Putting Theory Into Practice While Counting the Days!
I spent the next 4 months continuing to Globalize my classroom as I counted the days to Colombia. In my STEM classroom, I focused mostly on incorporating Project Zero thinking routines and building capacity in my students to recognize perspectives. I chose to focus on these because my students needed to develop the skill of being able to step outside of themselves and consider the diversity in lived experiences, beliefs, opinions, and perspectives of others. This, in my opinion, is the mindset shift that needs to happen before anything else. Without an open mind and the ability to recognize and respect similarities and differences, one cannot be considered a Global Citizen.
I incorporated several resources and thinking routines that I learned during the online course to build capacity in my students.
For one of the 3rd-grade classes that were struggling with teamwork due to creative differences, I implemented the Feelings and Options thinking routine from Project Zero. I obtained this reading of Jack and the Beanstalk from one of my fellow Fulbrighters and used it for this lesson.
Whole-group discussion using the student handout from the Feelings and Options thinking routine.
Students practicing Claim-Evidence-Reasoning on Jack and the Beanstalk
Another way I incorporated the resources from the online course was in my 5th-grade unit on Water Scarcity and Conservation. I updated my lesson to Glocalize the concept of water scarcity and to introduce then exercise perspective-taking as per the National Geographic Tips On Teaching Across Perspectives Resource.
Students learned about how Los Angeles depleted the water from the Owens Valley affecting both communities, one of which they are a part of. Students engaged in multiple rounds of perspective-taking discussions. I was so impressed witnessing their thinking grow deeper, more critical, and more nuanced as we considered multiple perspectives.
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After the lesson on perspective-taking, we moved into the project aspect of the unit in which students had to create some type of Public Service Announcement to inform our school community of water scarcity and conservation. Students could decide from 4 project types.
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After producing and disseminating their PSAs, students moved into the next part of the unit which was to look at water scarcity and conservation efforts around the world. We learned about different filtration methods from indigenous to modern practices, and students used these filtration practices as inspiration for developing their own rudimentary water filters.
Judging by the clarity of these water samples, they did a great job!