Essential Questions for Travel:
How do schools cultivate critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and compassionate citizens, who are able to thrive in increasingly complex and technological global communities?
Assumptions:
All communities are becoming more complex and technological.
The need for 21st Century skills is universal.
Students can describe if/when they are developing these qualities.
Teachers can describe how they plan for these particular qualities.
Various stakeholders have varying views on the goals of education.
The need for 21st Century skills is universal.
Students can describe if/when they are developing these qualities.
Teachers can describe how they plan for these particular qualities.
Various stakeholders have varying views on the goals of education.
Supporting Questions:
What is the role/purpose of education in society?
Does the view of the purpose/role of education differ by country/region and within a country/region?
How are the listed qualities defined and measured?
What are the expectations and views on problem based/service based learning?
Are there opportunities for problem based/service based learning?
What opportunities do students have to demonstrate the listed qualities?
(How) do teachers foster creativity?
(How) do teachers foster compassion?
How and why are cross-cultural educational experiences fostered in classrooms?
What would an ideal school look like for students, teachers, parents, administrators, government officials?
Does the view of the purpose/role of education differ by country/region and within a country/region?
How are the listed qualities defined and measured?
What are the expectations and views on problem based/service based learning?
Are there opportunities for problem based/service based learning?
What opportunities do students have to demonstrate the listed qualities?
(How) do teachers foster creativity?
(How) do teachers foster compassion?
How and why are cross-cultural educational experiences fostered in classrooms?
What would an ideal school look like for students, teachers, parents, administrators, government officials?
Resources:
INITIAL STAGE OF RESEARCH: Comparison between Phoenix Union Bioscience High School and a number of Moroccan High Schools.
Interviews/discussions with students, teachers, presenters, administrators, government officials.
Department of education standards, mission statement, goals, etc.
School curriculum, course offerings, design, scheduling, etc.
College and workforce entrance expectations
Teacher training pedagogical focus
Opinions on the 21st Century Skills, Common Core Standards, NGSS, etc.
Comparison of 21st Century Skills, Common Core Standards, NGSS to local/national equivalent
School, regional, and national education data by various demographics
Interviews/discussions with students, teachers, presenters, administrators, government officials.
Department of education standards, mission statement, goals, etc.
School curriculum, course offerings, design, scheduling, etc.
College and workforce entrance expectations
Teacher training pedagogical focus
Opinions on the 21st Century Skills, Common Core Standards, NGSS, etc.
Comparison of 21st Century Skills, Common Core Standards, NGSS to local/national equivalent
School, regional, and national education data by various demographics
More Questions than Answers
My visit to Morocco and conversations with educators from around the world have led me to more questions than answers, more ideas than actions. Currently, I am focusing in on one major question, that stems from some of the questions above. How do we measure and communicate progress of 21st Century skills? At my school, collaboration, inquiry, critical thinking, creative problem solving, compassion, and technological literacy are as important as literacy in reading, writing, and mathematics. Yet, we are limited to sharing our success based on AIMS and ACT test scores. If we are going to transform education, we must find an effective, but efficient, way to show growth and impact of new education models. I want to be a part of that.
How do schools cultivate critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and compassionate citizens, who are able to thrive in increasingly complex and technological global communities?
I originally applied for IREX’s Teachers for Global Classroom program to build my international network and share ideas with teachers around the world about their views and experiences with project and problem-based curriculum. I figured it would be a great arena for stealing ideas that might fit our transdisciplinary model of education at Bioscience High School. I was not disappointed in this regard. I have learned a lot about how to maximize technology and have found large and small ways to increase the global perspective in our curriculum. Most importantly, I have sent lesson ideas, unit plans, and resources to our staff and have seen an increased emphasis on incorporating connections to people, issues, and events throughout the world. Our small campus of 315 students is hosting two exchange students from China, is building an ongoing relationship with members of the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship at Arizona State University, and is implementing curriculum around a number of issues including gender inequality, Ebola outbreak, energy consumption, and water and air quality. Many students have mentioned their excitement about learning from others throughout the world and on their own have connected with students around the world using Facebook and other technologies. Every student in our school engages in a year-long project where they identify root causes and stakeholder needs of a community challenge, write a vision for a future without this problem, and then plans, implements, and monitors the impact of a transformative and sustainable intervention. We have always had very strong representation of the local community perspective and more and more students are exploring these issues through the global lens.
I have learned that educational transformation is happening throughout the world, especially in relation to global education. In Morocco, English teachers are leading the focus on 21st Century learning, collaboration, inquiry, rich-discussion, and connections between self and others in regards to culture, values, government, environment, and more. In Ghana, the Social Studies curriculum addresses these same concepts through the lens of empowering youth to build a stronger country. Global Education is not just a perspective, it is a movement that is happening throughout the world.
