Global Citizenship – Page 3 – Learning for Sustainability

Global citizenship bus is coming your way

The Global Citizenship Education Roadshow is coming to a venue near you during September.

There will be events for teachers, and a celebration of global citizenship at the Scottish Parliament. The Roadshow will also be visiting the Scottish Learning Festival at the SECC in Glasgow.

Attached below is a programme of the special events planned, please contact your local Global Learning Centre or email Fiona at GCevents@ideas-forum.org.uk for further details.

Please forward the attached flier onto your contacts and we hope to see you at one of the Roadshow events! Teachers can also find details of additional global citizenship professional development by visiting the global citizenship online calendar.

Download IDEAS GC Roadshow Flier

Beyond the Panda Education Programme

The RZSS Beyond the Panda education programme aims to provide children with an understanding of China, its language, geography, habitats, flora and fauna and in particular learn about the giant panda and the RZSS China/UK research.

Beyond the Panda travels to schools across Scotland in our new vehicle kindly donated by Arnold Clark. We provide a combination of outreach sessions, teacher training and ‘panda boxes’ for loan. The boxes are filled with games, jigsaws and other fun activities which stimulate learning and classroom discussions. The learning resources enable students to investigate, study and explore a variety of topics within the overall context of giant pandas and China; linking with CfE experiences and outcomes in science, topical science, social studies, language and literacy. With the generous funding from the Confucius Institute for Scotland at the University of Edinburgh our programmes also provide an introduction to the learning of Mandarin Chinese.

Sandie Robb, RZSS Senior Education Officer, said: “The RZSS Beyond the Panda is a fantastic and truly unique outreach learning experience. Through the China Mobile Library, students are able to learn about Chinese history, geography, culture and language as well as about giant pandas and the conservation work of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. The children really enjoy the educational games, whilst learning at the same time. The RZSS Beyond the Panda allows us to inspire the next generation of nature conservationists.”

Miss MacDonald, St. Peter’s RC Primary, said: “After doing the panda box activities with three classes, I can really see the positive impact it had on children’s learning. All classes were engaged and enthusiastic throughout and when speaking with the children after they completed the tasks, they could tell me lots of things that they had learned.”

In addition, classes who wish to progress further in the Beyond the Panda programme are able to work towards a Pambassador Class Award at bronze, silver and gold levels.

See Beyond the Panda in action –

On the road with Beyond the Panda

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdxcO0ohbZE

RZSS China Mobile Library

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60DmB8Yk5yQ

Contact Sandie Robb for further information:

srobb@rzss.org.uk

@Sandie_Robb #BeyondthePanda

Volunteering for sustainability

Project Trust is now welcoming applications from those leaving school in 2017 who are interested in becoming Global Volunteers.

Project Trust’s aims are to “empower young people to be confident, creative and resilient through a challenging volunteering experience overseas. Acting as responsible citizens and effective contributors, volunteers make a positive difference to their overseas host communities and share their learning and understanding when they return home. ”

From the charity’s home on the Hebridean island of Coll, Project Trust selects around 300 young people from across the UK for 8 – 12 month teaching, social care and outward bound projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

“Project Trust gives young people the opportunity to explore the world whilst making a real contribution to the global community. … you don’t just see a place but become part of it.”

Lucy Hughes (Cambodia volunteer)

Global-Citizenship-Ambassadors
Working and living in challenging environments within communities around the world, offers volunteers an opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of various global issues. Through Project Trust’s Global Citizenship programme, returned volunteers also share their experiences and knowledge with schools across the UK. Volunteers can receive an accreditation of a Level 3 Foundation Year in Global Volunteering and Citizenship as formal recognition of their learning.

Volunteering overseas with Project Trust is open to all young people with the desire, motivation and aptitudes required to succeed. A bursary fund has recently been established to provide financial assistance to volunteers who may require extra support.

To find out more visit http://www.projecttrust.org.uk

To organise a visit from a Project Trust representative to talk to S5/6 pupils, contact Claire.Jennings@projecttrust.org.uk

More ways to learn about the Global Goals

In the week that the Scottish Government joins UNICEF in launching the World’s Largest Lesson, more schools have been sharing their learning around the Global Goals. One such school is Sciennes Primary School in Edinburgh, who have been blogging about their journey to become a ‘Rights Respecting School’. Click here to find out how learners have been raising the profile of Goal 1 – No Poverty and Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities. Keep up the good work Sciennes learners and bloggers!

LfS national practitioner network launched

The first meeting of the Learning for Sustainability national practitioner network took place on Friday 30th October. Practitioners representing nineteen different local authorities worked alongside partner organisations (including Keep Scotland Beautiful, WOSDEC, LfS Scotland and Architecture and Design Scotland) during a very productive day of conversation, sharing and planning. Class teachers, faculty and department heads, principal teachers, head teachers, depute heads, curriculum support officers and child development officers got together to share some of the fantastic work already taking place.

The wealth of experience and commitment to LfS was wholly evident, as was the enthusiasm and determination of delegates to ensure that their efforts have an impact in their local authorities and beyond. Comments on the LfS Newsfeed included:

“Loved hearing about all the excellent LfS projects going on across Scotland…inspiring stuff! Looking forward to collaborating with like minded people to spread the good work more widely.”

“Great to share practice and successes across different sectors. Need to identify gaps and future opportunities for Learning for Sustainability (LfS) to ensure we keep the momentum going.”

“Great morning so far at the LfS practitioners network. Lots of really inspiring work going on all across Scotland!”

