what is a glocal teacher essay

Becoming a global teacher: Ten steps to an international classroom

One of the most important tasks for educators in the world today is to help students learn about the rich variety of people in our multicultural world and the important world problems that face our planet. English language teachers have a special role to play in this important task. In this article, I'd like to outline ten steps that classroom instructors can take to become global teachers and to add an international dimension to their language classrooms.

Step 1: Rethink the Role of English

The first step in becoming a global teacher is to rethink your definition of English. Definitions are important because they limit what we do. How do you define life , for example? As a party? A pilgrimage? A to-do list? A vale of tears? Each of these definitions will lead you off in a different direction. In the same way, how you define English determines what you do in your classroom. What is "English" then? Traditionally, English has been defined as:

• a linguistic system of pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar
• a school subject and a topic on university entrance exams
• a language of "daily conversation" about family, sports and hobbies
• the mother tongue of English-speaking countries such as the USA and Britain

These four traditional views have long formed the basis of much English teaching worldwide. A global education view of English, however, involves two further dimensions. It sees the English classroom as a place for teaching:

• English as an international language for communication with people from around the world
• English as a subject for learning about the world's peoples, countries and problems

A global approach to EFL, therefore, means showing how English can be a language of world citizenship for learning about our global village, for communicating with people from other cultures and for working to solve problems facing Planet Earth.

Step 2: Reconsider Your Role as Teacher

How we define ourselves is just as important as how we define our field. A key question teachers can ask themselves is "Who am I?" How you answer this determines what you do in class. Do you define yourself as "just an English teacher?" Or do you see yourself as an "educator" in the wider sense? I prefer to define myself as a global educator who teaches English as a foreign language. This means that I'm dedicated to good English teaching but that I'm also committed to helping my students become responsible global citizens who will work for a better world.

This mission we have as global educators is outlined in UNESCO's (1974) Recommendation on "Education for International Understanding, Cooperation, and Peace." This calls on teachers in schools around the world to promote:

• an international dimension and a global perspective in education at all levels
• understanding and respect for all peoples, their cultures, values and ways of life
• awareness of the increasing global interdependence between peoples and nations
• abilities to communicate with others
• awareness of the rights and duties of individuals, social groups and nations towards each other
• understanding of the necessity for international solidarity and co-operation
• readiness on the part of the individual to participate in solving the problems of his/her community, country and the world at large

How we teach English in our EFL classrooms can either promote or hinder these important goals.

Step 3: Rethink Your Classroom Atmosphere

A third step in internationalizing your teaching is to rethink your class atmosphere and the impact it has on students. What do students see when they enter your classroom? Bare concrete walls? Pictures and photos of the USA? If we really want to teach English as a global language, we need to think carefully about our classroom atmosphere and what it says to students.

What is a global classroom? A global EFL classroom is a room decorated with global posters, world maps and international calendars—all in English. It's a dynamic, colorful place which stimulates international awareness and curiosity about our multicultural world. It features globes, international displays, and walls decorated with posters of world flags, current events, and Nobel Peace Prize winners. A global classroom is also an environmentally-friendly classroom where teachers and students use recycled paper, save energy, and use both sides of the paper for handouts and homework.

Step 4: Integrate Global Topics Into Your Teaching

Global education doesn't happen through good intentions alone. It must be planned for, prepared and consciously taught. After all, students can't learn what you don't teach. It doesn't do any good, for example, to teach English grammar and hope that students somehow become more international as a result. Rather, a good global language teacher must sit down and write up a "dual syllabus" comprising: (1) a set of language learning goals and (2) a set of global education goals. Once these are listed, the teacher's job is to design effective, enjoyable class activities that achieve both sets of objectives in an integrated, creative way. A sample global education lesson plan might look like this:  

Activities to Accomplish the Above Goals

• a polluted river
• an oil spill
• a dead tree
• litter on the ground
• picked up litter from the ground
• turned off the lights to save energy
• used something that was recycled
• given money to an environmental organization
• For homework, assign students to do 3 good deeds for the environment over the next week. Then, make a present perfect class poster entitled: "Things our class has done for the environment"

Step 5: Experiment With Global Education Activities

Part of becoming a global teacher involves experimenting in class with global education activities such as games, role plays, and videos. Games designed around international themes can stimulate motivation, promote global awareness, and practice language skills. Typical global education games range from environmental bingo, to human rights quizzes, to world travel board games. Books such as Worldways (Elder & Carr, 1987), Multicultural Teaching (Tiedt, 2001) and In the Global Classroom (Pike & Selby, 2000) provide a variety of such activities that can be adapted to the EFL classroom.

Role plays can stimulate students' creativity while promoting communicative language use in a way that lecturing can't. There's a big difference between reading about Third World refugees, for example, and actually becoming one in class. Global education role plays include conflict resolution skits, discrimination experience games, and Model United Nations simulations, and can have students take on roles ranging from endangered species, to African slaves, to world leaders.

