Global Competencies & The Next Generation Learning Standards
Change is always difficult and in education that hesitation is expressed in the phrase, "What? Another new thing!" There are many aspects of education that need to evolve and that evolution is always faced with push back from the establishment. Education evolution is ongoing because education is both political and social. Education responds in both negative and positive ways to current events. Since the 90's there has been systematic change to state and national standards to help prepare students to participate in a 21st century workforce. In the United States, this is reflected in the creation of the Common Core Standards and in New York's creation of the Next Generation Learning Standards. Both of these changes to education standards were rooted in the need to prepare students to participate in 21st century workforce. You can argue that their implementation and measurement have not always been successful everywhere for all students, but they did come from this desire to better prepare students to be successful in a globalized society.
When you closely study the New York State Next Generation Learning Standards, you can identify an intersectionality between those standards and the four Global Competencies. Below are two examples of how you can frame specific NGLS within the frame of Global Education. You can frame all standards, regardless of subject area within Global Competencies.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 4R9: Recognize genres and make connections to other texts, ideas, cultural perspectives, eras, personal, events, and situations. (RI&RL)
Integration of Global Education:
This standard is a great opportunity to focus both on Investigating the World and Recognize Perspectives. This literature standard is not written for a specific text but rather applicable to many texts that students might read across the 4th grade within the various NYS school districts.
Specific Lesson Plan Modifications for Global Competences
1. As students are closely reading either fiction or nonfiction some of the global thinking routines discussed by Veronica Boix Mansilla can be used to elicit and explore global perspectives and themes within texts.
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The 3 Whys
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Step in, Step Out, Step Back
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How Else and Why
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Circles of Action
2. Anchor Texts from New York City’s Journey’s Curriculum could be paired with texts from the Elementary Texts Spotlight Challenge Resource. Students can discuss, write and present about the perspectives these paired texts take on global issues.
3. The SDGS could be introduced and used as possible themes for literature. An anchor chart could exist in the classroom in which students sort text according to the SDG they demonstrate.
Informal Assessment Outcomes
New York State encourages all teachers to use a Universal Design for Learning, provide multiple entry points for all learners and to assess students in a variety of ways.
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1. Students will self-assess their participation in discussions using the global thinking routines. Students will self-assess using a teacher-created checklist that aligns with literature and speaking and listening standards.
2. Students can write about paired texts in short response or extended response questions.
3. Students can speak about paired texts in flipgrid videos. Students can respond to other students’ ideas using flipgrid as well.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge 4W6: Conduct research to answer questions, including self-generated questions, and to build knowledge through investigating multiple aspects of a topic.
Integration of Global Education:
This standard is a great opportunity to focus on Investigating the World, Recognize Perspectives, Communicating Ideas and Taking Action. This is also a great opportunity to have the students explore the SDGs.
Specific Lesson Plan Modifications for Global Competences
1. Students can use resources from FTGC and Taking Action Resource Collection to research what the SDGs are and how they are being tackled across the globe. ​
2. Students can choose one SDG to focus on within one country or one part of the world.
3. Students can share their learning with others by either creating an informative visual presentation, imovie or flipgrid video to communicate their learning with others.
4. Students can draw a connection between one SDG and how it impacts them on a local level.
5. Students can create a persuasive presentation or persuasive writing piece that encourages their community to take local action on an SDG. Persuasive Presentations might be for local politicians, other students, teachers, parents and local business owners.
Informal Assessment Outcomes
New York State encourages all teachers to use a Universal Design for Learning, provide multiple entry points for all learners and to assess students in a variety of ways.
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1. NGLS-Based Writing Rubrics and Student Checklists
2. Teacher-Created speaking and listening checklist for videos that is based on the Speaking and Listening Standards within the NGLS.
3. Completed Informative presentation on the perspective of one SDG within one country or one part of the world.
4. Completed persuasive presentation on the local stakes of one SDG.