Edited by Yael Harlap Global Citizenship

Consider why you organize and sequence your content the way you do. Look at your organizing and
sequencing (for an activity, a lesson plan, a course, or a program), and try answering the
following questions in order to consider alternatives that may better fulfill your intention to
foster global citizenship:
1. When I choose how to organize and sequence content and activities, how am I influenced by
my own past learning experiences? My past teaching experiences?
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Road to Global Citizenship: An Educator’s Toolbook
56
2. When I choose how to organize and sequence content and activities, how am I influenced by my
colleagues’ practices and expectations? If I organize and sequence in ways that are generally
accepted as good practice, what reasons might there be for this particular order to be so
prevalent?
3. What are alternative ways of organizing and sequencing content and activities that would
encourage students to think critically about cultural biases, about the effects of actions on a
global scale, or any other goal associated with global citizenship?
4. How might my organization and sequencing affect how students connect their learning to their
prior knowledge, attitudes and skills?
5. How might my organization and sequencing affect how students connect their learning to their
future actions?
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Teaching and
learning approaches
*
Assignments are explored in Assessment of Learning, pp. 73-82, although clearly they are central to learning as well as modes of
assessment. Similarly, readings and other aspects of content are explored in Organization and Choice of Content, pp. 45-56.
Teaching and learning approaches are highly varied, complex and dependent on a myriad of contextual
factors. When we refer to teaching and learning approaches, we include:
•
Pedagogical approaches/methods of teaching
•
Classroom norms and agreements
•
Specific instructional techniques and activities
•
Out-of-class activities and assignments,
including readings, writing assignments, labs,
observations in community, community
service, and more.*
Even before considering global
citizenship, you may ask yourself
the following questions as you
think about the approaches you
will use in teaching and learning:
•
What teaching approaches will I use to engage
students?
•
How are they aligned with the goals and learning objectives I have determined?
•
What tools and technologies will I use to engage students?
•
What demonstrations and examples might I use to illustrate concepts?
•
How will I establish an atmosphere of respectful and engaged listening and learning?
•
What activities will I have the students do inside and outside of the classroom?
Teaching and learning approaches that foster global citizenship are highly varied, but a critical shared
element among the many approaches is that they engage students in active learning; that is to say,
students are actively manipulating ideas rather than passively receiving information. Three
characteristics we find in common across these approaches include: students’ active engagement and
participation in small groups; context-specific learning that connects to students' past and present
experiences; and students’ power and responsibility over their learning.