Global Citizenship

June 27th, 2011

Anti-Sectarian education

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: sectarianism
 : Categories citizenship

This week’s Times Education Supplement Scotland has a feature about national and local efforts to combat sectarianism through school education. We want our young people to reject aggression, hate and religious intolerance, and become responsible citizens of a multicultural Scotland. Titled ‘Send Sectarianism flying into the back of the net’, the article reports on recent and current activities to change attitudes and behaviour, and combat this form of hate and prejudice. The work of both Rangers and Celtic football clubs to contribute to this societal change is described in the article.

Learning and Teaching Scotland is one of the organisations which has produced resources and advice to assist teachers working in this area, through a section of our Inclusion website.

The Sense Over Sectarianism campaign based in Glasgow has been active for years in work with schools, youth groups, theatre companies, etc, to address aspects of this community and citizenship issue.

June 20th, 2011

Solar Energy and the greenest Olympic Games ever

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, events
 : Categories games and sport, renewables and climate change, sciences, sustainable development, technologies

The BBC programme ‘Countryfile’ from Sunday, 19 June 2011 included many features on solar energy projects - both home and abroad - and ‘The Green Games’ in London 2012. If you want to find out more about domestic solar energy, energy independence or the efforts to incorporate sustainability in the Olympic Games next year watch the relevant sections on Countryfile.

June 16th, 2011

Developing Global Citizens through Visual Arts Exhibition – Scottish Parliament, 21 – 24 June 2011

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: news, visual arts
 : Categories CPD, citizenship, curriculum areas, expressive arts

As part of a national, comprehensive programme of support for schools and pre-schools, the Developing Global Citizens team at Learning and Teaching Scotland seeks to help practitioners embed Education for Citizenship, Sustainable Development Education and International Education within Curriculum for Excellence. This encompasses contemporary issues, promotes critical thinking and provides contexts for learning that are relevant and challenging to young people.

Artistic impression is an inclusive and powerful means for depicting our rapidly changing world and is a rich and creative vehicle for young people to explore and express their social and emotional literacy. Through art, learners can illustrate their own inner thoughts and feelings. It is a valuable means of personal communication as learners engage in the investigation of their own identity, cultural values and norms in the context of the wider world.

The Developing Global Citizens team worked with schools in six local authorities representing a wide geographical spread: Orkney; Argyll & Bute; Dundee City; Stirling; East Renfrewshire; Dumfries & Galloway to develop innovative approaches to embedding global issues in the expressive arts curriculum. This involved 22 different schools and hundreds of learners across the 3-18 spectrum, including young people with special educational needs. Through the resulting visual art work, much of which was the result of collaboration across various subject areas or across a whole school or schools, learners ably illustrated their own thoughts and feelings about global issues which concerned them such as identity, prejudice, the universal rights of children, human rights, global interdependence and the environment. Elements of this outstanding art work have been on display, to great acclaim, at various global citizenship educational events across the country, including the Scottish Learning Festival.

This final showcase gallery at Parliament brings the energy of ‘learner voice’ to the national seat of political power in Scotland in an innovative and creative format. It clearly reflects the professional expertise and passion of Scotland’s educators who have inspired learners by engaging them both collaboratively and as individuals in relevant global issues. They have unleashed the learners’ gift of human imagination and capacity for independent, divergent thinking. In doing so they have helped learners develop their critical literacy as responsible global citizens who knowledgeably embrace the challenges of the present, and are prepared for the challenges of the future - socially culturally and politically.

June 15th, 2011

Woods for learning – case studies available

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, nature
 : Categories biodiversity, outdoor learning, sciences, sustainable development

Check out these case studies on LTS online showing how woodland enviroments can be used to provide a rich and exciting contexts for learning to deliver the curriculum and engage learners in education for sustainable development.

Case study themes include:

Early years
•Nursery parents organise woodland clean up event

•Developing leadership through Forest School experiences in a nursery setting

•Nature Kindergartens in Fife

Primary
•An enterprising primary woodland orienteering project

•Using woodlands for playtimes in primary schools

Secondary
•Year-long Forest School sessions in a secondary school

•The TAWNI Project: Tarbert Academy Wildlife and Nature Initiative

See case studies on LTS Online

June 14th, 2011

Take One Action Film Festival

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: action, events, film
 : Categories citizenship, international, languages

Are you interested in great films that make a difference? Would you like to organise events in your local community?

Take One Action – Scotland’s global action cinema project – is organising its first youth film festival residency for young people aged 16-21 and their educators/youth workers at the MacRobert Centre in Stirling, 2nd and 3rd Sept 2011.

Participants will have the chance to spend 2 days taking part in workshops led by internationally acclaimed film specialists and directors, and organisations such as Oxfam and The Co-operative.

By the end of the residency young people will leave with the knowledge and skills to host a film screening in your local area which will engage community members to “take one action” that might positively change how they live, think and act.

Contact Louisa by email on [email protected] to register your interest or visit the website at www.takeoneaction.org.uk/youngpeople/youthfestival

Download flyer: YouthResidency_Flyer

June 14th, 2011

Physics and global citizenship

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: resources
 : Categories renewables and climate change, sciences, sustainable development

Physics, and science in general, has transformed our lives, our society and our world and is a key tool for developing our children and young people as global citizens.