I approached my travels looking for specific lessons, techniques, examples of building compassion, creativity, and critical thinking, technological literacy, and systems thinking. I found much more. My experience watching a debate about abortion in a Moroccan Senior English class showed me how ignorant I was about the Muslim/Moroccan culture. And, I was proud to witness a woman openly address the lack of female perspective provided at a Moroccan English Teachers professional conference. Discussions with the professors and teacher candidates at the Teacher training school helped me to realize just how similar teachers around the world really are. Passionate, caring, life-long learners who want the best for students who feel stifled by the lack of support and focus on measurement. Because education and government are so closely linked, teachers are simultaneously expected to fix social ills and maintain the status quo.
The program that got me thinking most about this question was the English Access Microscholarship Program sponsored by the US Department of State. This program uses focused English skill instruction and extension opportunities to teach the English language and American culture to 13-20 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds. This program, started 10 years ago in response to a suicide bombing in Casablanca, has grown to 85 countries and has served over 100,000 students. Not only has this program had impact on the lives of the many students involved, the success of the students using these models of learning, has helped the Moroccan Association of English Teachers advance Global Education in their school curriculum. I left Morocco wondering why the State Department is not running similar programs in the US where students learn Arabic and learn about Muslim culture through connections to people in the Middle East. Meriem Lahrizi, our TGC host, and I have thrown this idea around as one to explore further.
The students in this program all come from local public schools and do not have access to the extra language programs and test preparation that many at the private schools attend. My experience in Kenitra attending public and private schools was eye opening. Teachers in Morocco are appointed to schools, often far from their families and home. Many great teachers spend their career applying for new appointments in a long journey back home. This process is overwhelming for many Moroccan teachers and leads to burnout among professionals. Also, each year, teachers are not told of their course assignments until the first week of school, leaving them no time to plan lessons and activities. I was very curious about the role of administrators in schools and despite asking regularly still do not totally understand their role. The Ministry of Education is responsible for standards, curriculum, appointments, etc and teachers are responsible for teaching and learning; administrators serve as managers overseeing attendance, discipline, and paperwork. Because of the lack of technology, two administrators in the large public high school oversaw daily attendance files. I am not sure if this is the case in all public schools; however, the major difference to me between private and public schools was the role of the administration. I asked repeatedly if they were ever involved in building school culture or leading professional development and the answer was always no for public schools; however, in each private school many served as hybrid teacher/administrators. Many teachers spoke to the fact that these positions were appointed based on seniority and that many were burned out by the time they earned these positions.
Lastly, the most surprising learning for me during my trip was the role of language in the education system. The unique experience of Morocco as a French protectorate has led to conflict in their education system. The French system prevails because those in control of the government have succeeded under this system. This system has not and is not working for many others. Moroccans speak Derija (an Arabic dialect) at home; however, in school they use Standard Arabic, French, Tamazight, English and sometimes Spanish or German. From an outsider perspective, this linguistically diverse background is an advantage; however, this is also the leading conflict in the education system. Many students are limited to advanced education opportunities solely due to their ability to access and master the French language.
While my experiences and take-aways seem varied, ultimately they all lead me to a slightly different version of my original essential question: How do we effectively and efficiently measure and communicate learning in 21st Century education systems? Without identifying this, schools, teachers, and students around the world will continue to be measured with high stakes, culturally biased tests and students, teachers, and administrators will focus their efforts on mastering tested standards. Related questions include: Which skills are testable and should be tested? Who should decide this? What policies can be implemented to increase student learning and opportunity for all, and what is the role of educational leadership in transforming schools? I am happy to announce that this program inspired me to apply to the iLeadAZ program at Arizona State University in order to obtain my principal certificate and move towards educational research in evaluation of 21st Century skills. I hope someday to have a few answers to the questions above and to help to improve the education systems for under-represented students throughout the world.
How do schools cultivate critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and compassionate citizens, who are able to thrive in increasingly complex and technological global communities?
I originally applied for IREX’s Teachers for Global Classroom program to build my international network and share ideas with teachers around the world about their views and experiences with project and problem-based curriculum. I figured it would be a great arena for stealing ideas that might fit our transdisciplinary model of education at Bioscience High School. I was not disappointed in this regard. I have learned a lot about how to maximize technology and have found large and small ways to increase the global perspective in our curriculum. Most importantly, I have sent lesson ideas, unit plans, and resources to our staff and have seen an increased emphasis on incorporating connections to people, issues, and events throughout the world. Our small campus of 315 students is hosting two exchange students from China, is building an ongoing relationship with members of the Hubert Humphrey Fellowship at Arizona State University, and is implementing curriculum around a number of issues including gender inequality, Ebola outbreak, energy consumption, and water and air quality. Many students have mentioned their excitement about learning from others throughout the world and on their own have connected with students around the world using Facebook and other technologies. Every student in our school engages in a year-long project where they identify root causes and stakeholder needs of a community challenge, write a vision for a future without this problem, and then plans, implements, and monitors the impact of a transformative and sustainable intervention. We have always had very strong representation of the local community perspective and more and more students are exploring these issues through the global lens.
