A global experience
If by now you have worked with some of the previous activities in this course, you'll probably be feeling quite relaxed and confident about when and how you can incorporate global dimensions into your classroom.
So you might well now be looking for other resources and opportunities to further embed global science dimensions into your everyday teaching and the learning experiences of your pupils.
Sharing learning experiences within the classroom is valuable but, when trying to build global perspectives, this can be much more effective when experiences are shared beyond the classroom, between different classrooms, in different countries, with different cultures.
Find out about one good way to share scientific experience globally in the Activity on the right.
Activity Resources:
- Images
- Interactive
- Sound
- Text
- Video
Activity
This activity focuses on the award-winning 'Science Across the World' programme, where thousands of primary and secondary pupils from over 100 countries 'explore science locally, then share insights globally'.
Look at the 'Science Across the World' homepage to find out how to get involved (the weblink is below), and click on the Text icon above to read the article by Marianne Cutler (2004) in ASE's journal, 'School Science Review', which gives examples of how the programme works, and how it can help to promote the development of key skills and thinking skills in science. Science Across the World
- Explore one of the topics in the 'Science Around the World' programme. Go to the 'Science Around the World' homepage, click on 'New to Science Around the World', and then on 'Topics'. Select one topic from the list (n.b. most topics are designed for secondary pupils; a good primary topic is 'Eating and drinking'). Download the accompanying Teachers' notes, Students' pages and the Exchange Form. With a colleague, discuss how you would use these with pupils. Consider these points:
- Which groups of pupils would work with this topic?
- What preparation do I need to do?
- Would I work with other science teachers and/or with colleagues from other disciplines?
- What practical work is involved, and what resources are required?
- Which websites and other support materials would be useful?
- Try out your chosen topic with pupils and help them exchange their findings with other schools through the 'Science Across the World' website. You will need to sign up to the programme to communicate with your partner schools.
Make sure your pupils look at the discussion questions at the end of the Students' Pages when comparing responses from other schools with their own findings. These are important in developing pupils' understanding of global issues from different perspectives. - Discuss with colleagues how to assess the value of the pupil 'virtual exchange' with schools in other countries in developing their own global perspectives.
For further ideas on sharing science through school linking, take a look at these websites: Global Gateway Globe program
