This
week’s topic of the Respectful and Ethical minds was one that I related to very
quickly. As I have mentioned before, I
teach at an IB-MYP school. So much of
what we do in our school is related to developing these minds. One of the biggest connections I thought of
was the Learner Profile. These are ten
characteristics that we try and get our students to embody throughout the MYP
program. These characteristics are
posted in every classroom and throughout the school, and are part of our school’s
vocabulary. The characteristics are:
·
Caring
·
Communicators
·
Respectful
·
Principled
·
Risk-takers
·
Balanced
·
Inquirers
·
Knowledgeable
·
Open-Minded
·
Thinkers
“Humans
exhibit a deep-seated tendency to create groups”, and I think that these
Learner Profile characteristics help our students learn how to interact
appropriately within their groups (Gardner, pg 92).
In my
classroom, I work very hard to help develop respectful and ethical minds. I teach not only the French language, but I teach
about various cultures throughout the French speaking world. Most of my students have never left the
greater Baltimore area, so world cultures are completely unknown to them. “Knowledge
of other cultures around the world leads students to understanding and
compassion”, and I certainly try to expose my students to other cultures in my
class (Reed, 2007).
In her article, Reed suggests the use of e-mail in order
to promote global learning. I would like
to try this in my class this coming school year. My school district has finally approved the
use of e-Pals, and I can not wait to try it out! In speaking with language teachers from other
districts that have used e-Pals, they have nothing but praise for the site. They have linked up with classes throughout
the world, and exposed their students to other cultures. It also provides a wonderful way for students
to communicate in French.
Another project I would like to do that promotes global
learning is podcasting. Getting my
students to communicate orally in French is a struggle. I think that they would be excited to create
podcasts, and would therefore be more willing to speak in French. If I can link up with a classroom through
e-Pals, my students could share their podcasts with other students throughout
the world. It would also be exciting for
them to hear podcasts from their e-Pals.
My school certainly promotes developments of our students’
respectful and ethical minds. The IB-MYP
curriculum framework is very much geared towards global learning and character
development. There are many exciting
things that I would like to try in my classroom to help promote these goals.
References:
Gardner, H. (2007). Five Minds for the Future. Harvard Business
School Press: Boston, MA
Reed,
J. (2007, September 28). Global collaboration and learning [Web log message].
Retrieved from
http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2007/09/global-collaboration-and-learning
No comments:
Post a Comment