Australian and Chinese Teachers Promote Global Education in Their Schools

Exchange, citizenship and enthusiasm: these were the mark of the eagerly awaited “IVECA Live Class” that took place on July 12th between middle schools in Melbourne, Australia and Sichuan, China.

Partnered teachers from both nations facilitated the collaborative study between their middle school students. The topic of the live session was “Global Restaurants”. Each school researched and shared facts about their country’s traditional cuisine, table manners and restaurant service.

The objective of the activity was for students to develop a comparative lens that will allow them to design an authentic restaurant from their partner culture within their own countries. Additionally, the bilingual environment, allowing students to collaborate with native speakers, increased students’ motivation to continue studying the target language as well as learning about the partner country.

IVECA strives to promote the intercultural competence of young students to effectively communicate and collaborate with people from different cultures and countries.

Students from Tunisia & Korea Learn About Current Issues in Society & Collaborate to Find Solutions

High school students from International School of Tunis in Tunisia and Noeun High School in Korea hosted their “Live Class”, the culmination of the IVECA program. The one-hour Live Class allowed the participants to share their research about specific issues they identified in their nations. The Korean students presented their findings about the impact of fast food and questioned the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) in their nation. The Tunisian students shared their nation’s challenges including issues related to unemployment and gender inequality. Both schools shared their perspectives and collaborated to find possible solutions for the issues that were identified.

The IVECA Live Class resulted in a rich and deep discussion of important topics that impact all citizens in their nations and the world. Congratulations to both Noeun High School and International School of Tunis for your dedication and outstanding participation. Together, you developed intercultural communicative competence that will serve you well in the future and help to change the world as global citizens!

Brazilian Schools Making History in their Communities

Caldas Júnior Elementary School and Institute of Education IVOTI made history in their communities. Both schools participated in IVECA program during the first semester of 2016 and partnered with American classrooms. The partnerships were successful and resulted in media coverage. Jornal NH reporter, Paulo Langaro visited the Live Class session on June 8th at Caldas Júnior and was able to see student engagement and witnessed the cultural and academic exchange.

In the resulting article, the 5th grade classroom teacher, Ms. Kusma, states how excited her students are in connecting to their American friends. She said: “one of my students said how happy he was when learning that his American partner plays the exact same game. This detail is only one of many aspects that motivate us to take part in this virtual exchange.”  

Institute of Education IVOTI also covered the event on June 9th, and quoted English teacher, Ms. Wilbert: “It was an opportunity of socialization in which our students could interact with American students, practice their English with native speakers, learn about their country’s history and develop intercultural competence”.