Video allows teachers to bring the world into class in a very real way. Through the magic of video, we can take our students back in time to meet Gandhi, or off to visit UN headquarters in New York - all at the touch of a button. For EFL lessons on the environment, I'd love to fly my students to Brazil, but my salary doesn't quite allow that. Since I can't take my class to the Amazon, the next best thing is to bring the Amazon to my classroom. This I can do with global education videos such as "Spaceship Earth" (Worldlink, 1990). This allows my students to travel to Brazil with pop singer Sting and learn about tropical rainforest destruction—all in English and without ever leaving the classroom.

Step 6: Make Use of Your International Experience in Class

Language teachers are an incredibly "global" group of people. Some speak foreign languages such as French or Korean. Others know Spanish dancing or Chinese cooking. Some have traveled widely in Asia. Others have lived in Brazil or Germany. Despite their "global" backgrounds, however, many language teachers leave their international experience at home and spend their class time just being "ordinary" teachers. In my view, these teachers lose out on a special chance to add an international dimension to their teaching and to promote good language learning.

Good teaching means using our talents to promote effective learning. If you're good at art, you should use your skill through blackboard drawings to motivate your class. If you're good at drama, you should exploit this in your teaching. The same applies with international experience. If you've lived in the Middle East, use your experience to design exciting English lessons to promote understanding of Islam and the Arab world. If you've been to Hanoi, prepare an English slide show about your trip to Vietnam.

As teachers, we bring to the classroom a variety of talents, skills, and experiences. Using these effectively can enliven our teaching, stimulate motivation, promote global awareness, and encourage language learning. If you have a global talent, skill, or experience, exploit it. If you don't have any international experience, then why not try to get some?

Step 7: Organize Extra-Curricular Activities

Extra-curricular activities are another way to combine global awareness with English practice. Arranging penpal or keypal programs is one way to get your students using English to communicate with young people around the world. Setting up an English "Global Issues Study Group" is another idea. Some schools write English letters to foster children from Third World countries. Yet others hold English charity events to raise money to remove Cambodian landmines, help African AIDS victims, assist Iraqi children, or build schools in Nepal.

Some schools add an international dimension to their school festival through English speech contests on global themes, or by inviting English guest speakers from groups such as UNICEF. Others arrange volunteer activities where students pick up litter on local beaches, or participate in charity walk-a-thons to end world hunger—all while using English out-of-class.

School trips are a further way to promote international understanding. Language study tours to the U.S. and Australia can include projects on social issues to broaden students' experience beyond homestays, sightseeing, and shopping. Taking students to destinations such as India, the Philippines, or Korea can improve their English as they learn about life in developing countries, or neighboring Asian nations. One of my current projects is an Asian Youth Forum (AYF) which brings together students from across Asia to build friendships, break down stereotypes, and discuss global issues all through the medium of English-as-an-Asian-language.

Step 8: Explore Global Education and Related Fields

Another key step in becoming a global teacher is to explore global education and its related fields. Exploring a new field to help improve our teaching is nothing new. Good teachers have always gone to other disciplines to learn new ideas, techniques and resources. Teachers who wish to deepen their knowledge of grammar, for example, turn to the field of linguistics. Teachers interested in student motivation turn to the field of psychology. In the same way, if we are serious about teaching English to promote global awareness, international understanding, and action to solve world problems, we need to turn to those fields which specialize in these areas:

• Global education aims to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed by responsible world citizens. Global education can provide language teachers with ideas, techniques, and resources for designing lessons on world religions, for creating units on Asia, or Africa, and for teaching about global issues such as AIDS, refugees, and world hunger.
• Peace education deals with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to build a peaceful world. Peace education can provide language teachers with ideas, techniques, and resources for designing lessons on topics such as war, peace, conflict, violence, Gandhi, and the Nobel Peace Prize.
• Human rights education aims to inspire students with the knowledge and commitment required to protect human rights. Human rights education can provide language teachers with ideas, techniques, and resources for teaching about topics such as prejudice, sexism, ethnic minorities, Martin Luther King, and organizations such as Amnesty International.
• Environmental education aims to develop the knowledge, skills, and commitment needed to protect our home, Planet Earth. Environmental education can provide language teachers with ideas, techniques, and resources for teaching about such topics as pollution, endangered species, solar energy, recycling, Rachel Carson, and organizations like Greenpeace.

Exploring these fields can be done in a number of ways: by reading books, by attending conferences, by contacting organizations, and by trying out teaching materials. Global education conferences take place throughout the year. The Peace as a Global Language (PGL) conference in Kyoto this September is one such event. Global issue groups such as Oxfam , Friends of the Earth , and Amnesty International can provide teachers with useful information and teaching materials. Global education videos, CD-Roms, posters, and teaching packs can be obtained through on-line resource centers such as Social Studies School Service .