I have learned that educational transformation is happening throughout the world, especially in relation to global education. In Morocco, English teachers are leading the focus on 21st Century learning, collaboration, inquiry, rich-discussion, and connections between self and others in regards to culture, values, government, environment, and more. In Ghana, the Social Studies curriculum addresses these same concepts through the lens of empowering youth to build a stronger country. Global Education is not just a perspective, it is a movement that is happening throughout the world.
I approached my travels looking for specific lessons, techniques, examples of building compassion, creativity, and critical thinking, technological literacy, and systems thinking. I found much more. My experience watching a debate about abortion in a Moroccan Senior English class showed me how ignorant I was about the Muslim/Moroccan culture. And, I was proud to witness a woman openly address the lack of female perspective provided at a Moroccan English Teachers professional conference. Discussions with the professors and teacher candidates at the Teacher training school helped me to realize just how similar teachers around the world really are. Passionate, caring, life-long learners who want the best for students who feel stifled by the lack of support and focus on measurement. Because education and government are so closely linked, teachers are simultaneously expected to fix social ills and maintain the status quo.
The program that got me thinking most about this question was the English Access Microscholarship Program sponsored by the US Department of State. This program uses focused English skill instruction and extension opportunities to teach the English language and American culture to 13-20 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds. This program, started 10 years ago in response to a suicide bombing in Casablanca, has grown to 85 countries and has served over 100,000 students. Not only has this program had impact on the lives of the many students involved, the success of the students using these models of learning, has helped the Moroccan Association of English Teachers advance Global Education in their school curriculum. I left Morocco wondering why the State Department is not running similar programs in the US where students learn Arabic and learn about Muslim culture through connections to people in the Middle East. Meriem Lahrizi, our TGC host, and I have thrown this idea around as one to explore further.
The students in this program all come from local public schools and do not have access to the extra language programs and test preparation that many at the private schools attend. My experience in Kenitra attending public and private schools was eye opening. Teachers in Morocco are appointed to schools, often far from their families and home. Many great teachers spend their career applying for new appointments in a long journey back home. This process is overwhelming for many Moroccan teachers and leads to burnout among professionals. Also, each year, teachers are not told of their course assignments until the first week of school, leaving them no time to plan lessons and activities. I was very curious about the role of administrators in schools and despite asking regularly still do not totally understand their role. The Ministry of Education is responsible for standards, curriculum, appointments, etc and teachers are responsible for teaching and learning; administrators serve as managers overseeing attendance, discipline, and paperwork. Because of the lack of technology, two administrators in the large public high school oversaw daily attendance files. I am not sure if this is the case in all public schools; however, the major difference to me between private and public schools was the role of the administration. I asked repeatedly if they were ever involved in building school culture or leading professional development and the answer was always no for public schools; however, in each private school many served as hybrid teacher/administrators. Many teachers spoke to the fact that these positions were appointed based on seniority and that many were burned out by the time they earned these positions.
Lastly, the most surprising learning for me during my trip was the role of language in the education system. The unique experience of Morocco as a French protectorate has led to conflict in their education system. The French system prevails because those in control of the government have succeeded under this system. This system has not and is not working for many others. Moroccans speak Derija (an Arabic dialect) at home; however, in school they use Standard Arabic, French, Tamazight, English and sometimes Spanish or German. From an outsider perspective, this linguistically diverse background is an advantage; however, this is also the leading conflict in the education system. Many students are limited to advanced education opportunities solely due to their ability to access and master the French language.
While my experiences and take-aways seem varied, ultimately they all lead me to a slightly different version of my original essential question: How do we effectively and efficiently measure and communicate learning in 21st Century education systems? Without identifying this, schools, teachers, and students around the world will continue to be measured with high stakes, culturally biased tests and students, teachers, and administrators will focus their efforts on mastering tested standards. Related questions include: Which skills are testable and should be tested? Who should decide this? What policies can be implemented to increase student learning and opportunity for all, and what is the role of educational leadership in transforming schools? I am happy to announce that this program inspired me to apply to the iLeadAZ program at Arizona State University in order to obtain my principal certificate and move towards educational research in evaluation of 21st Century skills. I hope someday to have a few answers to the questions above and to help to improve the education systems for under-represented students throughout the world.