Picture this….you are standing at the back of a classroom. You are the teacher. Students are sitting in bustling clumps around the room, gathered haphazardly around a laptop here and there. As you look up, you move quickly between each clump. Students are talking and typing, speaking over each other but not in each other’s way. The talking is deep, constructive, organic. There are maps on the laptops, images of far off places, and pictures of your school’s hometown on various screens. Students point and talk, screen to notebook and back again. They have questions written all over their notes. Good questions, smart questions, deep questions. But,you notice, and smile, they are not your questions. These questions belong to your students. They were crafted in a state of intellectual curiosity. Born out of the path you showed them, but a path on which they are leading the way. Here and there a hand will shoot up. A question for you, a clarification. But you are in the background. These students are more than students, they are learners. They can do more than just tell what is on those maps of countries they still struggle to pronounce. They can tell you how an economic action in the Western Hemisphere can ripple into a financial crisis in Asia. How the lack of vaccines in South Africa will shut down nursing homes in New York. And how what we do today will impact our grandchildren in the days to come. What kind of student is this? What kind of learning is this? What kind of classroom is this? Is it your classroom? Or better yet, could it be your classroom?

So how do you put this vision into action? How does one teacher, a group of educators, or a whole district distill into a vision, the rights words, phrases, and ideas to fully capture global teaching? For me, to even begin to wrestle with the question, what is global learning, represents a critical step in the direction of becoming a globally focused educator. What does that mean? In essence, global learning refers here to the intentional attempt to connect the curriculum, culture, and focus of a classroom to the larger global context.

So what does it take to become a globally focused teacher? The answer to this is complicated to say the least. However, I have come to believe the key ingredients require:

1.) A dispositional shift on the part of the teacher to create classroom thinking patterns and structures that focus on the "interconnectivity" of global and domestic trends and patterns;

2.) A willingness to take instructional risks that challenge both the teacher and student;

3.) A recognition of what a teacher is already doing in the classroom that is globally focused, and a simultaneous recognition of the areas in which the teacher can make small but immediate steps to become more globally focused.

With these considerations in mind, this website is organized to highlight multiple facets of the global learning process.

• Local Connections! focuses on what is currently happening in my home school district of Woodford County, KY to highlight what is already being done by our teachers to address global learning.

• Study! allows interested teachers to dig deep into the global learning literature. Teachers will find professional development resources, take global inventory surveys, and activities that will build their own awareness of global learning.

• Teach! is a section completely focused on what teachers have already done to create a culture of global learning. This page showcases a variety of lessons, units, and classroom materials that are ready-made to use in your classroom.

• Travel! includes my own Travel Blog that documents my own global learning journey as a Fulbright teacher.

This website is compatible with most computer systems, including Google Suite and Microsoft.