English teachers who explore these fields soon discover a new excitement in their classes and a new mission in their teaching. They are able to approach global issues and world topics more confidently, and can draw from a wider variety of teaching activities, techniques, and resources for their content-based classes. The result is usually greater student motivation, increased global awareness, and enhanced language learning.

Step 9: Join a Global Issue Special Interest Group

A further step in becoming a global teacher is to join one of the many global education special interest groups (SIGs) in the English teaching profession. These offer a rich variety of ideas, activities, and resources for language teachers. The oldest of these is JALT's Global Issues in Language Education Special Interest Group (GILE SIG) which features a quarterly newsletter and active website. Similar groups include the Global Issues SIG of the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL) and the TESOLers for Social Responsibility Caucus (TSR) of the US-based organization TESOL.

Step 10: Deepen Your Knowledge through Professional Development

A final step in becoming a global teacher is to invest your time and money in professional development linked to global education. It's now possible to enroll in academic courses in global education and peace education in Japan and overseas to increase your professional knowledge and skills in these areas. The Teachers College Columbia University MA-in-TESOL program in Tokyo, for example, offers graduate courses on global education as well as a Peace Education Certificate for language teachers wishing to acquire knowledge and qualifications in this field. In the United States, associations such as TESOL now organize regular seminars on topics such as Classroom Responses to War and Terrorism (Washington DC, 2003), Teaching for Social Responsibility (Brazil, 2004), and TESOLers as Builders of Peace (New York, 2004).

I hope the ten steps above prove useful for teachers seeking to add a global dimension to their EFL classrooms. I'd also like to encourage teachers in Japan and overseas to promote international understanding, social responsibility, and a peaceful future through professional content-based language education aimed at teaching for a better world.

Elder, P., & Carr, M. (1987). Worldways: Bringing the world into your classroom . Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Pike, G., & Selby, D. (2000). In the global classroom . Toronto: Pippin. Tiedt, P. (2001). Multicultural teaching (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. UNESCO. (1974). Recommendation concerning education for international understanding, cooperation, and peace . Paris: UNESCO. Worldlink. (1990). Spaceship earth (video). Order from www.socialstudies.com

Asian Youth Forum (AYF) www.asianyouthforum.org Social Studies School Service (USA) www.socialstudies.com Peace as a Global Language Conference (Kyoto) www.eltcalendar.com/PGL2004 Teachers College Columbia University (Tokyo) TESOL (USA) www.tesol.org

Global Issues Interest Groups

JALT Global Issues SIG (Japan) www.jalt.org/global/sig/ IATEFL Global Issues SIG (UK) www.countryschool.com/gisig.htm TESOLers for Social Responsibility (US) www.tesol.org/mbr/caucuses/tsr.html

Kip Cates has a B.A. in Modern Languages from the University of British Columbia and an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Reading. He teaches English at Tottori University and courses on global education for the MA-in-TESOL program of Teachers College Columbia University (Tokyo). He is the chair of JALT's Global Issues in Language Education Special Interest Group, past president of TESOLers for Social Responsibility and founder of the Asian Youth Forum . He has presented on global education and language teaching in countries such as Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Hungary, the US, and the UK.

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The Glocal Teacher: The paradox agency of teaching in a glocalised world

2015, Policy Futures in Education

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"What makes a global teacher?" Examining student responses to development and intercultural education

Global Citizenship

Introduction   The need to prepare teachers for working in multicultural contexts in an increasingly globalised world is one that all of us working in education would acknowledge as being of significance.  It is something that particularly exercises us on the Development and InterCultural Education (DICE) Project, as we are concerned with both development and intercultural education.

            DICE works with student teachers in the four Dublin colleges of education (primary) and has links with Mary Immaculate College in Limerick.  The Project delivers courses in development and intercultural education, some of which are elective while other courses are a compulsory component of an Inclusive Education Module in Years 2 and 3 of the BEd in the Trinity-associated colleges (Coláiste Mhuire, Froebel College and The Church of Ireland College of Education).  This paper will explore some of the challenges that we have encountered in our work in initial teacher education, focusing on our input with student teachers, and will also draw on some of our experiences of working with college lecturers and practising teachers.  The paper will also describe some of the responses that we have developed to these challenges.   Challenges and responses in relation to content and focus   Within preparing teachers for working in an increasingly globalised world, there are two competing demands on course design and on the focus of delivery.  Mainly that there is a danger that the urgency of ‘local’ needs can push an exploration of the ‘global’ off the agenda or down the list of priorities.  The immediacy of these needs means that it is critical for DICE to have a response to these issues as they arise but also to consider the project’s primary task of promoting both development and intercultural education.