The full range of discussions, approaches and resources shared can be found in the LfS professional learning community . However, the list below picks out some of the tasks that network members are planning to take forward through a process of collaboration and co-creation:

Getting started : LfS whole school strategic approaches in the secondary school
Professional review and development resource: getting the most out of LfS in the standards
Progression and transitions: programmes of support to build on LfS successes
LfS in National Qualifications
Progression in secondary using the John Muir Award
Planning and progression in ASL sector
Using new GLOW functionality (Delve) to organise curricular resources
LfS-specific Resource Calendar
Outdoor learning skills progression

Please join in the discussions if you are keen to be part of this process. If your local authority is not already represented on this network, please contact Anthony.Hutcheson@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk for further information.

Refugees facing winter freeze

A common refrain over the weekend of the clocks going back is that we can have “an extra hour in our bed.” As we prepare for the transition from autumn to winter, pictures emerging from Associated Press’ twitter feed show drone photography of a continuing stream of refugees heading through the Balkan countryside. For them, just one hour in their own bed in the face of dropping temperatures and increasingly complex arrangements for finding sanctuary, is a forlorn hope.

Meanwhile, the UNHCRC are warning of an increasing polarisation in the views of Europeans in their response to the refugee crisis. The head of the EU, Jean-Claude Juncker, has spoken out on the distinct possibility of refugees “freezing to death”.

Many educators will already have found ways of engaging pupils with the refugee crisis (See previous post on IDEAS network resources). For others, however there may not yet have been the time or opportunity.

This Thursday, SCOTDEC is offering a practical session aiming to provide ideas, methodologies and resources for teachers to explore the refugee crisis . This session will be co-delivered with the British Red Cross. You can sign up here.

Christian Aid have also produced an assembly resource with speaker notes and accompanying PowerPoint that may provide a helpful way in to discussing the issue as a whole class/ school. You can access the resources here.

Aiming for the Global Goals

A number of schools have started learning about the newly agreed Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Scotland was one of the first nations in the world to sign up to the Global Goals, building on the Scottish Government’s existing commitment to the learning for sustainability agenda.

One of the key commitments on education in Global goal 4.7 is that our children and young people are fully involved in building a more sustainable and equitable future. It states that by 2030 we must “ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including among others through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.”

One school in West Dunbartonshire has stolen a march on the 2030 deadline and is already out tackling Global Goal #2 – No Hunger. You can read more about St Eunan’s Primary 7’s learning on food justice and food inequality in their class blog.

Well done to all involved and good luck with your ongoing activities at West Dunbartonshire Community Food Share. If any other classes are blogging about the Global Goals or any other LfS activities, please email Anthony.Hutcheson@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk or let us know on Twitter @EdScotLfS .

Click here for a short animation, created by Sir Ken Robinson, on the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development.

Global Learning Programme Scotland Events

Did you know the Global Learning Programme Scotland (GLPS) has a dedicated events page? This online hub provides information and booking details for all upcoming professional learning programmes offered by the six regional Development Education Centres (DECs).

Forthcoming events include Learning for sustainability: developing global citizens 1st to 3rd level (WOSDEC, East Ayrshire) , Rights and Global Citizenship: a cross curriculum approach (SCOTDEC,West Lothian) and One Day Conference on National Qualifications and Learning for Sustainability (Conforti Institute, Coatbridge).

The IDEAS network has also provided information in response to the refugee crisis. Information on events, resources and support for teachers is available here.

Global Citizenship News and Resources

Scottish teachers are able to benefit from a wide range of free resources produced by charities and NGOs to support global citizenship education and learning for sustainability. The online magazine Stride, produced by the IDEAS forum in Scotland, is a very helpful means of finding out about new projects and materials for education. The summer 2015 edition includes an article about a Literacy project linking Scotland and Rwanda , features such as ‘taking global learning outdoors locally’ , and class activity suggestions.

The IDEAS forum is also behind “Signposts for Global Citizenship“, a new searchable collection of resources which can support education practitioners.

One fresh example is a resource created by education staff at Oxfam, ‘Maths and Global Citizenship’, which describes how maths can be taught with a global citizenship approach. They argue that “Global Citizenship provides real-life contexts which engage learners’ curiosity and make them want to use maths to explore patterns and formulate ideas about the world. The motivation for mathematical learning often hinges on its application. Therefore using real-life statistics is a great way to demonstrate the purpose of maths to learners and to inspire them.

In early 2014, Oxfam found that the world’s 85 richest people owned the same wealth as the poorest half of the world’s population. By January 2015, this number had fallen to 80. What story about inequality do these statistics tell? Are the numbers reliable? How was the research carried out? Does everyone agree with these figures? Learners can develop their mathematical understanding both in making sense of such data and by investigating its context and validity. Through a Global Citizenship approach to maths, learners critically analyse the statistics they are exposed to in daily life; make connections between the local and the global and then share their understanding with others.”

Kenyan Connections Conference: Inverness, Monday 8th June

Kenyan Connections is a partnership between Crofting Connections and NECOFA Kenya School Gardens Initiative which works with rural schools and communities in the Eastern Rift Valley of Kenya.

Four Crofting Connections schools have been awarded funding through the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms programme to host exchange teacher visits with Kenyan schools, using food growing in the school gardens as a starting point for learning about local food production and for delivering learning for sustainability.

This conference is part of a visit to Scotland by Kenyan teachers to the participating Crofting Connections schools. It provides a valuable CLPL opportunity for teachers, as the Scottish and Kenyan partner schools share their learning with other schools.

Speakers include Dr Margaret Bennett, writer, folklorist, singer and broadcaster; Dr Rehema White, lecturer in Sustainable Development at the University of St Andrews; Samuel Muhunyu, director of NECOFA Kenya, and Catriona Willis, Global Learning coordinator at Highland One World.

For further information and to book a place at this event, click here.