"How can global education programs influence the profession of teaching?" I tried to answer this question by:
1. Learning theoretical frameworks 2. Having direct experiences 3. Developing new findings 4. Enacting Change Click on any of the bulleted headings above or the pictures to the right to see highlights. |
There were several "watershed" theories that helped me better understand global education programs for teachers.
The "Global Collaboration TPACK" - ECI 546
In ECI 546, "New Literacies and Media," we studied the Technology, Pedagogy, Content Knowledge model as defined by Mishra and Koehler. My strongest revelation during this class was that my field is dependent on a strong TPACK model. I felt that the most important skill of globally competent future leaders will be their ability to collaborate with peers across the world. However, I was not sure that this collaboration had ever been defined, either in terms of how it looks in practice or in terms of how to teach it. I was very enthusiastic about defining a “Global Collaboration TPACK” and helping to define global collaboration and the best practices that will encourage it in our K-12 classrooms. My initial thoughts about a Global Collaboration TPACK were that one can consider collaboration based on the three circles of the TPACK model. If global education is about teaching students to communicate, collaborate, and compete with the world, then we can use the TPACK model to illustrate what a global module looks like.
In this class, I repurposed the TPACK model a bit to redefine "Pedagogical Content Knowledge" as it might relate to global collaborations. "Global Content Knowledge" would still require deep content knowledge about a particular subject area, but would also require the softer skills of cross-cultural understanding, adaptability, and global awareness. Knowing about co-collaborators’ cultures and histories is essential as a way of relating to them, and for finding the commonalities among people who are usually separated by distance, cultures, national or political boundaries, and socioeconomic status. Global collaboration, whether in an educational or other professional capacity, requires that people find and capitalize on the commonalities they find between themselves, despite what may be perceived as differences. Only by knowing about a co-collaborator’s culture and history, as well as the unique ways that the profession is practiced in the collaborator’s country, can global collaboration take place. (Parts excerpted from final exam in ECI 546.)
In this class, I repurposed the TPACK model a bit to redefine "Pedagogical Content Knowledge" as it might relate to global collaborations. "Global Content Knowledge" would still require deep content knowledge about a particular subject area, but would also require the softer skills of cross-cultural understanding, adaptability, and global awareness. Knowing about co-collaborators’ cultures and histories is essential as a way of relating to them, and for finding the commonalities among people who are usually separated by distance, cultures, national or political boundaries, and socioeconomic status. Global collaboration, whether in an educational or other professional capacity, requires that people find and capitalize on the commonalities they find between themselves, despite what may be perceived as differences. Only by knowing about a co-collaborator’s culture and history, as well as the unique ways that the profession is practiced in the collaborator’s country, can global collaboration take place. (Parts excerpted from final exam in ECI 546.)
Quantitative Studies of Global Awareness - ECI 524
In ECI 524, "Theory and Research in Global Learning," one of our reading responses was for an article by Dr. Velta Clarke of the State University of New York. Dr. Clarke discussed the convergence of cultures happening in the world, and then discussed a study that she conducted on her campus to evaluate various students' levels of global awareness. I was fascinated by this study since, despite working in the field of global education, I had never before seen a study that attempted to quantify global awareness. One of the key findings in her research was that undergraduate students of various majors exhibited very different levels of global awareness. Business students were at the top of the spectrum, followed by social scientists. Education students were close to the bottom, and students of the hard sciences were at the very bottom.
A big part of my job is to hone current educators' skills to teach about the rest of the world, and if Clarke's findings were correct, this work is very important since education students were not exhibiting much global awareness in the first place. It was inspiring to read Clarke's study, since it underscored the importance of global professional development for teachers, and it inspired me to consider other ways to quantify how much various experiences expanded teachers' global awareness.
A big part of my job is to hone current educators' skills to teach about the rest of the world, and if Clarke's findings were correct, this work is very important since education students were not exhibiting much global awareness in the first place. It was inspiring to read Clarke's study, since it underscored the importance of global professional development for teachers, and it inspired me to consider other ways to quantify how much various experiences expanded teachers' global awareness.
Transformative Learning Theory - ECI 523
In ECI 523, "Teacher as Researcher," we had the opportunity to study the action research process and then conduct our own action research. I situated my research in a theory I discovered as a result of some of our readings. Transformative Learning Theory, in a nutshell, says that any personal change involves first successfully going through a "disorienting dilemma," and then processing that dilemma through reflection. "Disorienting dilemmas" are situations that jar a person out of their comfort zone and cause them some sort of discomfort or "disequilibrium." Some of the most common transformations associated with this theory are spiritual enlightenments, war, and adventure experiences like sky diving.
I saw a huge relevance of transformative learning theory when it comes to teachers' experiences in global education programs. I believed that the reason that so many people find international travel and cross-cultural experiences so profound is that they are uncomfortable and disorienting. They essentially create disorienting dilemmas for people that, after some time for reflection, cause people to grow. Learning about transformative learning theory and considering its connections to global education inspired me to conduct research into it. I discuss this research more in my section on "Developing New Findings."
I saw a huge relevance of transformative learning theory when it comes to teachers' experiences in global education programs. I believed that the reason that so many people find international travel and cross-cultural experiences so profound is that they are uncomfortable and disorienting. They essentially create disorienting dilemmas for people that, after some time for reflection, cause people to grow. Learning about transformative learning theory and considering its connections to global education inspired me to conduct research into it. I discuss this research more in my section on "Developing New Findings."