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for the love of learning

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What activities have you carried out in your class that have knowingly or unknowingly highlighted or celebrated international-mindedness?

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What activities have you carried out in your class that have knowingly or unknowingly highlighted or celebrated international-mindedness?

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In my anatomy and physiology course, I once had students undertake a case study on alternative medicine, specifically acupuncture (available through  NCCSTS - linked below).  I liked this case study for a couple of reasons.  First, the students had to choose a side, pro or con for using acupuncture.  Then they were required to research their side and collect evidence.  During this process it was important that they not only examine the medical evidence or studies done, but cultural origins of the practice as well.  I big challenge as well was to make sure that their resources were reliable, so they had to critically examine each source before deciding it was useful or not. After gathering their evidence they were required to create an argument based on that evidence for what the patient in the case should do to treat her arthritis.  Finally, they had to test their communication skills in a debate to try to win over the other side with their most compelling argument they could generate.   Students really enjoyed this project and reported that they felt like they learned a lot from doing it.

In other classes, I have had students pursue research on recent viral outbreaks and report on their progression, where they stand now, and how they affected people, countries, and travel and the impact that has on economies.

Teaching with international-mindedness in mind makes perfect sense to me, but I am afraid I am only just now learning of the IB philosophy and have not been intentionally implementing it in my class up to now. I am eager to explore ways of doing this more and am excited to be involved in this workshop.

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Awards & Recognition - National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

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The case study method of teaching applied to college science teaching, from The National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science

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How can you help your students understand the importance of international understanding as it relates to your course?

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How can you help your students understand the importance of international understanding as it relates to your course?

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Having students investigate how different topics vary in their impact across the globe can raise awareness of the diversity of concerns and the variety of ways they can present themselves based on the specific environment or culture you find yourself in. This raised awareness combined with critical thinking and ethical consideration of how issues impact different communities and cultures should help students understand that we do not live in an isolated system. What we do, and what others do, matters and can affect us all in both positive and negative ways.

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What are the ways in which the texts, topics, or ideas in your classroom have benefited from contributions from other communities, cultures, and nationalities?

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What are the ways in which the texts, topics, or ideas in your classroom have benefited from contributions from other communities, cultures, and nationalities?

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I am struggling to come up with specific examples. I am not sure I understand. Perhaps I will have better ideas after reading some of the other contributions for this assignment.

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How do schools today prepare students for global citizenship within biology and other group 4 subjects?

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How do schools today prepare students for global citizenship within biology and other group 4 subjects?

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Life is universally bound by it's biology in a multitude of ways, from the history of our genes to community interactions. Many topics learned about during the biology course impact the human population in important ways, for example, health, population dynamics, and environmental issues. When we study biology we strive to understand the workings of living things and their interactions. So the content of the biology course is an exploration of this and is important in it's own right. But being a good citizen scientist involves much more than simply understanding content. It involves learning the scientific and engineering practices as well as transferable skills such as becoming a good communicator, or creative and practical problem solver. Students need a chance to practice asking questions, developing models and planning experiments. They need a chance to mull over and interpret data. They need to be able to learn how to access many different viewpoints and alternative explanations and evaluate them objectively. And they need to be able to communicate their findings clearly. All group 4 subjects offer the opportunity to do hands on and minds on investigations that challenge students and allow them to hone these important skills.  The world is interconnected through the sciences. We all have DNA in our cells, we all obey the laws of physics, and we all are effected by disease, viruses and other organisms that are a product of the world we live in and the history of our genes. To be a good global citizen is to become a solid citizen scientist by honing higher order thinking and process skills, and then to use it in the context of, and with the awareness of, all of humanity and recognizing our interconnectedness across the globe.

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What does it mean to be a global citizen?

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What does it mean to be a global citizen?

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Today, more than ever before, humans have the ability to communicate quickly and broadly across the globe.  We live in a world and time where we reach far beyond the borders of yesteryear.  With the speed of information flow, and few limitations on the ability for people to transit the globe, our "system" as citizens is now no less that the entire planet.  To be a good citizen requires awareness and respect for your neighbors and the community in which you live and to make a positive contribution.  The difference here is simply the scale and acknowledgement that every corner and culture on the globe is our neighbor.  We can and do affect each other in large and powerful  ways.  And we all carry a responsibility for our social, economic, health-related and environmental impacts on each other and on the earth we share as our home.

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What does international mindedness mean to me?

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What does international mindedness mean to me?

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International mindedness is a conscious effort to continually improve awareness, empathy, understanding, and respect for all cultures and people that share our planet. Beyond that, it is also the willingness and ability to develop, evaluate, and improve means of tackling problems that face us on a global scale. It requires thoughtful, creative, open and critical thinking minds. It requires minds that can consider the impacts of potential solutions on all cultures of the world to develop fair and workable solutions to issues that threaten us all. By building awareness of all cultures facing these global threats, we develop more awareness of ourselves and our place within the system. That awareness brings with it the ability to be effectively evaluate ourselves within this structure in order to improve ourselves and nurture our coexistence with the rest of the world's citizens.