            One of the on-going challenges therefore, is to ensure that preparation for the ‘multicultural context’ does not take precedence over a development education perspective.  There can be a tension between the dual demands of ‘development education’ and ‘intercultural education’, and the perceived urgency of the intercultural agenda can heighten this tension.

            In acknowledgement of that tension when DICE commissioned a Literature Review in 2005, it was entitled Global and Justice Perspectives in Education.  Early on it emerged that little, if any, literature used the focus or concept of ‘global and justice perspectives’.  Rather, literature focused more specifically on either development /global, intercultural or citizenship education. We identified ten core themes in the field of development/global; intercultural and citizenship education:

• Development
• Sustainable development
• Interdependence
• Cultural identity and diversity
• Human rights and responsibilities
• Discrimination, raciscm, prejudice
• Equality and social justice
• Peace, conflict and conflict resolution 
• 'State of the world' - geographic, economic, political, social, and environmental knowledge

By working with these ten core themes, practitioners are drawing the strands of development and intercultural education together under a common framework in which the local and the global become intertwined and interconnected.

            Another response lies in course design. In recognition of the immediacy of students’ concerns with local issues we begin the course with a module exploring just that. Immediate concerns can be used as a ‘way in’ and also as a means of underlining the importance of this work with students. Courses or sessions then move beyond the local and extend into looking at development education themes such as exploring the concept of ‘development’; teaching about distant localities; teaching about ‘natural’ disasters; human rights education and so on.  However, while this approach provides an entry point with students, it is also possible that the interest of many students will not extend past practical and immediate classroom concerns of incorporating global awareness into their teaching.  This leads to the all-important question, “what makes a global teacher?”. 

            The examples that follow are drawn from evaluations on completion of an eight to ten-week module delivered to Year 2 BEd students.  Often students drew from their Teaching Practice experiences.  Student comments on this first session in their end-of-term evaluations included:   “It is a good idea to have clear information on various cultural differences and I learned a lot about the various cultures in Ireland to aid me when teaching children of various cultures”.   “As Ireland is changing so rapidly, it is important that teachers promote equality to the next generation”.   “I wouldn’t have really thought there was a major need for intercultural education so this lecture opened my eyes to the need for this type of education”.   Classroom application: The development of skills   The following comments highlight a point often made by students on DICE courses.  That is that the classroom application of ideas and concepts is of paramount importance to them and is often the deciding factor about whether they have found a session useful or not. For example:   Teaching about ‘natural’ disasters:   “….I thought it could be very useful topic to integrate into History, Geography, SPHE, English”.   Simulation activity on food/population distribution globally:   “…I will try this activity during my next TP [teaching practice] as I think it conveys the message of unequal distribution of food very clearly”.   “The game was great, very hands-on and useful to use in the classroom, really showed powerfully the reality of the division of food”.               While this is a very small sample of student evaluations, and certainly more structured investigation would be required over a period of time, it is consistent with feedback that DICE regularly receives from students on completion of courses.  It is often apparent that what matters first and foremost to students is the potential applicability of the material to teaching; if they can use it in the classroom then it is valuable.  Whether that relates to development or intercultural education appears to be of secondary concern, for example:   “A lot of ideas given for an ‘ideal world’ but not many for teaching practice which is priority for all at the moment” (Overall course comment).   “(I would like) more designing and planning our own lessons and approaches” (Overall course comment).               A student may respond very positively to particular practical aspects of a course, but a longitudinal study would be required in order to see if this interest was maintained past the particular lesson activity or topic.  Furthermore, DICE cannot shape a course purely around the practical application of ideas.  Development and intercultural education is concerned with knowledge and attitudes as much as with skills, so it is imperative that we build students’ knowledge base in courses.  This is despite feedback that shows that theoretical discussions are often less popular with students:   “Found it hard to relate the ideas to the classroom” (Feedback on ‘Exploring Culture’).   “Interesting, surprising facts; not classroom usable though!” (Feedback on ‘Development’ session).   “Found that it was too theoretical too soon.” (Feedback on ‘Exploring Culture’).   Attitudinal development: “What makes a ‘global teacher’?”   In addition to knowledge and skills, the third aspect which DICE courses aim to develop is attitudinal.  This leads back to the earlier question: “What makes a global teacher?”  In other words, why is it that some students will go on to incorporate a global and justice dimension as an integral part of their teaching, while another student who may have attended the same courses, will see this aspect as peripheral or irrelevant to their practice?  The answer possibly lies in this third area of attitudes.  The motivational factor is the key to whether a student will a) build on her /his knowledge base in relation to development and intercultural education and b) acquire the necessary skills to incorporate the perspective into teaching.  Some of the students will have learnt interesting activities which they may use as one-off or sporadic exercises.  Others will go on to develop an approach to their entire teaching career.

