Global English Learner 39;s Book 5

[Hildegard Lobach]

Inan era where global connectivity and digital transformation are redefining the landscape of education and business, the Francis and Dionne Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative stands out as a pioneering effort to democratize access to world-class management education. This initiative, spearheaded by Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, is designed to provide transformative learning opportunities to learners worldwide, particularly focusing on underrepresented and underserved communities.

This visionary program was launched in January 2022 and offers online, global education from Thunderbird/ASU (world-class, accredited institutions) in 40 different languages to learners across the globe, at absolutely no cost to the learner. Remarkably, this groundbreaking endeavor aims for 70% of the total learners to be women and young women, ensuring a significant impact on gender equality in education.

Partnering with the Francis and Dionne Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative offers organizations a unique opportunity to make a transformative impact on global education. By collaborating with us, you will play a crucial role in reaching and empowering millions of learners worldwide. Your organization's expertise and network can help drive meaningful change in key markets, ensuring that quality education is accessible to all. Together, we can bridge educational gaps, foster innovation, and create a brighter future for learners everywhere.

A gift to the Francis and Dionne Najafi 100 Million Learners Global Initiative will enable learners across the world to receive a world-class global management education at no cost. Your support will provide learning experiences to students who can utilize entrepreneurship and management skills to fight poverty and improve living conditions in their communities. Most importantly, your donation will promote Thunderbird's vision of an equitable and inclusive world by addressing the great disparity in educational access globally. Thank you for your consideration and support.

All learners can develop qualities like internal motivation and a strong sense of self. That applies to full-time students and part-time learners. It also applies to those working in complex learning environments, as a result of migration or in post-conflict societies.

In his 2010 book Being a University, Ronald Barnett argues that higher education leads by example. It does that by showing new concepts to students and the academic community, and challenging learners to reach the highest levels of learning.

At University of Stirling, John Gardner researches innovation in assessment. Louise Hayward at University of Glasgow is assessing learning experience as a means of progression, and at University of Cambridge, Mary James led one of the largest Teaching and Learning Research Programme projects.

According to the publication Sense of community: A definition and theory, we are all defined by our local community, especially those who do not travel far in their younger lives. The researcher Robert Rhoads argues that the local community provides reference points for views, attitudes and appetite for learning.

Similarly, not all higher-level learning takes place at universities. Learning takes many forms and happens in many locations. Practice-based and work-based learning, for example, is increasing globally. And although it is used in the UK, in nursing and teaching for example, it is spreading across multiple disciplines.

The Forest Hills Global Learners Initiative (GLI) has grown and evolved over the years through the combined efforts and dedication of staff, students, parents, and community members. Forest Hills Public Schools, under the leadership of Superintendent Dan Behm, in collaboration with a consultant and a wide range of district representatives, recognized the importance of creating an inclusive and equitable environment in which all learners can grow and learn. Our students need to expand their knowledge, understanding, and empathy for the global society in which we live.

Global Champions help comprise the GLI teams at each district site. Champions are students, parents/family members and staff who have been certified through the 6 session Champions training program. They are purposeful and passionate in accepting their charge as role models, advocates and allies for FHPS students, families and staff in building systemic cultural capacity and increasing equity and inclusion throughout the district.

GLI Workshops: High energy and interactive sessions engage district students in global team building and leadership activities grounded in appreciating, understanding and empowering a global community.

High School Global Leaders: Students who have participated in the workshops have the opportunity to attend advanced leadership sessions. These students are called upon to develop and co-facilitate the workshops for 3rd-8th grade students.

This is a resource room currently housed in the Media Center at Northern High School. The GLI Library is comprised of books, DVDs, posters, maps and other materials that support Forest Hills Public Schools teachers, staff, students and families in understanding and recognizing the global society in which we live. Materials include professional development tools as well as classroom texts, poster and varied media. Topic areas reflect issues and information regarding various ethnic groups, IHR, common human experiences, special needs, LGBTQ, women and girls issues and bullying. Suggestions for additions are always welcome.

FHPS staff and parents/family members of our students are offered the opportunity to participate in a 2-day Institute for Healing Racism (IHR). A transformative experience, the IHR challenges participants to explore and address the issues of race, racism, equity, and inclusion related to general society and specifically the FHPS community. Participants and facilitators create a safe place where diverse views and experiences are shared and validated with the goal of becoming positive agents of change and intentional allies in the work of building inclusive and anti-racist communities.

In my book, The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling, I tag our final learner as the "Hey, everybody, look at me!" kid. For the purposes of our discussion here, let's call her the global learner; and if you've been most curious to discover what kind of learner you are, then you may very well fit into this category.

