Global Updates From World View
August 2005
Creating a Global Education Action Plan for Your School
As the new school year begins, now is a perfect time to put a plan into action on how you are going to help your school or school system become more “global”. World View has developed a useful template or framework for helping schools internationalize or globalize their classrooms, curricula, and environment. It is a guide, not a set of rules and regulations. Educators who have attended World View programs in the past are familiar with the Action Plan and recognize that developing a course of action is an essential step in global education.
The Action Plan describes:
A clear picture of where you are going.
How you are going to get there.
Who and what are involved.
The timeframe.
Means to monitor progress and assess success.
Elements of the Action Plan
Goal.
Objectives.
Actions Needed.
Persons or Units or Departments Needed.
Resources Needed.
Timeframe.
Monitoring and Evaluation Methods.
8 Simple Steps for Creating Action Plans
1. Determine the Action Level(s) of the Plan
The intended action might take place at one or several levels: the school system, a school or college, a grade level, or classroom level. Identify the level or levels to be covered in the Action Plan.
2. Determine the Baseline or Current Status of the Level(s)
Among the first steps in Action Planning is identification of the baseline or current status of global coverage in the level or levels being considered. A baseline might be described in one of the following ways:
CONCRETE:
Features festivals, flags, and ethnic food, coverage of one country or region with minimal reference to issues or the relationship to other cultures, countries, and regions.
THEMATIC:
Subjects taught through themes and issues that cut across traditional disciplines and subject areas. Emphasis is placed on learning another language and using it in traditional subjects. The focus is on integrating and infusing global content, ideas, and activities to connect subject areas and issues that arise from them.
FULLY INTEGRATED:
A global school, or a global curriculum, or a global course of study in a college, where curricular content, teaching and learning methods, and the school or college and community environment express a global commitment and perspective.
3. Ask Basic Questions
After the baseline status is identified, ask questions: What will we work toward? Why? Answering these questions is at the heart of the Action Plan, leading directly to the formulation of the Goal and Objective (or Objectives).
4. Identify the Goal and Objectives
The format of World View’s Action Plan combines Goal and Objectives. Thinking of them as related, but stating them separately, is recommended.
Goal: Expresses a clear and general sense of direction, a purpose, an aim. It should focus on the most important outcome to be achieved, or benefit that will be derived from implementing an Action Plan.
Example of a Goal:
Prepare students to think and act as well-informed citizens in a global society.
Objectives: Are more specific, and express what will be different as a result of implementation. In many ways, objectives express the strategy that has been decided on and the desired accomplishments.
Examples of three Objectives at three different levels that describe how the Goal will be achieved:
School System Level
Objective: Every administrator, teacher and program coordinator will be trained in global education approaches, concepts, and teaching strategies.
Activities might include:
- international travel
- participation in seminars, symposia, work-shops
- use of on-line courses, and reading
- discussions with and observations of teachers and faculty who are making global connections
- exchange of curricula and lessons plans that have global examples
School Level
Objective: Every grade level curriculum will contain ideas, content, and activities that teach students to analyze and make global connections.
Examples of global connections are:
- global climate change
- fossil fuel and water shortages
- food availability, quality and distribution
- pandemics and disease patterns
- animal and habitat destruction or extinction
- migration and immigration
- regional conflict over natural resources
- Poverty and urban crowding
- air pollutants
Classroom Level
Objective: Information technology will be used to cross continents and cultures and to gain access to global issues and country profiles.
Activities might include:
- planned use of internet resource sites and information generated by credible websites to update and enrich curricula and lesson plans
- internet or electronic e-pals with students from schools in other countries
5. Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation
Activities: Activities are the ways and means (initiatives, changes, events, etc.) by which objectives are achieved and evaluated.
What needs to be done? What will promote or support curricular change? What is needed to train teachers to be confident and competent global educators? How will the available technology be made more accessible?
By whom and by when? Who, or what units, will be responsible for planning and carrying out the activity? What timeframe is being allocated for each activity?
What resources? What resources from the school, school system, or community are necessary to implement and evaluate the activity? Resources may include personpower, technical assistance, funds, books or other materials, websites, students with international experience, etc.
What evidence indicates progress? Establish measurable indicators, such as rates of participation or attendance that demonstrate evidence of progress.
How and when will evidence be gathered? How will the indicators be measured or the evidence gathered, and how often should this be done?
6. Global Education Committee
Each school, school system, and college should have a Global Education Committee, both as an expression of a widely shared commitment to work toward a global perspective, and to gather activity ideas, help build support for global education, and monitor progress toward objectives. The Committee members, if drawn from a variety of disciplines, can create a network that promotes, accelerates, and helps to create the conditions for change as it is expressed in the Action Plan. Establishment of a Global Education Committee could be written into the Action Plan as an activity, or if a Global Education Committee exists, it can be used as a source of action or a resource to be tapped during an activity. The Committee should hold regularly scheduled meetings to monitor progress and keep the school, school system, or college focused.
7. Action Plans as Works in Progress
The Action Plan is a work in progress. It requires monitoring, discussion of progress, changes and revisions where indicated, and updating. The levels of action and resources might shift, depending on progress and availability. The Global Education Committee might recommend expansion of its membership to include community leaders or parents, bringing potential for new resources to be applied during implementation.
8. Realism and Vision
Educators are urged to be realistic, creative, and idealistic – all at one time. Realism contributes to the Plan’s credibility, feasibility and success. Without creativity and idealism, the vision may be too conservative to attract sources, resources and widespread support and enthusiasm.
Good luck as you develop a Plan for your school, school system, or college. World View is here to help.
Samples of Action Plans and an Action Plan template are available on the World View website: http://www.unc.edu/world/action_plan.shtml
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