            Some of the material in the Literature Review Global and Justice Perspectives in Education (2005) is useful to consider in the context of motivation and attitude.  The literature review presented and analysed Irish and international literature on the factors which influence teachers’ incorporation of global and justice perspectives in their teaching. As would be expected, whole-school issues such as ethos and leadership figure strongly as facilitating factors, as do aspects such as time, make-up of the student body, and the availability of resources.

            The DICE literature review has found that certain life experiences can influence a teacher’s value system and how they incorporate this into their professional environment.  This in turn can determine the extent to which their teaching methodologies reflect global and justice perspectives.  The researcher cites her own research with practising teachers (Fitzgerald, 2003) to highlight this:   “For those teachers who did not have the same life experiences, they did not exhibit the same awareness of social injustice, or a desire to bring about change in society…The underlying cause of this differentiation between the two groups of teachers was found to lie in a differing value system between the teachers, arising from having different personal experiences in life” (Fitzgerald, 2003, quoted in Literature Review, DICE 2005).               Nevertheless, we cannot assume that the only students who will go on to incorporate a global dimension are those who already have a disposition towards these values as they commence their BEd.  We must also hope that our input will have a positive impact on the attitudes of many students, including those not previously disposed.  The attitudinal component of DICE courses therefore remains of central importance as well as being one of the most challenging aspects of the work.  Part of that challenge is the need to engage students at an emotional as well as at a cognitive level, often within the constraints of relatively short courses.

            Is emotional engagement possible over one term, with students meeting in large groups for one hour each week?  Interestingly, some of the feedback would suggest that some attitudinal changes were occurring:   “I think that if anybody had any prejudices before going to these lectures, the lectures would probably open their minds more…” (Overall course comment).   “Really opened my eyes as to how unfair the world is…” (Session on Food).    “Seemed very obvious initially but made me think much more deeply over the following weeks of the issues raised” (Introductory session).               These comments suggest that including an experiential and discursive dimension in sessions is a critical response to the challenge of addressing attitudinal issues.  Further work would be required to ascertain whether the students who responded in the way described above already have a predisposition towards social justice issues.  A minority of student responses would indicate however that engaging with concepts such as social justice is a little more difficult:    “Introduction task (visualisation about moving to a new country) was very drawn out and required much too high a level of concentration than most of us had at that time of the day” (Session on migration).    “I find the content is strongly associated with Geography and therefore should not have so much time allocated to it” (Overall course comment).   Conclusion   Preparing teachers for working in multicultural contexts in an increasingly globalised world is one of the crucial challenges facing teacher educators today.  Attitudinal factors are fundamental to this, and while life experiences may be central to attitudinal change, college courses can support this work in a very real way.  Courses on development and intercultural education may challenge some students’ attitudes yet may also provide essential support for those students who already have a predisposition towards issues of social justice.  For those students, DICE sessions may provide a dedicated space in which to explore matters of importance to them, about equality and justice, whether local or global, and gain tools for incorporating these issues into their future teaching.

            This small scale evaluation of student responses to DICE courses reveals the need for a more structured longitudinal study which could explore the issues in greater depth.  In 2005-2006 the DICE Project administered a baseline survey to students undertaking modules in development and intercultural education across some of the colleges of education, the results of which are being analysed at present.  This will provide some insight into students’ knowledge of and attitudes towards social justice perspectives in the second and third years of the BEd, opening the way for follow-up work to take place.  It will also inform our thinking about further design and development of modules.  It is crucial for teacher educators, especially in the area of social justice, to continue to develop our courses in order to best educate student teachers for working in increasingly diverse settings, in the wider context of a globalised world.     References   Claxton, G (1999) Wise Up: the Challenge of Lifelong Learning , London: Bloomsbury   DICE (2005) Global and Justice Perspectives in Education: A Literature Review , Dublin: DICE.   Fitzgerald, H (2003) 'Intercultural Education in the Irish Primary School System – A Teachers’ Perspective', Unpublished MA Thesis, University of Limerick.   Lyle, S & Salmon, C (2003) ‘The Global Dimension in Initial Teacher Education: A Case Study of Twelve Mentors and Twelve ITE Students Following BA (Ed) Degree Programme’, Paper presented at UNESCO Conference on Teaching and Learning for Intercultural Understanding, Human Rights and a Culture of Peace, Jyvaskyla, Finland, 15-18th June, 2003.   Inman, S (2005) 'Making Values Central: The ‘Partners in Change’ Project', The Development Education Journal , Vol. 11, No. 2.   NCCA (2005) Intercultural Education in the Primary School , Dublin: NCCA.   The DICE project works to integrate development and intercultural education within initial primary teacher education, and operates across five colleges of education in the Republic of Ireland. It seeks to foster and develop programmes which equip educators within that sector with the necessary skills, knowledge and attitudes to include global and intercultural perspectives within primary schools.   This is an edited version of a paper originally read at a conference on Linking the Global and the Local: Education for Development in a Globalising World at Dublin City University, March 2006.