Here are her indicators:

In contrast with the focused learner, the global learner has a wide breadth of interests, often finding it difficult to narrow her pursuits to a manageable number of directions. This learner has the longest entry in the yearbook and keeps her parents hopping as they try to keep track of all the social engagements she has scheduled. She is visionary and thinks about the future; but unlike the focused learner who thinks about the possibilities of principles applied to, say, problem-solving, the global learner focuses on the possibilities in people. She is fascinated by others' beliefs and attitudes: what they think, what they want, how they feel, how they respond.

She enjoys learning about ideas and values and tends to look at herself more subjectively than objectively. She is the student most interested in searching for the significance of things and personalizing their meaning. She is motivated to make a difference in the world, to search for her unique contribution in history.

The global learner is creative and flexible, but not detail-oriented or technical. Rather, this learner will act on hunches and impressions to form broad conclusions. This is the kid who takes a quick look at his math homework and says, "Oh, I know how to do this," then proceeds to fill out the whole thing incorrectly.

While this learner often reads and talks early, she is typically a poor speller and quite disorganized.

Global learners in general are high-achievers and do well academically. But often they set high standards for themselves. Their creations and work are an extension of themselves and are strongly tied to their sense of self-worth. Therefore, failure or rejection of their work is often interpreted as failure or rejection of themselves.

The global learner loves functioning in a group, especially when that group is her audience. She is a communicator and performer. She needs to be known, recognized, and acknowledged by others, especially her teacher. Yet she demands individuality and autonomy and the opportunity to act and express herself creatively. My daughter, Kayte, for instance, has a tendency to turn everything into a creative project. Now that she takes co-op classes, she's had to learn to follow the teachers' directions, especially in science where she has learned the hard way that creativity is not a substitute for correct answers.

The global learner does not show the competitive nature of the active learner in a group. Friendship and cooperation are important to her. She empathizes strongly with others and does not do well in a competitive environment where ruthlessness and conflict are uncontrolled. She is usually well-liked and sought after by her peers and enjoyed by adults.

The global learner typically gravitates toward the language arts, performing arts such as music and drama, psychology, counseling, the ministry, or social services.

Program Suggestions

This type of learner does best with an individualized and personalized approach to her education. She will be interactive and enthusiastic as long as there are opportunities for her input and creative responses. Thus a discussion group will be more motivating than a lecture, and a project more than a test.

Because of her interest in people, choose resources that focus on how individuals or people groups have been impacted by the areas of study. Read about the scientists behind the theories or how inventions changed peoples lives. In history, biographies and historical fiction will have great appeal. The Guides to Famous Men Of... (Greece, Rome, etc) from Greenleaf Press are a good example of what works well.

Because she thinks globally, a unit study approach that integrates subjects such as science, history and literature around a common theme (Japanese culture for instance) will appeal to her interest in understanding how events, ideas and inventions affect the people of that time and place.

Think groups. Co-ops and field trips will become the focal point for most of the global learners studies. Our home-school program has always included lots of co-operative activities because I and two of my children share many of the characteristics of a global learner. My son Gabe in particular likes to have lots of people around. His first response to any suggested activity is "who else can we invite along?"

My typical strategy for tackling a tough subject or one that holds little interest is to organize a group. In the past, we've been a part of writing clubs, science classes, geography bees, and math competitions all to get my kids motivated to study subjects they weren't necessarily motivated to learn.

This learner will need your help in learning to pay attention to details. She is often forgetful and careless in her errors. I know I have this flaw. I was a horrible speller in school. In fact, even when I taught English in public school my colleagues would often come in and correct my misspellings on the blackboard! I've taken steps to minimize my errors by always using a spell checker and a personal organizer to keep track of my commitments and appointments--though my husband has pretty much given up on getting me to balance the checkbook.

I've helped my kids to overcome these tendencies as well with organizational tools, responsibility charts, and editing programs on the computer.

Next time, I will be answering frequently asked questions about learning styles: What should I do if my kid doesn't fit neatly into one category? How do you make this work with a passel of kids? Send me your questions via e-mail at de...@hsrc.com.

In His Sovereign Grace,

Debra

Recommended Resources:

The Ultimate Guide to Homeschooling, Debra Bell. An entire section on learning styles is included in my book.

The Christian Home Educators Curriculum Manual, Elementary, Cathy Duffy.

The Christian Home Educators Curriculum Manual, Junior/Senior High, Cathy Duffy

Learning Patterns and Temperament Styles, Dr. Keith Golay

Shepherding a Child's Heart, by Tedd Tripp

3a8082e126