Adatped from Mansilla, V. B., & Jackson, A. (2011). Educating for global competence: Preparing our youth to engage the world. New York, NY: Asia Society.
Global education can look like a variety of things. We focused on using real world data to build real world tasks for our students. Our lessons included discussions, creating meaning, and analyzing the accuracy of our predictions. Below are the four domains of what a globally competent student can do. The domains are not meant to stand alone or be used just in math! These domains should shape how a student views their world.
Students create questions and conduct research about the world outside of their own lives in a way that is meaningful for them. For example, researching data from another country and implications for that data.
Students understand their perspectives about others and seek to understand others' perspectives in a respectful and thoughtful manner. Students use multiple sources to understand a topic that challenges their perspectives.
Students convey their ideas in multiple medias to diverse audiences. This means learning how to navigate language, geographic, ideological, and cultural differences in a respectful way. Students can use technology, speech, or written mediums to communicate their ideas.
Students use their knowledge to take action in their community or globally. Students view themselves as someone who can participate in global issues and can help improve their community or the world. This does not need to be a big event! Having students create posters for their local school is a great example of action.
It is equally as important that teachers are globally competent. Below are some characteristics of globally competent teachers:
Understanding one's own cultural identity and its influence on personal dispositions and classroom practice
Knowing and integrating global dimensions within the disciplines one teaches
Engaging students in learning about the world and in exploring their place in it
Using real-life global examples, materials, and resources when considering local, national, and human issues
Valuing the input of culturally and linguistically diverse learners, families, and colleagues, and modeling cultural sensitivity
Creating environments that encourage positive cross-cultural interaction
Modeling social responsibility in local and global contexts
Helping learners find appropriate actions to improve local and global conditions
Assessing learners' global competence and providing growth opportunities based on their levels of development
Advocating for global education and social responsibility
The Top 10 Characteristics of Globally Competent Teachers. (2018, October 11). Retrieved August 29, 2020, from http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/global_learning/2015/08/the_top_10_characteristics_of_globally_competent_teachers.html