International Mindedness by https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia Michael Korczyk's reflections en-us 2017-08-20 09:57:01 UTC 2017-08-21 18:30:54 UTC hello@padlet.com What does international-mindedness mean to you? michael_korczyk https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751539 International mindedness is looking at a problem or challenge from another perspective other than your own that is based in other cultures experience. It requires removing yourself from one answer because it is what you know, and comparing how other people from different backgrounds have approached the issue with respect and compassion. Students and teachers should approach the problem from multiple angles and compromise to come up with the best possible solution.]]> 2017-08-20 09:58:50 UTC https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751539 What does it means to be a “global citizen”? michael_korczyk https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751557 To me it is as simple as realizing everyones importance, impact, and place on our globe. It means stepping back and working together for the betterment of the planet, not just for one peoples or society. Students need to comprehend the web that is our global ecosystem and how one countries decision can impact not only their neighbor, but also counties thousands of miles away. This requires a level of selflessness rarely observed, but not impossible to comprehend. It reminds me a lot of the Carl Sagan poem "Pale Blue Dot." (See video). Everyone has a place at the table and deserves to be heard and we posses the power to deal more kindly with one another. ]]> 2017-08-20 09:59:17 UTC https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751557 How do schools today prepare students for global citizenship within biology and other group 4 subjects? michael_korczyk https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751565 With the internet and how fast we can live-stream and be updated on social issues it is easy for schools to provide the resources to the students for deep discussions and experiences. Our students go on a variety of field trips that connects with the Czech Republic and Europe. In biology we attempt to use global issues like climate change, pollution, genetically modified organisms, and DNA sequencing (CRISPR) to show the impact these advancements have made in different areas of the world. 
The video is just one example. Although it focusses on China specifically, that doesn't mean that the rest of the developed and developing counties are blameless. I focus on the animation and data gathered in the middle of the video to show how pollution spreads. 
The second half of the video talks about how weather patterns carry sand for the Sahara Desert to help fertilize the Amazon. There is just one example of many cross-curricular connections to geography. ]]> 2017-08-20 09:59:30 UTC https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751565 What are the ways in which the texts, topics, or ideas in your classroom have benefited from contributions from other communities, cultures, and nationalities? michael_korczyk https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751573 For me, it is important to create a safe environment where students can share their knowledge based on the culture and community they were raised to help make connections to the topic. I think it is always important to remind students that in science we base of understanding of the natural world with research and data, not opinions. It is important to remind students that different cultures have taken different paths to the top of the same mountain. With this understanding in place we can have scientific conversations based on facts not conjecture.  ]]> 2017-08-20 09:59:43 UTC https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751573 How can you help your students understand the importance of international understanding as it relates to your course? michael_korczyk https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751576 Honestly, educating europeans or students from non-europeans cultures, they see the importance of international understanding because they are involved in it with everyday in school. They interact with students from different backgrounds at a social level, so it makes it easy for me to use that to my advantage as they explore these topics and apply it to a greater world view. ]]> 2017-08-20 09:59:52 UTC https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751576 What activities have you carried out in your class that have knowingly or unknowingly highlighted or celebrated international-mindedness? michael_korczyk https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751581 In my classes when we talk about alternative energy sources I have the students research and become experts on one renewable resource. With the different nationalities that I teach, they inevitably chose one that connects to a country or region where they we born or raised. This opens the eyes of the students to see different solutions to the same problems and how different cultures have tried to solve the non-renewable question. 
When the topic turns to food chains, trophic levels during the ecosystem project, students will inevitable focus on an area that is unlike their own, thus, researching on a part of the planet that may not be geographically near them, but reachable through the information gathered. ]]> 2017-08-20 10:00:04 UTC https://padlet.com/michael_korczyk/x687a895zia/wish/181751581