Worldwise Learning: A Teacher's Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable Future

by Carla Marschall, Elizabeth O. Crawford

Overview

Create inclusive, democratic classrooms that prepare knowledgeable, compassionate, and engaged global citizens.

Today’s global challenges—climate change, food and water insecurity, social and economic inequality, and a global pandemic—demand that educators prepare students to become compassionate, critical thinkers who can explore alternative futures. Their own, others’, and the planet’s well-being depend on it.

Worldwise Learning presents a “Pedagogy for People, Planet, and Prosperity” that supports K-8 educators in nurturing “Worldwise Learners”: students who both deeply understand and purposefully act when learning about global challenges. Coupling theory with practice, this book builds educators’ understanding of how curriculum and meaningful interdisciplinary learning can be organized around local, global, and intercultural issues, and provides a detailed framework for making those issues come alive in the classroom. Richly illustrated, each innovative chapter asserts a transformational approach to teaching and learning following an original three-part inquiry cycle, and includes:

• Practical classroom strategies to implement Worldwise Learning at the lesson level, along with tips for scaffolding students’ thinking.
• Images of student work and vignettes of learning experiences that help educators visualize authentic Worldwise Learning moments.
• Stories that spotlight Worldwise Learning in action from diverse student, teacher, and organization perspectives.
• An exemplar unit plan that illustrates how the planning process links to and can support teaching and learning about global challenges.
• QR codes that link to additional lesson and unit plans, educational resources, videos of strategies, and interviews with educators and thought leaders on a companion website, where teachers can discuss topics and share ideas with each other.

Worldwise Learning turns students into local and global citizens who feel genuine concern for the world around them, living their learning with intention and purpose. The time is now.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781071835944
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	10/07/2021
Series:	Corwin Teaching Essentials
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Carla Marschall is an experienced educator, curriculum developer, and pedagogical leader, who has worked in a variety of leadership roles in international schools in Switzerland, Germany, Hong Kong, and Singapore over the past ten years. She currently works as the Director of Teaching & Learning at UWC South East Asia, with the mission to make “education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.” A certified Lynn Erickson Concept-Based Curriculum and Instruction Consultant, Carla is the co-author of Concept-Based Inquiry in Action (Corwin, 2018). Carla holds a Masters in Elementary Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a Masters in Applied Educational Leadership and Management from the Institute of Education, University of London.

Website: http://www.connectthedotsinternational.com/

Elizabeth O. Crawford is a teacher educator, author, researcher, and curriculum designer specializing in global education. She has taught in a variety of school contexts, including elementary and middle schools in France and the United States. Currently an Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, Elizabeth supports educators as they nurture in students a sense of empathy, responsibility, and concern for self, others, and the environment. She collaborates with other faculty, classroom teachers, and organizations globally to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. Elizabeth firmly believes in the power of education and partnerships to transform lives and to build a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Policy, Planning, and Leadership with an emphasis in Curriculum Leadership from the College of William & Mary. She may be reached on Twitter at @Teach Global Ed or via http://www.teachworldwise.com/.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface
The Purpose of This Book
The Worldview and Beliefs That Frame This Book
An Invitation to the Reader
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
About the Illustrator
INTRODUCTION: THE IMPERATIVE
Global Competence: Transforming Learning to Action
Pedagogy for People, Planet, and Prosperity
Book Features and Structure
PART I: CREATING THE CONDITIONS FOR TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION
CHAPTER 1: THE WORLDWISE LEARNING FRAMEWORK
Learning in a Globalized World
Curriculum Design for Understanding and Action
The Learning Process: Inquiring Into People, the Planet, and Prosperity
CHAPTER 2: CREATING INCLUSIVE, DEMOCRATIC CLASSROOMS
The Democratic Classroom
Student-Centered Planning in the Democratic Classroom
The Worldwise Learning Planning Process
Strategies for Democratic Classrooms
CHAPTER 3: COMPLEX ISSUES KNOW NO DISCIPLINES
Understanding Issues Using Interdisciplinary Learning
The Role of Disciplinary Knowledge
A Fruitful Exploration of Interdisciplinary Learning
“Up and Out” Transfer
The Interdisciplinary Learning Continuum
Strategies for Interdisciplinary Learning
PART II: CONNECT: ENGAGING THE HEART, HEAD, AND HAND
CHAPTER 4: PERSPECTIVE-TAKING AND PERSPECTIVE-GETTING
Perspectives as Lenses for Understanding Complex Issues
When Perspective-Taking Is Not Appropriate
Looking Inward: Understanding the Self
Looking Outward: Understanding Others
Perspective-Getting: Seeking Out Diverse Perspectives
Strategies for Perspective-Taking and Perspective-Getting
CHAPTER 5: THE POWER OF STORY TO BUILD CONNECTION
Stories Are All Around Us
The Storytelling Brain
Storytelling as a Pedagogical Tool for Worldwise Learning
Stories as Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors
Beyond Words: Art, Map-Making, and Data Visualization
Strategies for Storytelling
PART III: UNDERSTAND: DEVELOPING “BIG PICTURE” THINKING
CHAPTER 6: SYSTEMS, SYSTEMS EVERYWHERE
Understanding Issues Using a Systems Approach
What Is a System, Really?
Developing Systems Thinkers
Strategies for Systems Thinking
CHAPTER 7: UP TO THE CONCEPTUAL LEVEL
Conceptual Thinking to Understand Complexity
Levels of Conceptual Thinking
Level 1: Concept Formation
Level 2: Generalizing
Level 3: Transferring Understanding
Clearing Roadblocks to Conceptual Thinking
Developing Conceptual Understanding Through Case Studies
Strategies for Conceptual Thinking
PART IV: ACT: PARTICIPATING AS GLOBAL CITIZENS
CHAPTER 8: CITIZENSHIP WITHIN AND BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
Big Ideas of Global Citizenship
What Global Citizenship Is Not
Big Idea #1: Global citizens develop global citizen identities.
Big Idea #2: Global citizens interrogate and draw connections between the structures, systems, and perspectives that underpin issues, including at different scales.
Big Idea #3: Global citizens engage in purposeful, informed action with others.
Strategies for Global Citizenship
CHAPTER 9: BEING A WORLDWISE EDUCATOR
Global Competence as an Ongoing Journey
Connect Phase for Worldwise Educators
Understand Phase for Worldwise Educators
Act Phase for Worldwise Educators
Strategies for Worldwise Educators
Appendix A: Sample Unit Planner: Pollinator Power!
Glossary
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

