How to Prepare Teachers for Global Education

Teachers must understand global education before incorporating its values into their lessons

Thanks to advancements in information and communication technology, the world is becoming increasingly globalized in all aspects, from social to business. Global education takes the perspective that teachers must find a way to prepare students to become contributing members of this type of society by implementing globally focused strategies into their teaching methods. Teachers must be trained to understand how to find ways to incorporate a global perspective into their own lessons.

Things You'll Need

• Computer(s) with Internet
• Mobile devices (optional)

Instructions

1. Encourage teachers to join organization such as The Global Education Collaborative, where they can meet other members and collaborate on ideas, share media and chat about global education ideas. Go to the GEC official website and click "Sign In" on the right side of the page. Enter your email address and a password to join the global education community.

2. Purchase Internet-ready computers, laptops and even newer mobile devices like tablet computers for your school.

3. Schedule a training session with a professional for your teachers on how to operate the new devices and incorporate them into the classroom. The more students and teachers have access to these devices, the more they can enjoy a more interactive lesson, easily collaborating with one another and other students around the world.

4. Create a checklist for teachers to reference when they are preparing their lessons, being sure that the items are relevant to all subjects. For example, one item could be whether students are aware that global issues exist on the topic at hand. While this may be easier for subjects like social studies and history, it can also be incorporated into other subjects. A lesson in measurements during math or science class should include a discussion of the metric system and how it compares. Cultural issues with certain songs or pieces of art can be discussed during art and music lessons.

5. Expose teachers to other teachers and students around the world by setting up sister-school relationships and encouraging online communication between classrooms. Global interaction can inspire new ways of preparing lessons.

References

• The Global Education Collaborative
• JSTOR: A Strategy for Preparing Teachers to Respond to Curricular Mandates in Global Education, by Judith S. Wooster

Resources

• The American Forum for Global Education: Global Education Checklist
• Council of Europe: What is Global Education?