Global Citizenship

May 30th, 2012

‘Polarlands’ climate change case study - Rhu Primary School

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: climate and energy, CPD
 : Categories CPD, ICT, curriculum areas, early years, expressive arts, primary schools, renewables and climate change, sciences, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development

This comprehensive case study developed in partnership with Rhu Primary School in Argyll and Bute shows the climate change can provide an excellent context for learning even with the youngest learners.

The case study is a description of an extended, collaborative early and first level interdisciplinary study on climate change undertaken by the Primary 1, 2 and 3 classes at the school.

The study was called Polar Lands and was based on the book ‘Who will save us?’ by Rebecca Morch. It incorporated the themes of enterprise and sustainability. The project also involved parents and community partners from the planning stage right through to the evaluation of the success of the learning.

This study exemplifies the following characteristics of interdisciplinary learning:

• Choosing a theme or problem which requires knowledge and skills from different curriculum areas, aspects of a curriculum area or subjects
• Capitalising on themes for development across learning, including developing global citizenship

Click here to see the full case study and accompanying videos.

May 1st, 2012

Teachers gain Professional Recognition in Global Citizenship

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, events, school improvement
 : Categories citizenship, early years, leadership, primary schools, secondary schools, sharing practice, sustainable development

Teachers from across Glasgow were awarded Professional Recognition by the General Teaching Council for Scotland in Education for Global Citizenship.

The 24 teachers were awarded their certificates at a partnership event organised by GTC Scotland, Glasgow City Council and the West of Scotland Development Education Centre (WOSDEC). The event took place at Glasgow City Chambers on 25 April.

Habib Malik, Scottish Director of Islamic Relief and the Burns Humanitarian Award winner 2010 spoke about his experience of Global Citizenship and there were short presentations by the Chief Executive of the GTC Scotland, Anthony Finn, and Maureen McKenna Executive Director of Education at Glasgow City Council.

Professional Recognition, which is managed by GTC Scotland, provides teachers with an opportunity to gain recognition for particular expertise they may have and display in their teaching. Areas recognised previously include the Scots Language and Mentoring, Sustainable Education and Enterprise. So far 758 teachers across Scotland have received this professional award, bringing considerable benefits to their own professional development but also to the learning of their pupils and of their colleagues.

For more information about the event see the GTCS website

Click here to find out more about professional recognition in global citizenship, sustainable development education and outdoor learning.

February 9th, 2012

Falkirk Council DGC Showcase and open day at Bo’ness Academy

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, europe, events, modern languages, school improvement
 : Categories CPD, Uncategorized, china, citizenship, curriculum areas, early years, europe, expressive arts, health and wellbeing, international, languages, leadership, mathematics, modern languages, primary schools, religious and moral education, sciences, secondary schools, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development, technologies

Falkirk Council global citizenship showcase and school open day

Venue: Bo’ness Academy, Falkirk

9:30am – 3.00pm

This event will now take place on Thursday 17th May 2012

Theme: International Education

This CPD event offers practitioners and school leaders an exciting opportunity to visit Bo’ness Academy and attend Falkirk Council’s Global Citizenship Showcase Event.

Bo’ness Academy is an inspiring example of a school that has used international education as a vehicle to engage the whole school in global citizenship activities. Through the Comenius Programme and other well established links the school has developed a rich international programme connecting it to countries across the world including: The Gambia, The Netherlands, China, France, Germany and The Czech Republic.

A focus of the event will be to identify and share the practical lessons and ideas that have helped the school move forward on its journey including:

• Making global citizenship a key priority in the school and a focus for the implementation of Curriculum for Excellence
• Using international links to explore important issues in a global context and to create engaging, meaningful and challenging learning experiences
• Developing strong international partnerships which can be sustained and which have made an impact on every learner.

Participants will have the opportunity to meet and talk with the Head Teacher, International Coordinator, staff and learners and also tour the classrooms and school. Time will also be set aside for participants to reflect and share their own experiences.

Following the open day event, participants will also have the opportunity to attend Falkirk Council’s Global Citizenship Showcase event which will also be taking place in Bo’ness Academy from 4pm – 6pm. This will feature exhibitions and displays from leading organisations such as Eco-Schools Scotland and the British Council and will showcase innovative global citizenship practice from many Falkirk schools.

How to book

To book, please contact Megan Farr, Policy Officer, Falkirk Council. Email: [email protected] or Tel. 01324 506671.