The Glocal Teacher

Project owner.

Western Norway University of Applied Sciences

Project period

January 2010 - January 2016

Project summary

Education and teaching need to learn pupils and society to deal with future challenges. The challenges faced today are both of global and local character. The relation between the global and local can be described as a “Glocal” perspective. Such a perspective introduces a series of themes.

The teaching profession and the general school systems have been closely connected with the political, cultural and economic interest of the nation state. Dierent modes of globalization challenge the nation state, in many cases without constructing the necessary institutions to deal with the possibilities, challenges and problems that are caused by the globalization. This present a great challenge for education.

Globalization in a variety of formats gives new conditions for schools, for distribution of knowledge, for governing of schools, for being a professional teacher and being a pupil. It is a present challenge to develop and institutionalize a glocal education and glocal teacher professionalism.

Present challenges for education is the growth of global public spheres, international media cultures and multiculturalism that are locally present in classrooms and eect opinions, identity, knowledge and therefore premises of teaching and learning. New digital platforms challenge the traditional limitations in space, time and room.

Teaching and learning resources are accumulated fast and are distributed wide in an open and globally shared knowledge economy. International human rights and children convention challenge are being integrated into national legislation and influence curriculum, school bills, white papers, students and parents as school actors with new and unprecedented rights. Themes as sustainable development, poverty and climate change demand new insights and corporation that cross national boundaries, cultures and traditional institutions.

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Creating ‘Global Teachers’ for a sustainable & inclusive world

How will the future look if all educators have leadership skills that enable them not only to impart knowledge but also to activate students to become leaders that believe in their own potential?

This is what AIESEC is aiming for: To cultivate global teachers with leadership skills.

What is a “Global Teacher”? 

Nowadays, educational resources are easier to access than ever before. Everyone can be an educator. We can see millions of tutorial videos on YouTube, we can also purchase different online courses to gain knowledge at any time. “Teachers” are everywhere.

The defined role of “Global Teacher” is, increasingly, serving as a cornerstone among the well-functioning education system, especially given the ever-evolving demands of the education profession, such as providing a quality education environment, connecting with the global educator’s community, supporting students in expanding their horizons, and understanding global cultures and history better.

A “Global Teacher” serves not necessarily only an educational function, it also serves a leadership role that determines the school’s climate, and ultimately, the culture in the global education systems.

Why is leadership important for educators?

According to Walter McKenzie, “Teaching today is a more complex set of roles and responsibilities than ever before. The skills and knowledge required to successfully engage students and prepare them for our quickly-changing societies define how teachers lead within the classroom and without. Traditionally teachers who have wanted to lead beyond the classroom went into administration, meaning oft-times the best and the brightest left the classroom after a few years of teaching. But today many more opportunities are emerging for teacher leadership, both formally and informally.”

If we look into the United Nations’ SDG #4, it aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030. Education, as one of the most powerful tools to change the world, can significantly contribute to societies, influencing peoples’ mindset from an early stage in various aspects and fields, thus creating a sustainable and inclusive world.

To achieve this, educators must adapt faster to our rapidly changing world, which starts from activating leadership in themselves. 

Creating “Global Teachers” for a sustainable and inclusive world.

Global Teacher is the internship program provided by AIESEC, the world’s largest youth organization, aiming to cultivate educators with leadership skills. 

Every year, we work with 300+ schools and institutions from 35+ countries and territories, more than 1000+ future educators join the program. The participants can gain teaching experience in new cross-cultural settings, get equipped with new skills, and add value to the school or institution they work in.

We believe that quality education should not only be about knowledge but also about leadership — how to be more self-aware, to be a true world citizen, to be solution-oriented in the face of adversity, and how to empower others to achieve the same goals.

To achieve SDG #4 – Quality Education, we strive for providing international opportunities for future educators to foster their professional skills and leadership mindsets. We focus on educators to set great examples for young people to learn what “inclusive” means, and we promote learning from different countries to improve global education quality and systems.

Our teaching opportunities are inclusive for everyone passionate about education, whether looking to teach for the first time or already an experienced teacher.

Develop the leadership while boosting the career prospects with an opportunity to work as a teacher abroad. For further information, kindly check the program website.

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Connie Zheng

Global Product Innovation Manager, AIESEC International

Connie Zheng works to empower youth to fulfill the best version of themselves and realize their own potential. At 23, she currently leads the global product innovation strategy at AIESEC - the world's largest youth-led organization engaging and developing over 40k youth annually in 110+ countries and territories.

