Learn, Lit, Live
Learn, Lit, Live
Beginning the Global Ed. Journey
As educators, we know the importance of staying relevant and aware. We also know how quickly themes in education can change. On this page I will share:
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online sites/my digital learning environment
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social media platforms-Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
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professional development opportunities
that I use to help me stay aware of what is going on in global education.
Online Sites/Digital Learning Environment
Educators often start with pre-assessments in order to assess students' knowledge. How often do we assess our own? During the Fulbright TGC Program, participants are encouraged to grow our digital learning environment to gain more knowledge about global education, research lesson ideas, and use with students. Here, I will share online resources that can be used for assessment and planning globally focused lessons for students. Suggested grade levels and lesson ideas will be shared as well.
Sites for Assessing and Gaining Global Education Knowledge
The (GCLC) Globally Competent Learning Continuum is a chart that is defines global education teaching skills as nascent, beginning, progressing, proficient and advanced. This tool really helps me to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses as an educator as well as where I strive to be.
Another great tool for assessing global education knowledge is the Global Education Checklist published by The American Forum for Global Education. I find it to be an effective tool for me to assess my global education knowledge and goals.
"How to Assess Global Education" is an article featured in Education Week which offers four suggestions for assessments as well as questions that can be used as exit tickets or questions for reflection at the end of a global education lesson.
Sites for Lesson Ideas
The World's Largest Lesson is a site that offers videos, tweets, lesson plan ideas, and links to free materials to aid in teaching the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs). The video featuring Malala Yousafzai is a quick and engaging way to introduce the goals to students. (Grades Pre-K-12)
Teaching With Google Earth is a site that encourages educators to use Google Earth to enhance lessons in every subject while teaching map skills. Lesson plans, maps, and reference sources are available by grade, subject, and resource type. I have used this site numerous times during storytime with students to make the setting more real to them, and students use it to find places of interest to them during computer time. (Grades Pre-K-12)
The Globe Program is for educators who are looking for a more science focused approach to current issues in global education. Online and in-person training are provided as well as many stand alone lesson modules and learning activities. I love the use of an apple in the elementary soil lesson to help students to see in a concrete way how little of the earth is made up of the soil that we need to live. (Grades K-12)
PBS Learning Media is a site that aligns lessons, videos, and standards by grade level. It can be used to make puzzles, quizzes, and lessons and can be synced with Google Classroom. I used the video Recurring Themes- The Lives of Navi and Neeraj to discuss point-of-view and how education for girls differs in other parts of the world. It was very engaging and encouraged great discussion with my students. (Grades Pre-K-12)
5-Minute Film Festival: Developing Global Citizens is a site that uses the power of video to globalize current lessons, introduce a global unit, and/or encourage global connections with students. My kindergarten girls loved dancing along to Happy with kids from other countries.
Social Media Platforms- Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
Early in the Fulbright TGC Program, all participants are encouraged to use these social media platforms to connect with global education leaders and organizations. My view of the world and my followers have grown exponentially! It has been so encouraging and informative to see that progress is being made in global education.
The ones below have presences on all three platforms. I encourage you to start with one and see where it leads you. The ones that have been most helpful in keeping me aware are:
Professional Development Opportunities
Educators often have a love/hate relationship with professional development. For me, I have always liked having the opportunity to learn something new. What is often disappointing is having it mandated or not finding information that can be easily used with students. Here, I will share what I have learned from some professional development experiences. I will link some online resources that I hope will inspire others and keep me inspired as well.
"We can only become a better state if we are honest about who we are and where we came from."
- Dr. Carroll Van West, historian
Starting Close to Home- Discover Tennessee History Stories, Strategies, and Sources Conference
This workshop was held on June 2019 in Jackson, TN and was a wonderful way to experience glocalization. It was the first time that educators from around the state were able to gather together to specifically learn more about Tennessee history and was done in order to prepare educators for the new state history standards. I learned so much more than I thought that I would and reconnected with another librarian and met other educators from Memphis.
The workshops that I attended dealt with using reader's theater and children's books, distance learning, and primary sources to teach Tennessee history. I appreciated the inclusion of people from multiple cultures in the presentations and discussions, input from multiple state organizations, and demonstrations of many teaching styles and resources. One amazing fact that I learned was the important role that Tennessee played in the training of future civil rights leaders, like Martin Luther King, Jr. , Rosa Parks, John Lewis, and so many more at the Highlander Folk School in Grundy County, TN.
Please see below for two Tennessee history resources:
Teaching with Primary Sources-
MTSU; https://library.mtsu.edu/tps
Materials and Lessons Sponsored by the East Tennessee Historical Society: TeachTNHistory.org
"Behavior is a literacy. It is something to be taught and learned."
-Jamin Carter, Focus 50 Consultant
Staying Close to Home- The Orpheum Teacher Group (OTG) Teacher Summer Institute
This professional development opportunity was here in Memphis on June 2019 and was sponsored by one of our local arts groups and in conjunction with the Kennedy Center Partners in Education and Shelby County Schools. I attended four of the opportunities. I was able to
learn from Kennedy Center trained educators on ways to:
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Use the arts in encouraging academic conversation and collaboration among students.
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Explore the concentration, collaboration, and cooperation found in the art of acting in classroom management.
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Expand on the observation, analysis, and interpretation needed in visual arts to effectively learn about traditional visual art, illustrations in books, digital images, etc.
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Define portraits and how they can be used to better understand a person's life and build background knowledge in various subjects.
I liked the active participation required in this experience because it helped me better see how I could implement the practices taught with students. I also liked the opportunity to network with other educators. It was great to be around educators who really want to improve their craft.
I left with wonderful art prints, the book Acting Right: Building a Cooperative, Collaborative, Creative Classroom Community Through Drama by Sean Layne and new strategies and lesson ideas that I feel confident in implementing with students.
https://orpheum-memphis.com/event/arts-integration-teacher-summer-institute-2019