Places for the open day section of the event are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. This is a free event!

Download programme for Bo’ness Academy Open Day >>

January 27th, 2012

Global citizenship online community - Join now

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: community, CPD, school improvement
 : Categories CPD, citizenship, early years, games and sport, international, leadership, learner voice, primary schools, secondary schools, sharing practice, sustainable development

Do you have an interest in, or remit for, global citizenship? Need some advice or want to share ideas with like-minded practitioners?

If so, then you’ll probably want to have a peek at the shiny new online community for global citizenship on CPD Central. Join now so you can brag to colleagues about how you were one of the pioneering members .

Why have we set it up? Well, there’s always a buzz of ideas and sharing at our face-to-face CPD events and we thought it’d be amazing if we could find a way of bringing people together again and again to keep the discussion and buzz going. Well we’ve found a way! Here’s your bit:

Step 1 - Visit http://bit.ly/DGConline and add your picture (Glow log in required)

Step 2 - Share an idea or ask the audience

Welcome gift! If you join before Friday 17^th February 2012 we’ll be happy to offer you a special gift to welcome you to the community – one of our highly-prized global citizenship wall calendars (these have been flying off our shelves!).

November 8th, 2011

Scottish Borders - Global Citizenship Twilight

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, events, school improvement
 : Categories CPD, citizenship, early years, games and sport, international, primary schools, scottish culture, secondary schools, sharing practice, sustainable development

Global Citizenship and Eco-School Network

Learning community twilight session

This twilight CPD event for practitioners and local authority staff is the latest in a series of sessions to develop and strengthen professional learning communities and practitioner networks within the Scottish Borders.

Participants will have an opportunity for peer-to-peer sharing and reflection and will explore effective strategies for developing successful whole school approaches to global citizenship including international education, sustainable development education, education for citizenship and games legacy.

Those attending will also have the opportunity to learn about the opportunities for funding available to school learning communities to support mentoring, sharing and collaborative activities relating to global citizenship. Participants will also learn about the latest resources, free CPD events and exciting plans for 2012 (including Olympic Games and the Rio + 20 International Conference on Sustainability).

If you are any way involved or concerned with global citizenship and are looking for ideas and support then this is the event for you.

Who should attend?

Early years/primary/secondary school practitioners who are interested in/or have a remit for global citizenship, sustainable development education, Eco-Schools or other similar programmes. Also, local authority personnel with a responsibility for sustainability, waste, participation, energy and other related remits. Attendance at previous sessions isn’t a requirement.

Date and venue

Thursday 24^th November 2011

Committee Room 1, Council HQ

Newton St Boswells

16.30 – 18.30

Cost: Free

Facilitator

Ian Menzies, Development Officer, Developing Global Citizens Team, Education Scotland

To book

Contact Caroline Scott on Email: [email protected] or Tel 01835 825108

October 12th, 2011

School Open Day Event: Woodacre Nursery School, Glasgow City, 18 November 2011

kmayer

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, europe, events, learner voice
 : Categories CPD, biodiversity, citizenship, community, early years, europe, international, outdoor learning, sharing practice, sustainable development

Time: 9:30am – 3.00pm

Theme: International and citizenship education within Early Years

Woodacre Nursery invites practitioners to visit the school and find out about their dynamic international education programme gaining them full International Schools Award, Green Flag status and the ‘Trades House Citizenship Award’. The nursery school has been involved in Global Citizenship Education for the last 6 years embedding many initiatives related to this theme into their curriculum.

Key themes of the day will be a presentation on e-twinning programmes, the school’s transformative Comenius project involving 5 other European countries and the effective use of Glow to deepen international links.

The programme will also include:

• A live Glow meet with a nursery in Iceland
• A visit of the garden and recycling projects
• Latest information on international programmes by the British Council
• A presentation by the ‘Glasgow City Council Community Action Team’
• A presentation of partnership working with parents and local community groups as key drivers to advance the nursery’s eco schools programme.

Participants will also have an opportunity for professional dialogue and the exchange of ideas on the day.

Flyer and Programme: Woodacre Nursery Open day, 18 Nov 11

How to book

To book, please email: [email protected] or Phone 0141 282 5172.

Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. This is a free event!