Latest posts from Connie Zheng

• Creating ‘Global Teachers’ for a sustainable & inclusive world - January 25, 2021

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Place-Based Education: Think Globally, Teach Locally

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Editor’s Note: Sarah Anderson is Fieldwork and Place-Based Education Coordinator at the Cottonwood School of Civics and Science in Portland, Oregon, and author of Bringing School to Life: Place-Based Education Across the Curriculum . The school incorporates a local approach while also linking students to global issues.

Globalization and technology have changed the world of education. Teachers must prepare their students for “global citizenship” by exposing them to current events and issues taking place around the world. At the same time, place-based education (PBE) is on the rise. Students learn content and skills through local issues relating to environment, history, culture, and current events. PBE is a way to infuse school with civic engagement and student-driven inquiry while also connecting young people to the place where they live. This process intends to create strong advocates, both now and in the future, for the sustainable health of local communities.

But is the mission of PBE at odds with the effort to raise global citizens? If students are only learning about their local area, won’t they grow up ignorant about the world at large and how they connect to it? Will we encourage children to care only about their own experience with little concern about people and places in other states, countries, and continents? Is PBE a form of isolationism?

There is no reason to fear. The aim of PBE is not to insulate children from global topics, but instead to contextualize larger themes. PBE projects give students hands-on experience with investigation and problem solving, honing skills such as interviewing, surveying, map-making, and public speaking. In the process, they clearly see how curricular topics relate to their lives. Part of that process is considering how the local relates to the global. PBE is an answer to the charge: “Think globally, teach locally.”

What Does Local-Global Education Look Like?

The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science in Portland, Oregon, is a public, tuition-free charter school with a place-based mission. We have created a curriculum map that honors our local ecology, history, and culture. We incorporate the place-based approach outlined by PBE scholar David Sobel to make sure our scope is in-line with students’ developmental stages. For example, in primary grades, students focus on the hyperlocal, such as home, family, school, and neighborhood. Once they are in upper-elementary grades, the scope extends to state and region, while also reaching back further in time. Once our students have more developmental capability for abstract thought in middle school, the curricular scope really widens to encompass a worldwide view. This is also when students have more opportunities for service and change-making.

Below are a few examples of class projects at our school that tap students into both the local and the global contexts, primarily from the middle school level.

Globalization and Trade

Our seventh and eighth graders explore the concept of globalization by learning about the history of worldwide trade (Silk Road, slave trade, etc.) and the impacts of colonization that set the stage for present-day world economies. They study the difference between free trade and fair trade and make maps that show the origin of everyday items from their homes. The classes make several field trips: to a local chocolate factory, a grocery store, and Nike headquarters, where they interview a trade lawyer.

As a culminating project, students work in pairs to identify local businesses or products that have global reach. They conduct interviews with business owners and work with a trade journalist to write articles and create podcasts. Examples include a local record store owner who has curated a collection of international music, an author whose books are being translated into different languages and sold worldwide, and a company that is creating sustainable lab-made “diamonds” as an alternative to “blood diamonds” mined in some African countries.

Immigration

Seventh and eighth grade students tackle the topic of immigration by learning more about the history of the Latino community in Portland. This involves not only visits to local history museums, but also guest speakers on current events, such as an immigration lawyer. Students all read the non-fiction novel Enrique’s Journey to learn more about the national and continental issue of migration from Latin America to the United States and make maps of Central America.

Locally, the classes partner with an organization whose mission it is to foster Latino-owned small business, called the Portland Mercado . As part of the Mercado’s three-year anniversary celebration this year, the managers asked if we could create an exhibit that clearly explains current government policies around immigration. Students worked in small groups to create text-based displays, maps, guidebooks, and art, inspiring them to learn in order to teach to an authentic audience.

As part of a science-based unit, middle school students investigate the questions: “Where does our drinking water come from? Where does it go?” In addition to learning about earth systems and the water cycle, students tour the reservoir that serves as the source of water for our city, visit the Water Bureau to see how they test and prepare water for consumption, and a waste water treatment plant. Congruently, students ask questions about water around the world: “Why don’t some people have access to clean drinking water?” “How does the protest at Standing Rock connect to water?” “What are water rights? And does everyone have them?” This leads students to conduct mini-research and action projects based on self-selected topics. Many of the topics have to do with a national or global issue, but the understanding is grounded in local experience and study.

In fourth and fifth grade, students learn about climate and biomes. Before they split off to investigate different biomes around the world in small groups, the entire class spends a good deal of time learning about our local biome. Through observation, prior knowledge, and some research, students piece together how climate forms our local environment and how our environments create habitats for plants and animals. Using this as a platform to create meaning, students then go on to investigate how different climates form diverse environments and habitats. Throughout the study, teachers refer back to the local study to help students draw parallels and develop a deeper understanding of biomes in general.

