Global Assessment Tools:
The book, Preparing our Youth to Engage the World, written by Veronic Boix Mansilla and Anthony Jackson, in partnership with the Council of Chief State Schools Officers' EdSteps Initiative and the Asia Society Partnership for Global Learning, is a great resource to read as you shift your teaching toward a more global approach. The book provides a rationale for global education in our schools, a checklist for teaching global competence, ideas for schools wanting to support global learning, and a focused look at four principles of global education: investigating the world, recognizing perspectives, communicating ideas, and taking action. Click here to see examples of classroom strategies that focus on each of the four principles of global competency. The book additionally gives examples of how these four principles can be used in different subject areas- I have provided a link to the social studies example here. I would highly recommend using these four principles to guide your implementation of global learning- I believe the checklists developed by these authors and organizations are the most succinct when trying to pinpoint areas of improvement in our classrooms. I find that I tend to do well in developing student knowledge of global issues and in developing student recognition of perspectives, but I need to improve the areas of student communication and taking action. This is not surprising, as I have found that my teaching style is too "teacher-centered". With the influx of technology in my classroom, and with the help of the strategies provided in this booklet, I should be able to continue improving the "student-centered" learning that takes place in my classroom. It is difficult for many of us to "let go" of our students, worrying that they will not learn the necessary information without our guidance. I am learning, however, direct instruction is not as meaningful or relevant to students' lives, and therefore information that is learned, is likely lost quickly. If I allow students to investigate, accept challenges, propose solutions, communicate via technology, and plan a course of action, students will own their learning and likely retain the information they learned for years.
OxFam Education for Global Citizenship: A Guide for Schools is a valuable document when trying to get an idea of what "global citizenship" should look like. The guide divides up global education in to three main components: Knowledge and Understanding, Skills, and Values and Attitudes. Click on the images below to see how each element of global citizenship is developed among varying grade levels.
One of the more meaningful assignments during our 8 week online course was taking some time to assess our school districts, school buildings, and our own classrooms to see the degree to which global education was taking place. I would highly recommend taking this assessment to see where you fit along the spectrum of developing global learning. In completing this checklist, I recognized that I was already implementing some aspects of global learning, but I also gained a much better idea of the skills and knowledge my students need in order to be globally competent. The assessment, Global Education Checklist, was created and published by the American Forum for Global Education, and can be downloaded for your own use.