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ASM students presenting to students from New York, Bali, and Lima about a recent plastic bag ban in Morocco.

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

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

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Last year, the city of Marrakesh hosted the COP 22 international climate conference.  During this time, climate scientists and politicians from around the world came to the city to discuss how best to implement the steps outlined in the Paris agreement.  In order to capitalize on the news and activities going on in the city during this week, ASM hosted the GIN conference, a student-run symposium on climate related issues.  Students from Bali, New York, Lima, and from around Morocco came to the school to interact, present on issues of their home countries, and to discuss how they might be able to coordinate on future projects.

In my classroom, in particular, students are given news articles from a variety of sources investigating breakthrough discoveries and research from all over the world.  Through discussing these articles we are able to discern what aspects of the nation or culture may lend itself to making the work successful.  Sometimes the unique natural history of the environment is noteworthy and makes a difference in the research, but sometimes what is noteworthy is that the researchers are not different from my students and they can appreciate that scientific communities around the world are working on very similar projects and have similar mindsets.

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

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

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By providing students with opportunities to explore multiple perspectives on a problem, such as through conducting Socratic seminars, students are able to ascertain that issues are more complex than they may first appear. Having them argue from both sides of an issue, or identify the intent of an author of an article helps them to see those same patterns in the news.  They start to understand why stem cell research or the idea of growing genetically modified organisms is contentious to some.  This same process can help them understand why Brazil would be willing to cut down rainforest in order to feed their people, or why access to clean bathrooms in India isn’t as simple of an issue as it is made out to be. The more real world examples they are exposed to, the more culturally aware students are of the impact of their decisions through their actions in their home community.

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4. 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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4. 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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The book that immediately comes to mind is The Origin of the Species by Charles Darwin. This seminal work would not have ever existed if not for journeys to South America by Darwin, or to Indonesia by Alfred Russell Wallace. There are other early concepts of change over time by Persian scholars.  In each case, it required an exchange of ideas and the ability to compare one’s home flora and fauna to that of another place, and additionally, the willingness to be open to explore and accept these other communities. Without exploring Ethiopia, Louis and Mary Leakey would not have discovered Lucy. If not for Reiji and Tsuneko Okazaki and their research in Japan, we wouldn’t have the understanding of DNA replication. Similar things can be said of Austrian monk Gregor Mendel and his contributions to genetics, of Polish physicists Marie and Pierre Curie and their work with radiation, or of Indian biochemist Har Gobind Khorana and his research on protein synthesis.  There are countless other examples of how other communities, cultures, and nationalities have contributed to biology.  Without which, we would not have  the wealth of knowledge that we have today.

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

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

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Issues such as climate change are problems that require the cooperation and support of many countries and organizations.  We must first be aware of how climate change is affecting people disproportionally depending on where they live and be willing to come together to find a solution.  Additionally, there is medical research that is currently being conducted all over the world.  In being able to exchange and synthesize the knowledge gained in such projects, we may be able to find cures for diseases or treatments that can help people word-wide.

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2. What does it means to be a "global citizen"?

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2. What does it means to be a "global citizen"?

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Through advances in technology, we are more connected than ever before.  We consume the same media, have access to a global marketplace, and work with colleagues on opposite ends of the Earth.  For this reason, it is important to understand and participate in global politics, to be sensitive to the problems that are affecting people in all corners of the world, and to act in a responsible way that best serves everyone. Global citizenship is what is expected of international educators, and what we ask of our students, so that they are prepared to live and work in this interconnected world.

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1.What does international-mindedness mean to you?

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1.What does international-mindedness mean to you?

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International-mindedness relates to a broad awareness of other cultures and an understanding that decisions or news events have very different implications depending on perspective.  In recognizing that events have multiple sides to consider and that people will view these events differently, one can develop a sense of global empathy which can be used to make the best decisions to benefit the most people.