Global Competence and Education
The Power of Global Competence and Global Education
Global Competence is the lens in which one questions “How does this topic connect to both my small, local ‘world’ and the globe as a whole?” It is the ability to approach content teaching through the lens of empathy and empowerment. As K-12 students, specifically, grow into their own identities, it is essential for them to see how that identity not only belongs but is celebrated in the world around them.
To read more about Global Competence in the field, check out my resource guide here.
Incorporating Global Competence
As Taiye Selasi once said “Don’t ask me where I’m from, ask where I’m a local”. The greatest compliment I was ever given was “you’re a citizen of the world”. I’ve worn this badge with pride since a family friend uttered it. Instilling global competence in teenagers is necessary to improve the world around us. Another tenant of teaching this emphasizes Place Based Education—an approach to learning the advantage of geography of create authentic, meaningful, and engaging personalized learning for students It connects learning to communities and the world around us—a “glocal” lens if you will.
Below are some resources via organizations that will help you get started on this journey!
“To foster global competence, teachers need to create classroom cultures in which students feel safe to express their opinions, safe to speculate, and safe to disagree with their fellow students or even their teacher, without being discourteous"
Simulations
If you teach at a Title I school like me, you may wonder how students can experience global situations and cultures. For my 10th grade Global Class, I’ve enjoyed resources from the National Museum of American Diplomacy and particularly enjoy their American Diplomacy Simulations as well as World Population History Maps (Great from Math/STEM).
See my TEACH section for example lesson and unit plans where we incorporate simulations into our units.
Virtual Exchanges
This past year, I was lucky to serve as a Virtual Service Learning Pilot Participant (VSPP) through Peace Corps. Each week, I collaborated with teachers in Yavoriv, Ukraine to plan engaging virtual English lessons for their students. We were lucky to connect our students on DOE approved platforms such as Padlet and learn from each other! At the end of the year, I gave a student survey. The majority of students said this collaboration was the highlight of their year.
For the semesters that it is difficult to connect classrooms virtually, check out “Global Oneness Project” and 360 cities for students to learn through the eyes of other students around the world.
Check out other ideas for virtual collaboration here.
Digital Media Literacy
According to UNESCO, digital media literacy is essential in a globally competent world as it “provides a set of essential skills to address the challenges of the 21st century including the proliferation of mis- and disinformation and hate speech, the decline of trust in media and digital innovations notably Artificial Intelligence.”
National Geographic’s Learning Framework focuses on interweaving media literacy alongside of content as it focuses on cultivating an Explorer Mindset through a specific matrix of Attitudes (Curiosity, Responsibility), Skills (Observation, Communication, Collaboration), and Knowledge (Our Human Story, Changing Planet). Use their MapMaker feature and pre-designed lesson plans to help your students connect their local world to the world’s grander context.