Tips for how to make the global local, and the local global

Think about how a global issue is playing out in your town, city, or state. Like the globalization and immigration units outlined above, this is where students see how the smaller, local story is connected to a larger narrative. How can your students learn more by visiting relevant locations or inviting experts into the classroom? During the study, make a point of constantly zooming in and out to make the local-national-global connections explicit. Once students see that an issue in their area fits into a larger pattern, they may have more appreciation for its significance.

Ask yourself how a local study can act as a launching pad for establishing a deeper understanding of a global issue. In this approach, similar to the water and biomes units mentioned above, students use the local study as scaffolding for concepts that may be more abstract. Through hands-on experience, students gain both vocabulary and comprehension that can then be applied to other, perhaps more complex, content. For example, students gained a rich vocabulary on the topic of water and water quality by studying Portland’s water system; they then applied that knowledge to more complicated stories around water rights and access taking place in other parts of the world. What can your students learn about locally that will help them to better understand a global problem or issue?

• Look for parallels and commonalities between local and global topics. Amy Demarest, author of Place-based Curriculum Design: Exceeding Standards through Local Investigations , writes that, “subject-based local studies can build global understanding when students learn about local parts to a global whole.” She advises: “A basic curricular construct for a local study is ‘my place, your place, all places.’ In order to better understand a concept or an idea, a student can begin locally with ‘my place.’ Then the investigation of a place far away&mdash’your place'—is better understood, and the student can come to understand how things work in ‘all places’ with new eyes.” For example, students learning about forests can compare a local forest with the rain forests of South America. What commonalities are there? What conclusions might we draw about the similarities of all forests? Do they all need the same things to thrive? Do all forests also face the same threats? How can we extend this model to social studies, as well, by looking at topics such as government, religion, or culture?

It’s true, we are raising kids who need to know how they fit into a super-connected, global society. But our young people also need to learn how their decisions and actions impact the areas where they live. By becoming inquisitive, informed members of their own communities, students develop deeper connections with their place on earth, something they can then extend to other places. Educating for a better, more sustainable future needs to start at home.

Connect with Heather and the Center for Global Education on Twitter.

Image created on Pablo . Photo taken by and used with the permission of the author.

The opinions expressed in Global Learning are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

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Switch up teaching and assessment to help teachers combat chatbot-cheating, say researchers

by University of South Australia

It's the chatbot technology that can write an essay in a second, but despite its vast capabilities, generative AI is creating headaches for education, particularly when it comes to student integrity and cheating.

Now, new research from the University of South Australia, shows that teachers can combat AI by adopting a transformative approach to teaching and assessments: Design Thinking.

Design Thinking is a human-centric and curiosity-driven methodology that can be easily adapted to the classroom. It builds student creativity, critical thinking , and collaboration—skills that cannot easily be replicated by AI—while concurrently enabling teachers to monitor and assess student learning in a formative manner.

Lead researcher and UniSA Ph.D. candidate Maria Vieira, says by adopting a Design Thinking approach, teachers can address integrity issues posed by generative AI.

"Teachers at all levels of education are challenged by the dilemmas presented by generative AI, with one of the biggest issues being academic honesty and authenticity," Vieira says.

"Chatbots like ChatGPT, Meta AI or Microsoft Copilot are a great temptation for students, particularly when an essay can be produced with just a single click. We know that new technologies are not going away, so as teachers, we need to find ways to promote and assess authentic learning.

"Design Thinking requires students to work through several phases of learning: empathy, definition, ideation, prototyping, testing and evaluation, with each step requiring a specific outcome, an opportunity for feedback, and importantly, a touchpoint for prompt feedback and formative assessment.

"Unlike traditional classroom settings where there is often a 'right' answer, Design Thinking addresses problems without predetermined solutions, challenging students to think more critically and creatively.

"The beauty of Design Thinking is that it allows teachers to assess student progress at any point of the process, and at either individual or group level, which immediately presents a solution to integrity issues posed by generative AI."

Design Thinking can lead to a multitude of different creative outputs, including prototypes, mind maps, and presentations, and enables assessment both at individual level (through evidence of research or self-reflection pieces) and group levels (based on output produced).

As the phases occur in an iterative loop, students can revisit and review their work, which encourages continuous improvement, and helps them learn how to provide and receive constructive peer feedback.

"During the Design Thinking process, students have the opportunity to navigate ambiguity, develop empathy, recognize failure as part of the learning process , and collaborate—all skills that are essential for the 21st century," Vieira says.

"This teaching method encourages students to take greater ownership of their learning, allowing teachers to shift their focus from delivering content, to observing and supporting their students in the classroom, being more attentive to their development and learning process.

"While Design Thinking may not be the only solution for the future of education, it is undoubtedly a successful strategy that can be readily adopted across K-12 education systems to address some of the most pressing challenges associated with AI and global digitalization."

To learn more about Design Thinking, teachers can access a free online course presented by Maria Vieira and offered through the Education Futures Academy.

Provided by University of South Australia

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