Welcome to my global education guide. This website was created as a capstone project while I was a Fellow in the 2017-18 Teachers for Global Classroom Program, funded by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by IREX.
Each tab will expand your understanding of global education and provide you with resources and tools to support you to integrate global education into your instruction. Please contact me with any questions.
Each tab will expand your understanding of global education and provide you with resources and tools to support you to integrate global education into your instruction. Please contact me with any questions.
Educators can use this website to...
- deepen their understanding of global education
- enhance or transform their current curriculum and increase student engagement by linking content to global issues
- find resources to guide and build meaningful lessons that incorporate global themes
- help students develop global competencies, global awareness, and a passion for taking action in our world and local communities
- read about the education system and culture in Morocco (see travel blog)
Eagle Crest Goes Global
- Eagle Crest is very culturally and linguistically diverse school. We are proud to have students from countries from all over the world who are living a bicultural life between their home culture and the culture of the United States. Students cultural and identities are continually evolving and becoming new. We, as educators, need to value and learn about the cultural identities of our students. By integrating global educational learning opportunities into your curriculum you will support students to grow as learners who are proud of their cultural heritage and language.
- Eagle Crest Elementary School is a leadership school that is growing as a leader in global education. We have been supporting and connecting to our sister school, Mwebaza Annex School in Uganda for 8 years supporting three different schools. Eagle Crest's leadership website also provides some overviews into our current programs. We are working on compassionate leadership. My global kids after school club just held a multicultural bake sale to support girl's education at our sister school. See this great article in the local Longmont TImes Call.
- Eagle Crest has decided on a new mission vision statement as the guidepost to help teachers integrate Design Thinking into our curriculum. To start we decided our mission statement is, " I am a leader and I help build a better world." We will work on creating, inspiring others and communicating more. Annually, each class will begin with doing one community service project either locally or globally to help improve our world.
- Eagle Crest is learning apply Design Thinking into our curriculum. Our Stem Explorers have been involved in many locally sustainable inciatives that are supporting our world. We recently launched a new program called Share Table where we are working on the Sustainable Development Goal of ending world hunger locally and globally. The Sustainable Development Goals have created excellent resources to support teachers called the World's Largest Lessons. All classes are now completing a service learning project based on Jane Goodale's Roots and Shoots program. We are working on reducing plastic pollution in our lunch room and becoming caretakers of our local Silver Creek that flows behind our school.
- There are over 35 languages spoken at Eagle Crest. Valuing culturally diversity and learning from one another makes our school inclusive and welcoming to all. We have 36% free and reduced lunch.
- In the fall of 2018, I began an after school global education club for 4-5 graders. Our first design challenge will be addressing the following question: How might we explore the diversity of Eagle Crest so that we can build an understanding of global competencies in order to celebrate what makes our school special? We are exploring language and cultural diversity in our club and being global explorers.
- The second project will be connect the global sustainable development goals with a locally based design thinking project that the students will help create.
- Eagle Crest is involved in many innovative projects that are developing 21 century skills in our learners. Students are excited to integrate technology and a sustainable mindset in all that we do, such as being an Green Star School.
What is global education?
Why global education?
Why now?
Our world is getting smaller every day. People need to appreciate, become stewards, and learn about the world we live in for many reasons.
- Students and educators need to be curious about the world views and perspectives of others and how these beliefs impact our world personally as well as globally. Our world is changing very rapidly. In the 21 century, we need to prepare our students for many new ways of learning.
- Students need to develop 21 century skills that cultivate critical thinking skills a deeper understanding of how to build empathy. Every benefits when we recognize that differences in cultures are an asset that makes our world more diverse and interesting place to live. We can all learn from one another.
- Globalization is impacting our lives every day from the food we eat to the things we buy at the store. Children today need to understand global issues such as education, global warming, world hunger, immigration, gender equality and how these issues will impact their lives now and in the future.
- Students need to feel empowered to take action to make the world a better place. Students need global education to develop the knowledge and disposition to understand and act creatively on issues of global significance by building an understanding of how to investigate our world, recognize our own and other’s perspectives, communicate effectively with diverse audiences and learn how to take action to improve conditions both on a local and global level.
Image Source: Asia Society
Global Competency has four primary themes that are explained in detail on the PISA assessment to determine how globally competent you are.
Click on above image to watch Global Competence Framework Video ( 7:45 minute mark-42 minute mark to learn how to integrate these themes into your instruction and why it is important for today's learners. www.oecd.org/pisa/pisa- Source: OECD-PISA
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Source: Global Education First Initiative
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ABOUT The Author
My name is Sheila Freehill. I have been teaching English language learners for over 20 years. I have been working in Longmont, Colorado at Eagle Crest Elementary School for the past 12 years. I have travelled and taught internationally, but I am currently a fellow with Teachers for Global Classrooms, a program supported by the U.S. State Department, that was designed to support and educate teachers on methods to integrate global education into their classroom and beyond. This fellowship has been transformational. I will integrate the global competencies into my instruction because we need to teach children to be prepared for the global world we live in. I have a masters degree from Pacific Oaks College in Human Development and bi-lingual education. I have always had a life-long passion for exploring and learning our global and natural wonders. TGC and IREX have changed my life both professionally and personally. I am forever grateful.
This website is not an official U.S. Department of State site. The views and information presented are the grantee’s own and do not represent the Teachers for Global Classrooms Program, IREX, or the U.S. Department of State.