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This article from Fresno Pacific University tells why global awareness is important and ways to incorporate it into the classroom (FPU, 2018). It also lists courses for teachers that teach cultural understanding and global awareness.

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https://ce.fresno.edu/news/what-is-global-awareness-and-why-does-it-matter

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Global awareness in the classroom involves teaching students about different nations and cultures, as well as their civic duties and rights both locally and globally. An ability to understand, respect and work well with people from diverse cultures is increasingly important for social and academic success in an interconnected world.

The idea behind global awareness is to create global citizens who are open to those raised in different countries, cultures and religious settings. For teachers, it's an opportunity to open students' eyes to how everyday decisions in their own lives can impact the lives of people around the globe.

Why Is Global Awareness Important?

The world is as big as it ever was, but it certainly can feel smaller-especially to the new generation of students-because of the power of the internet and global communications. What happens in faraway countries can seem as close as what happens across town.

The guiding principle behind global awareness is to create a more peaceful and just society. Doing so requires an understanding of people from other backgrounds and cultures. Teachers can have one of the strongest impacts on young people in achieving that goal.

Global Awareness in the Classroom

Global awareness has become such an important issue that teachers now have the opportunity to learn about it in formal classes.

For example, Fresno Pacific University, which offers hundreds of continuing education and independent studies courses for teachers, has many courses for teachers that incorporate global awareness. They indicate not only the importance of global awareness but its widespread adoption in many different areas of education.

For example, global awareness is a part of the following diverse courses for teachers. In each case, the idea is to support teachers in developing models that teach cultural understanding and global awareness and "promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility."

Elementary Curriculum on the Web

The STEM course 3D Modeling for Educators

Excel - Ultimate Information Tool

History/Social Science Curriculum on the Web

That's just a sample. The point is, global awareness, particularly as it relates to web-based learning, is a key factor when teaching students across a wide variety of subjects.

Ways to Incorporate Global Awareness in the Classroom

Part of the focus on global awareness springs from the fact that in the past, it hasn't always been done well in the U.S. A Rand Corporation survey conducted a decade ago found that international corporations felt that U.S. college graduates were "strong technically" but "short-changed" in a cross-cultural experience.

Now, the emphasis is on starting students while they are young in their understanding of the interlocking nature of cultures around the world. While teachers can't do the job on their own, they certainly can have a strong, positive impact.

These are just some of the educational areas where global awareness can be incorporated.

Literature

Reading is one of the best ways to immerse students in another culture. A diverse set of American authors is an important part of this process. Another is incorporating literature that is written by authors from other countries or set in those countries.

Foreign Language Skills

Even if they cannot speak a second language fluently, it's important for students to develop some skills in at least one language other than English. Learning a second language opens students to see the world from a different point of view.

Knowledge in Comparative Fields

Teaching students in comparative fields such as world history, anthropology, political science, economics, and trade offers them a chance to understand issues that have international implications.

Openness and Positivity

To learn about other cultures, students must have an open mind and a positive attitude. At the very least, students should have a tolerance of other cultures. Better yet, they develop deeper understanding that allows them to both overcome cross-cultural differences and develop empathy and trust for those from other cultures.

Global awareness will continue to gain importance as the world "gets smaller" and more people of diverse cultures migrate around the world. Given that reality, it's a key area for teachers to build strong skills.

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What is Global Awareness and Why Does it Matter? - FPU

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Global awareness in the classroom involves teaching students about different nations and cultures, as well as their civic duties and rights both locally and globally. An ability to understand, respect and work well with people from diverse cultures is increasingly important for social and academic success in an interconnected world.

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You could incorporate foreign language skills into everyday lessons (FPU, 2018). In second grade, we often review math computational skills through coloring activities. In these activities, each possible answer has a corresponding color. After a student solves a problem, they must color in the area with the corresponding color of the correct answer. Instead of listing the corresponding colors in English, you could list them in Spanish. This would foster cultural awareness by allowing the students to develop some skills in a language other than English. My students have learned the colors in their Spanish class so this would be reinforcing what they learned in Spanish, in math class.

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Fresno Pacific University. (2018). What is global awareness and why does it matter? https://ce.fresno.edu/news/what-is-global-awareness-and-why-does-it-matter

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This blog post from Education Week talks about the importance of promoting cultural awareness in the classroom. Matthew Lynch (2014) talks about ways that teachers can foster cultural awareness in their classroom through environment, testing, teaching, and positive relationships.

