Focus on Global Education: A Report from the 2007 PDK Summit

Abstract

HERESA Tarlos, a professor of geography at Orange Coast College in Southern California, teaches her students a foreign language at the same time she teaches them geography. Tarlos, who was educated in Europe and the U.S., is fluent in five languages. Every time she presents a new term to her students, she incorporates the German word for it. She also assigns panels of eight to 10 students to research how geography is taught in other countries, such as Argentina, France, and Thailand. And every two years, she takes a group of American students abroad for summer school in Europe to cities such as Rome, Florence, and Paris. "This is my contribution to global education," Tarlos said. Nancy Kaplan, an English teacher at International School in Staten Island, New York, works with her students to publish an international newspaper that is written by students around the world. "Any time I meet anybody from another country, that's how I build my international reporter base," Kaplan said. "You just have to keep the connections going. You put it in the hands of the students. They know how to connect with technology, and I think the teacher's job is just to help them focus that connection and continue it." These were just two examples of global education that were shared during the panel discussion that kicked off the 2007 PDK Summit on Global Education in Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 18. "This wasn't about a panel and an audience," said panelist Vivien Stewart, the Asia Society's vice president of education. "This was about a group. The people in the audience have as many good ideas as the people on the panel." Lloyd Axworthy, president of the University of Winnipeg and past director of the Liu Center for the Study of Global Issues at the University of British Columbia, agreed. Axworthy moderated the discussion among five global education experts and accepted questions and comments from the audience. "There's an opportuni

The exploration of New York City high school students' global literacy

“…Whatever the causes, the University of Wisconsin has sought to overcome the challenge by starting an initiative requiring all teachers to acquire designated qualification in international matters. However, as of 2008, only this university has done so (Young, 2008). Training for preservice and inservice teachers should develop their knowledge of multicultural perspectives, their knowledge of current global events, their ability to integrate global education into curriculum, and their willingness to promote students' exploration of the connections between the students' own experiences and the world.…”

“…With available resources and workable schedules, teachers occasionally organize activities to facilitate students' interaction with people from different cultural backgrounds, or encourage students to participate in short-term overseas student-exchange programs. Many teachers attempt to use technology to facilitate the interaction between their own students and students in other countries (Young, 2008).…”

Use of Cultural Styles or Repertoires of Experience to Guide Instruction: What Difference Does it Make?

“…As one example, Young (2008) reported 23 suggestions from brainstorming sessions held at a conference on global education. Topping the list of suggestions was "acknowledge different learning styles" followed by "celebrate and respect diversity" (p. 353).…”

“…Two contrasting ways of responding to cultural difference are planning instruction on the basis of cultural styles or repertoires of culturally-based experiences (Gutiérrez & Rogoff, 2003). Use of learning styles to address individual differences in learning is relatively commonplace (Young, 2008). More controversial is the use of cultural styles that assume commonalities in approaches to learning based on cultural background.…”