This is one of a series of open day events organised by Education Scotland’s Developing Global Citizenship Team. View the full programme of open day events here>>

September 28th, 2011

New open day programme 2011/12

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: CPD, events, school improvement
 : Categories CPD, citizenship, community, creativity, curriculum areas, early years, games and sport, international, primary schools, scottish culture, secondary schools, sharing practice, sustainable development

New global citizenship open day study visits!

We are pleased to announce a new series of the popular, inspiring and practical school open days from Education Scotland’s Developing Global Citizens team.

Sign up by contacting [email protected] or call 0141 252 5000

There is increasing recognition that the rich contexts and learning approaches associated with global citizenship are a powerful means of engaging with Curriculum for Excellence. In this initiative, selected schools are offering an open door to senior leaders and classroom practitioners to share how they have led a whole school approach to global citizenship.

The schools selected for the open school programme have developed approaches that have successfully woven elements such as sustainable development education, education for citizenship, international education and games legacy into a wider coordinated whole-school approach to developing global citizens. The programme includes a number of award winning schools and schools whose achievements have been widely recognised.

What others have said about the study visits:

‘The best CPD I have ever had’

‘This was an inspirational CPD event and I found it all very useful and enjoyable, particularly the input from the HT/PT and children – fantastic’

‘My mind is going into overdrive – I plan to take everything you have given and use it!’

Further events will be added to the programme in the coming weeks so watch this blog entry for updates.

Places for these events are limited so it is advisable to book early to avoid disappointment.

Sign up by contacting [email protected] or call 0141 252 5000

Find out more about using global citizenship to develop a whole school approach to Curriculum for Excellence

Download the new global citizenship calendar for 2011-12

August 2nd, 2011

New resources on outdoor learning

imenzies

Comments: none Tags: Tags: community, nature, resources, scottish culture
 : Categories biodiversity, community, early years, expressive arts, health and wellbeing, mathematics, outdoor learning, primary schools, sciences, scottish culture, secondary schools, sharing practice, social studies, sustainable development

The following new resources on outdoor learning have recently been added to the Education Scotland website.

Woods for Learning

These case studies highlight a number of different examples of the way that woodland environments can provide a rich resource and context for learning.

Lady of the Lake: A Literacy and Outdoor Learning Transition Project

This project was a partnership approach to an innovative transition process, involving the 14 feeder primaries to McLaren High, Stirling. This incorporated outdoor learning and collaboration with local artists to inspire creative works, just as Sir Walter Scott took inspiration from the landscape of the Trossachs 200 years ago to write the epic poem ‘The Lady of the Lake’. The resultant process and outcomes supported many aspects of literacy across learning.

LOST? archaeology project

In June 2010, 130 young people from Upper Deeside started working with local and national archaeology groups on what is thought to be the largest schools archaeology project of its kind in Scotland.

Clim-ATIC Media Project

The project took place within the Cairngorms National Park, an area with a unique natural and cultural heritage, where the impacts of anthropogenic climate change are becoming a reality. The project aimed to involve young people in exploring these impacts, through the medium of film, and to identify opportunities and consider adaptations to climate change. This was an interdisciplinary project that allowed pupils to make connections between their learning in school and the world outside.

Grounds for Learning videos

Working in partnership with Grounds for Learning, Education Scotland have developed a series of short video clips supporting various ways in which school grounds can be used and developed to support the Curriculum for Excellence. Scroll down the page to select from clips such as Messy Outdoors Maths, The Creative Spark in Literacy, Nature’s Playground and Fire as a Context for Learning.

February 11th, 2011

New sustainable development education videos and resources from LTS

imenzies

Comments: 1 Comment Tags: Tags: CPD, resources
 : Categories CPD, curriculum areas, early years, primary schools, secondary schools, sharing practice, sustainable development

Learning and Teaching Scotland has just published a new suite of online resources to support the development of sustainable development education within Curriculum for Excellence.

This new content includes useful background information and six high-quality videos on the following themes:

• What is sustainable development education?
• What is a sustainable school?
• Sustainable development education in early years
• Sustainable development education in primary schools
• Sustainable development education in secondary schools
• Making a difference

You can view these resources at: http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/learningteachingandassessment/learningacrossthecurriculum/themesacrosslearning/globalcitizenship/about/sustainabledevelopment/introduction.asp

It is hoped that they prove to be a valuable CPD tool for practitioners, schools and local authorities. All videos can be downloaded and are accompanied by a ready-to-use PowerPoint presentation.