copyright © cengage learning. all rights reserved.8 | 1 globalization and education chapter eight

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. 8 | 1

Globalization and Education

Chapter Eight


Trends That Affect Students• Globalization: Increasing global

interdependence in economic, cultural, social, & tech spheres

• Knowledge economy: Dominated by exchange of knowledge– Knowledge is an important asset and a product

of major economic & cultural value

– There exists a fiercely competitive global work force

• Online Education: Making diverse courses and student populations accessible


What Students Need to Thrive

• Skills that must be taught in school:– Technological – Collaborative – Creative problem-solving – Fluency in languages besides English

• Personal traits that are important:– Flexibility, comfort with change– Curiosity, passion for learning


How do we prepare for change?

• Learn how to learn – Students need to understand their cognitive

styles so they can approach a learning task effectively

• Students need more depth, less breadth– What we learn could quickly be outdated

– A solid understanding of current events is vital


Metacognition

• Students with metacognitive skills know how to approach a learning task. They have good learning strategies.

• Being reflective about learning: knowing what you know and what you do know understand

• Students develop critical thinking, make connections between ideas and events, and learn how to keep on learning


21st Century Job Requirements

• Knowledge of the world• Creative problem-solving skills• Ability to manage new information sources

– Sort, interpret, validate, and act on vast amounts of fast-changing information

• Collaboration skills– Cultural sensitivity and fluency in other languages

are important skills for global teams


Online Education

• Fully online• Blended learning• Online courses; Online High Schools• Over 275,000 students are said to be enrolled in

full time online programs• Access to courses otherwise not offered, esp.

for students in rural areas• Opportunity to collaborate cross-culturally


Crosscultural Learning

• ePals Global Community– Links students in 200 countries

– Teacher can choose match by type of school, age range of students, languages spoken

• Example of cross-cultural science project– By high school students from three countries

– They describe collaboration process


Support for Crosscultural Education

• Intercultural E-mail Class Connections

• International Ed. and Resource Network

• United Nations programs

• Lesson plans & videos on global issues

• Information about educational videoconferencing


NASA Videoconferencing

Part of the pre-conference materials sent to help teachers prepare their students for a discussion about asteroids

Source: NASA Digital Learning Network, Asteroids PowerPoint Presentation, http://nasadln.nmsu.edu/dln/content/catalog/details/?cid=67


Skype and Videoconferencing

• Real-time audio & video communication that allows people in different locations to “meet face-to face”– “Virtual field trips” to museums, zoos

– NASA scientists and engineering experts videoconference with students

– Students interview authors, scientists


Serious Games: Digital Learning Games

• Serious games are those that are designed for a primary purpose other than our entertainment

• Video game culture is a form of new media that has enormous potential for teaching and learning

• When developed correctly, games can

engage players in learning that is specifically applicable to school curriculum

• Research suggests that playing video games affects brain function and plasticity


Online Classes (Distance Learning)

• Students and teachers in different places• Increasingly common at high school level• How they work:

– Students communicate daily with teacher

– Counselor tracks students’ progress

– Student needs maturity, motivation, and good work habits to succeed

– High school students who cannot find courses offered in their own schools can now take these courses online; Especially important in rural areas


Online Learning and Equity

• Especially important in poor and rural pre-K–12 schools that…– May lack resources for advanced classes

– Can provide cultural enrichment in schools with limited diversity

• In all schools:– Can provide classes that would be otherwise

unavailable to students

– Opportunity for international study, cross-cultural experience


Online Teachers

• Your job is to help students:– Make meaning of information

– Develop skills for polite crosscultural communication

– Collaborate in a productive manner

• This teaching environment changes:– Teacher-student interactions

– Peer communication

– Assessment and accountability


Conclusion

• It is hard to predict what the world will be like when your students become adults

• Connectivity, communication, and collaboration are the new “reading, ’riting, and ’rithmetic”

• We need the “three Rs” to master the “three Cs”• To teach today, we must keep pace with rapid

change and understand how people learn• Global communication challenges us to expand

our vision and work for positive change

copyright © cengage learning. all rights reserved.8 | 1 globalization and education chapter eight

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