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https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-6-ways-teachers-can-foster-cultural-awareness-in-the-classroom/2014/11

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6 Ways Teachers Can Foster Cultural Awareness in the Classroom (Opinion)

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Schools that acknowledge the diversity of their student population understand the importance of promoting cultural awareness.

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It is important to express interest in the ethical background of your students (Lynch, 2014). In order to encourage your students to research and share about their ethical backgrounds, you could implement a lesson on family trees. This would allow students to analyze and celebrate their different traditions and beliefs. Students could use a digital presentation tool to teach their classmates about their family tree. They could teach them about what foods their family likes to eat, what holidays they celebrate, what religion they follow, and any other fun things about their culture! This would allow students to recognize the importance of their cultures to who they are as a person.

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Lynch, M. (2014). 6 ways teachers can foster cultural awareness in the classroom. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-6-ways-teachers-can-foster-cultural-awareness-in-the-classroom/2014/11

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This resource is a webinar sponsored by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. This webinar talks about the diversity of students in American schools and what educators can do to "reach and teach" students of all backgrounds (Brennan et al., 2017).

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https://videos.aacte.org/2017-04-12-building-teachers-culture-and-global-awareness-to-reach-and-teach-all-students

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Webinar: Building Teachers' Cultural and Global Competence

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Classrooms today are more diverse than ever, and teachers must be prepared to "reach and teach"...

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One way to foster cultural awareness, is to educate students on cultures other than their own. The easiest way to learn about another culture is to immerse yourself in it. In order to do this, students can participate in a project called the "stranger experience" (Brennan et al., 2017). This is when they go to a place that is unfamiliar to them, where they are the minority. After doing this, the students write a reflection on what their experience was like. The students can then share with their classmates about their new experiences. This helps the students to connect to other cultures and gain respect and understanding for them.

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Brennan, S., Brockman, D., Kidwell, K., & MacCleoud, H. (2017). Building teachers' cultural and global competence to 'reach and teach' all students. American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. https://videos.aacte.org/2017-04-12-building-teachers-culture-and-global-awareness-to-reach-and-teach-all-students

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This website provides teachers with free classroom activities and lesson plans that are designed to help teachers integrate intercultural learning into their classrooms (AFS, 2021). The lessons are meant to introduce students to key intercultural concepts, engage students in classroom discussions, and provide reflective learning opportunities.

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https://www.afsusa.org/educators/classroom-resources/?creative=555245862917&keyword=resources%20for%20cultural%20diversity&matchtype=b&network=g&device=c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_qGzlc6x9AIVibWzCh0WHAOxEAAYASAAEgJAd_D_BwE

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Our classroom resources provide valuable assets for educators, including intercultural learning lesson plans, global competency resources, and more.

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An important aspect of cultural awareness is considering people's communities. Teaching a lesson on communities is a great way to promote cultural awareness and begin conversations on civic engagement. Have students consider what makes a community (AFS, 2021). Is it the people? Landmarks? Have the students draw a map of their community. Then, have students interview a local resident of their community. The student can ask the person to describe their community, what they like about it, what changes they see in it, the history of it, and so on. Next, have students research places in their community and find pictures of important landmarks. When they are done collecting all of this information you can have students create a presentation to teach others about their community. You can start a discussion about civic engagement by asking the students what they think needs to change in their community and having them come up with ideas to make their community better for everyone who lives there.

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AFS. (2021). Classroom resources. https://www.afsusa.org/educators/classroom-resources/?creative=555245862917&keyword=resources%20for%20cultural%20diversity&matchtype=b&network=g&device=c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_qGzlc6x9AIVibWzCh0WHAOxEAAYASAAEgJAd_D_BwE

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This video outlines ways that we can create a culturally responsive classroom by utilizing technology (ISTE, 2019). The speaker provides the names of specific digital tools and resources that can be used to support cultural relevancy in the classroom and gives examples of how they can be used.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VixB5WBiLqE

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Creating a Culturally Responsive Classroom

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Digital tools are effective in creating culturally responsive classrooms (ISTE, 2019). You can create interactive virtual learning experiences through virtual field trips. You could take a virtual field trip to a museum to learn about a culturally significant historical event. This would engage learners and provide them with an opportunity to increase their cultural awareness. They may gain new perspectives on a historical event that they thought they already knew about.

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ISTE. (2019). Creating a culturally responsive classroom [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VixB5WBiLqE