Malaysian and Korean students grow together as global citizens

Towards the end of November, Middle and High School students from Korea and Malaysia met in IVECA Live Classes to discuss stories related to traditional culture and critical current issues in their countries. All participants joined the Live Classes individually via Zoom to ensure students’ safety in the pandemic situation.

Considering a serious epidemiological situation worldwide, teachers and school administrators took extra care to support students’ learning and found global virtual exchange opportunities momentous. Despite the challenges surrounding COVID-19, MRSM Betong School, Malaysia returned to IVECA after their successful participation in the Summer 2021 Global Virtual Roundtable Camp. Students were able to join IVECA through an extracurricular school activity.

The school administration actively supported the participation of their dedicated teacher along with enthusiastic students. Principal Ms. Salleh shared that the school “is thrilled to have the chance to partner up with IVECA once again after the very much successful Summer School in July, which has witnessed significant improvements in my students’ cross-cultural competency as well as awareness towards global issues.”

While learning about the interconnectedness between individuals and the larger societies, students actively researched stories about emerging issues such as climate change, pollution, and health crisis relevant to their life, throughout the semester. Ongoing exchanges of their thoughts and feelings about the problems enabled them to suggest solutions with care.

Live Classes became an excellent prospect for students to dive deeper into their cultures and find more about the history and roots of traditional stories. Such self-awareness of one's own culture expands students' understanding and respect for other cultures, which is a vital step towards acquiring the intercultural competence of global citizens. Principal Ms. Salleh also commented, "Students were engaged in critical discussions involving socio-cultural differences of both countries. I personally believe that this is a good move towards creating more global citizens in the future."

#IVECA #LiveClass #21stCenturyEducation #GlobalCitizens #Compassion #Empathy #InterculturalCompetence

Compassionate Global Citizens in an Interconnected World

On December 7, education leaders in the field of intercultural learning and global citizenship education gathered at a webinar to discuss “Teaching and Learning in an Interconnected World.” Hosted by the Center for Teaching About the United Nations (CTAUN), the webinar defined the construct of global competence and its importance for today’s learners and introduced practical programs promoting global and intercultural competencies and global citizenship.

UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Education, Ms. Stefania Giannini, urged education stakeholders to work together multilaterally for transformative education addressing current challenges such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, she guided the implementation of global citizenship elements--solidarity, the value of respect, and a sense of humanity--into learning activities to tackle vulnerability and interdependency of the world.

In his keynote, Dr. William Gaudelli, Dean and Professor of the College of Education of Lehigh University, explained the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4.7 on global citizenship education. As essential attributes of global competence, he emphasized having openness, humility, and critical orientation in taking actions toward personal and social change. “We should all work for a better understanding of both ourselves and the world we live in and do so without arrogancy,” said Dr. Gaudelli.

Dr. Eunhee Jung, President of IVECA International Virtual Schooling, joined as a panelist and presented how schools can sustainably provide globally connected virtual exchange activities. Dr. Jung demonstrated IVECA’s curriculum integration model and the example activities that enable students to achieve curriculum goals as well as to develop the intercultural competence of global citizens. To implement SDGs, she underlined “designing the activities that students feel compassion to take action.”

Introducing her TeachSDGs movement, a panelist, Dr. Jennifer Williams shared available tools for teachers to bring the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals to classrooms. Ms. Jill Woerner, Director of Education and Outreach for AFS-USA, also showed global and intercultural resources on its website.

Quoting a third-grade student’s reflection, Principal Trina Haygaru at the International School of Indiana accentuated the importance of cultivating students' compassionate integrity when they collaborate with peers on real-world projects at school. “It is important because we shouldn’t just care about ourselves. You shouldn’t just go ‘me me me me like you should care about the other people around you because every person, even people that you don’t even know, is one whole family.”

More details about CTAUN’s annual conference at the United Nations, please visit this page: https://teachun.org/conference/2021-un/

#CTAUN #IVECA #GCED #SDG4.7 #UNESCO #UNSDGs #InterculturalCompetence #GlobalCompetence

Elementary Students from Korea Share Fairy Tales with Argentinian Partners

Can you recall your favorite children’s story? Fairy tales and folk tales are told from generation to generation and have become deep-rooted into our childhood experiences. Although they vary, each tale includes an important message. Throughout the semester, Korean elementary schoolers analyzed famous fairy tales from their culture. On Friday, December 3rd, IVECA hosted a vibrant Live Class that combined five different schools, four of which included Korean elementary schools. All students from Korea, as well as their Argentinian partners, joined the Live Class individually from home. With the support of their teachers, students were prepared and incredibly excited to present their stories!

Argentinian students began the presentations with summaries of famous tales in their culture. The audience learned about Dulce de Leche, a mix of condensed milk and sugar. Legend says this staple dessert was created by accident! The sweet sauce caught the attention of a Cheongryang Elementary student who noted, “the most interesting part about Le Dulce de Leche is how tasty it looks!” Furthermore, Yangji students compared the story “La Urraca” (The Magpie) from Argentina to their presentation of “Red Fan, Blue Fan.” Both stories taught the same lesson to readers - do not be greedy! Lastly, after the reading of “Heungbu and Nolbu” by Cheongryang Elementary, the class made sure to note the Korean traditional clothing worn by the main characters called Hanbok.

The unification of multiple Korean schools created a special opportunity for students. This unique situation allowed Korean students to not only gain knowledge from foreign partners but also learn more about their own culture from different perspectives. Although shy, students were seen supporting one another with a thumbs up or hearts. To wrap up a successful Live Class, farewell letters were exchanged. Korean students exclaimed to their partners, “We are so happy to share this beautiful world with you!”

#IVECA#InterculturalCompentence#LiveClass#GlobalCitizenship#GlobalEducation#21stCenturyEducation