Tuesday, December 13, 2016

How to use the “Teach GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP” - blog in professional development

- especially in primary & secondary schools

Here is a copy of a letter to a leadership team who have asked the following questions:




“Dear leaders of Shalom School in Arusha, Tanzania      

Thank you for inviting my colleague and me to Shalom School and showing us around in the end of August 2016 (when we were teaching at a course in active learning methods at Tumaini University Makumira)

You asked us...

1. How to continue professional development of all teachers?

2. How to make all students more active learners?

... and I promised to mail you some ways to elaborate these questions.

Here are some answers:

A school is like a ship: The question of highest priority has to be "Where to go? " and "How to get there?"

But there is a big difference between being a captain of a ship vs. the leadership team of a school. The captain may successfully be leading by commands, but a leadership team of a school has to create discussions involving all teachers with the aim of reaching a mutual understanding of where we want to go (the aims) and how do get there (the methods). If this process is not successful, then each classroom will "sail" in its own direction, and that is problematic if the school ethos is not shared!

These discussions on aims are basically about who we want to help the students to become as grown ups. It is not enough to state that we all want them to become engaged citizens. We must develop a clear common understanding of what we mean by that.
An engaging way of discussing this in a group of teachers is to compare with what other teachers think and do around the world. 


I propose to take into use the texts and video clips in the blog article " What is good "Citizenship Education" today?”. Link: click
The videos in that article are usually good starters of discussions on whom to be inspired by, and furthermore, what is special with your own national and school context: Do you focus on developing minds, hearts & hands like the Japanese, or moral values like in Singapore, or engaged local and national citizens like the British example, or global citizens like the example from United States?

These discussions may lead to the formulation of a common understanding of the mission of your school, and the discussions would also include focus on a national curriculum, including themes across subjects.

We all know that students are not like clay, which can be moulded into whatever shape one desires. Each is a unique person who develops into someone and not something. Someone other than the student does not create “An engaged citizen”. He or she create himself/herself through active participation in engaging learning activities. It follows that the task of teachers is to create such learning objectives & learning activities.


How to develop engaged citizens through active learning activities

Here are some proposals (from my blog “Teach GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP”) on how to start these discussions in a group of teachers:




- Border-crossers, mediators & go-betweens. Don’t we need more of them?  click


- Three Pillars of Success in a Democratic Society. Obama teaching Citizenship Education click

- Place-Based Education Projects as Part of Global Engagement click

- Use School Partnerships to ELL, IT-learning & Competences of Intercultural Citizenship click


- Human Rights Education click

- Practicing Global Citizenship Education for Students Aged 3 to 19 click

-Global perspectives in Challenging Ways of Learning from Kindergarten to Highschool click

- Introduktion & How to Play an Active Role in Local & Global Society click




Links to learning site that focus on students as active learners


Here is a RECOMMENDED instructive example. It is a 5-minute video with overview text from an elementary school in USA where they practise “Inquiry Based Learning”

Here is an overview of all videos and articles in “the “EDUTOPIA”-website on INQUIRY BASED LEARNING. They all focus on how to move from teacher guided to student driven learning by use of questions, problems, and scenarios to help students learn through their own agency and investigation: https://www.edutopia.org/topic/inquiry-based-learning

Do your own search of topics of your interest in “EDUTOPIA”: https://www.edutopia.org


Examples from my blog “Teach GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP” of themes to focus at (across subjects)

Here are proposals on how to start these discussions about cross-disciplinary themes to collaborate on as primary & middle school teachers:

- “There is hope & progress…Why so much anxiety?” click


- Our Age of Sustainable Development click


- Stop Food Waste! Why & How click



- ”I am your friend” project: An inspiring example of welcoming refugee children click


- How Many Slaves Work for You? click


- Who Makes our Clothes so Inexpensive? click


- A Language Dies Every 14 Days click



- On Life in Slums click


- Up-to-date African perspectives click


- See “Where Children Sleep”, What´s Your Thoughts? click


- The third Planet from the Sun’ – a Global Dimension Case click

-  “You´re Either Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem” (On genocide / folkedrab) click



- Teach About Indigenous Peoples of the World click ( In Danish: Oprindelige folk) 
………………………………………………………………..................

Is this useful (to pick from)?
Does this  - and your discussions - raise new questions?
I look forward to hearing from you
Yours,
Egon Hedegaard”


I help teachers and others with a citizenship engagement to find valuable information & learning possibilities by use of global Internet resources, I help teachers to develop many ways of active learning, & I write on strengths & limitations of global education reforms.
Visiting Professor in Teaching and Learning Methods at St. Paul´s University, Limuru, Kenya

Email: eghedegaard@gmail.com
Phone: 0045 30262986
Skype: Egon Hedegaard1
LinkedIn profile: https://dk.linkedin.com/pub/egon-hedegaard/29/b0b/386
Blog: http://teachglobalcitizenship.blogspot.dk/


Mail address: Bellevuevej 5, 1. tv, DK 2930 Klampenborg, Denmark





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