamic world. While this can be
disconcerting, when coupled with helping students understand that even small actions can have a
significant impact, it can be hugely empowering.
particularly those with perspectives that are controversial or significantly different from the students'
own, helps them build their "empathy muscles." A great resource for educators to consult is Ashoka's
Start Empathy program (http://startempathy.org/), which includes an online course and supporting
materials.
perspectives, but also to personalize and take control of their learning. Every day there are new
technology resources available to help educators make their classrooms more global and connect their
students to new ideas, challenges, and resources that will let them dig deeper into what they're learning
in class. Sorting through all of these resources could be a fulltime job, so consider these technology
resources to support and challenge your students, and to build on your current curriculum:
Mystery Skype (https://education.skype.com/mysteryskype)
Google Earth for Educators (http://sitescontent.google.com/googleearthforeducators/)
Global Classroom Twitter Chats (http://theglobalclassroomproject.wordpress.com/category/twitterchats/)
In addition, here's a great Education World blog post
(http://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/virtual_resources_learning_world_geography.shtml) on learning world
geography.
becomes routinized is when educators and students see the most benefit from it. Structured and
frequent reflection, which students do both on their own and with each other, helps them apply learnings
to future work. Consider these thinking and reflection routines
(http://www.visiblethinkingpz.org/VisibleThinking_html_files/03_ThinkingRoutines/03c_CoreRoutines.html) from the
Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero.
Building the classroom of the future a more globally competent, studentcentered learning space that
engages diverse learners has been given a boost by recent developments, including the Department
of Education's International Strategy (201216)
(http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/internationaled/internationalstrategy201216.pdf) (PDF), outlining global
competence as a key pillar of quality education; and plans for the PISA assessments to include global
competence in 2018
(https://www.pearson.com/news/announcements/2014/december/pearsontodeveloppisa2018studentassessment21st
centuryfra.html)
. These represent an important shift to a mindset where this type of learning is offered not just
intermittently, but ultimately valued and given highlevel priority as something that's fundamental to
learning.
As you consider these five strategies, how close is your classroom, or your child's classroom, to being a
classroom of the future?
FİĿĚĐ ŲŇĐĚŘ
Student Engagement Teacher Leadership