Developing learners as scientifically literate global citizens is also essential if we want them to be able to make sense of complex issues such as climate change and sustainability.

Find out more by downloading the PowerPoint presentation used at the institute of Physics event at Stirling on 8th June 2011 - available from the National Sustainable Development Education Glow Group.

June 14th, 2011

Low carbon future and higher order thinking skills

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, CPD
 : Categories biodiversity, renewables and climate change, sciences, social studies, sustainable development, technologies

Preparing for a low carbon future and dealing with the challenge of climate change are just two of the complex global issues that our society will have to tackle in the coming decades. They also present an opportunity for creating exciting learning experiences which promote deep learning and the development of higher order thinking skills relating to the understanding of interdependence, interconnectedness, collaboration and systems thinking.

This is the basis of the Low Carbon Futures Project developed by Keir Bloomer, Chair of the Higher Order Thinking Skills Excellence Group, and his associates Roger Talbot and Jim Goodall.

The initial outcome of this work, supported by LTS, is a set of materials targeted at Third Level which can be used by schools to promote interdisciplinary learning and the development of cognitive skills that help prepare learners for life in the 21^st century.

These resources are available for download from the National Sustainable Development Education Glow group and practitioners are welcome to use them.

We would also be delighted to hear from secondary schools who may be interested in piloting the materials in the new session. Please email: [email protected] if you’d like to be involved.

June 14th, 2011

Scottish Education Awards - the winners

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags:  : Categories sustainable development

Hundreds of teacher, pupils and education people gathered in Glasgow today at the Awards ceremony for the 2011 Scottish Education Awards. This glittering event celebrated the achievements of all the finalists, schools and individuals nominated for this year’s awards and successful in reaching the category shortlists.

Congratulations to all the winners and short-listed nominees, and a special mention for the schools in the award categories relating to global citizenship.

In the ‘Global Citizenship Award, Mearns Primary School (East Renfrewshire) won the prize, with Carmondean Primary (West Lothian) and Mid Calder Primary (also West Lothian) as runners-up.

The ‘Sustainable Schools Award’ was won by Garrowhill Primary School (Glasgow), with Whitelees Primary (North Lanarkshire) and St.Paul’s High School (Glasgow) the other shortlisted schools.

Many of the finalists in other categories also demonstrated examples of significant experience in aspects of global citizenship, with international links, environmental activity, outdoor learning and active citizenship featuring in their implementations of Curriculum for Excellence.

The SEA website now has a full list of the winners and other finalists. The Awards are sponsored by the Daily Record newspaper and the Scottish Government, as a means of recognising and celebrating excellence within our education system.

June 14th, 2011

New online resource – engineering and sustainability

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, resources, water
 : Categories CPD, ICT, renewables and climate change, sciences, sustainable development, technologies

This significant new online resource from Learning and Teaching Scotland is packed with ideas, resources and links to help you create learning experiences that bring STEM (Sciences, Technologies, Engineering and Maths) subjects to life for learners. Using the focus of engineering, the STEM Central website offers stimulating and challenging interdisciplinary experiences based around contexts related to sustainability such as electric transport and renewable energy.

All the teaching ideas are linked to specific Curriculum for Excellence experiences and outcomes at third and fourth levels, and the learning journeys are supported with videos, activities and links to additional resources and information. To help inspire your learners, there are also links to careers resources and the real-life testimonies from contemporary Scottish engineers.

It enables you to explore the key learning and teaching approaches that can support STEM learning and meets the aims of the ‘Science & Engineering 21 - An Action Plan for Education’ by highlighting the big issues around science today.

Visit the STEM Central website at http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/stemcentral/

June 14th, 2011

SLF 2011 and Global Citizenship

nickmorgan

Comments: none Tags: Tags: slf2011
 : Categories CPD, citizenship, international, sustainable development

The Scottish Learning Festival takes place at the SECC in Glasgow on Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd September 2011. Online registration is now open for this great professional development event. Sign up and select the seminars you’d like to attend at this free event for teachers and educators. SLF offers many opportunities to find out more about how schools and teachers can embed Global Citizenship within their practice. You can
- Attend presentations and seminars by active practitioners
- Meet the ‘Developing Global Citizens’ team members and teachers in the Global Village area of the exhibition for advice and resources
- Visit the exhibition stands of a range of organisations with material and expertise

Here are some of the seminars which incorporate Global Citizenship themes:

Wednesday 21st

- Literacy through Technology in an International context

- Forest Pitch: an arts project to develop global citizenship

- Democracy and Global Citizenship in a changing world

- Leadership of global citizenship

- Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Games – building the legacy for learning

- What can we learn from other countries about Assessment for CFE?

- Climate Change: truth, controversy and evidence

- Developing Global Citizens in the Early Years

- Renewable Energy Education – Western Isles and Glasgow

Thursday 22nd

- Climate Change and Forests

- Developing Global Citizens – a rich context for learning

- Advancing the Curriculum for Excellence through Rights Respecting Schools

- Interdisciplinary learning and careers management through the topic of Renewables

- Excellence in LGBT Equality education

Come and join thousands of people like you, Scottish education professionals, at the show.