We can't afford to fail in our pursuit to raise citizens empowered to understand and take action on local and global challenges. While too many adults look the other way, educators like Marschall and Crawford inspire children and young people to be the force for change that this world needs. Worldwise Learning: A Teacher’s Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable Future is grounded in research and filled with practical strategies inspiring students to engage critically, take responsibility, and produce change

Director of Professional Learning International and co-author of Concept-Based Inquiry in Action - Rachel French

Collaborative Learning Network will make it a priority to share Worldwise Learning with each team of thoughtful educators we are fortunate to work with. The inspiring stories, spotlights, and strategies in each of the chapters will deepen the practice of educators around the world. This book illustrates many ways to meaningfully connect learners to their natural curiosity, to understand the world around them and to extend their learning into harmonious action.

Founder and CEO, Collaborative Learning Network - Nick Salmon

"I am recommending Worldwise Learning: A Teacher’s Guide to Shaping a Just, Sustainable Future because as a global educator and Black woman it is imperative for others to understand the ins and outs of being a global citizen. Our students need to be able to learn from those who are wanting to teach culturally relevant teaching and to be able to share their voice with others. We as educators need to be able to show our students, parents, and surrounding communities what diversity, equity, and inclusivity really looks like and how to stand up for the truth. This book takes the time to help others to unlearn and dismantle oppressive systems within and beyond us. "

Founder and CEO of Live. Love. Teach! LLC, DEIJ Specialist, and Global Educator - Marla Hunter

Marschall and Crawford compel readers to see schooling in a different way, one that is focused more on worldwise learning. Using examples from their own lives and schools around the world, they illustrate how teaching and learning can be more globally-minded. For any educator or community member who wants to critically reflect on their own practices and work to envision a more sustainable approach to education, this book is for you.

Co-author of Difference Making at the Heart of Learning: Students, Schools, and Communities Alive with Possibility - Dr. Emily Liebtag

How can we, as teachers, create classrooms that tap students’ innate desire and capability to shape a better world and how can we use this as a catalyst to develop our students’ knowledge, skills, understanding, and dispositions? Worldwise Learning delivers what it promises. Through a clear vision, an easy to follow framework, ready to use strategies, and real examples drawn from classrooms around the world, educators now have a guide to turn this aspiration into a reality. Transformative learning centered on local, global, and intercultural issues not only speak to students’ passions and lived experiences, but it cultivates the modern skill set needed for students to pursue their own dreams and to become a transforming influence in our world.

co-author of Concept-Based Literacy Lessons and consultant - Tiffanee Brown

Carla Marschall and Elizabeth O. Crawford have written a masterpiece that affords a guide for educators to build, alongside their students, a just and sustainable future. Not only do the authors present a vision for transformative education, they offer a dynamic learning cycle, practical strategies, and stories from diverse classrooms throughout the world to support the development of students’ global competences. This book is a must-read for the 21^st century educator.

Executive Director, i Read To Live Initiative, Nigeria - Jacob Sule

Worldwise Learning is a compelling and timely book that presents a powerful vision of transformative education for our times. Steeped in democratic values and a respect for student agency, the authors offer a framework for educating responsible and compassionate learners in a complex and interconnected world.

Dr. Shari Tishman, Project Zero Harvard Graduate School of Education - Dr. Shari Tishman

Worldwise Learning opens a door on to the kind of learning that David Perkins has memorably called ‘life worthy.’ This is a door that many teachers are looking for as the importance of connecting learners to local and global issues, and to their sense of passion and purpose strains against more traditional models of learning that no longer serve our needs.

Senior Programme Specialist, LEGO Foundation - Stuart Mac Alpine

There could be no better time to publish a book on transformative education for a better, more fair, world. May this thoughtfully crafted learning tool not only spark students and educators intellectually -but also touch their hearts. This can bring about the much needed shifts from competition to compassion and from comparison to all children everywhere shining in their true potential; like stars on earth.

Co-founder, Loka School India - Charlotte Leech

Carla Marschall and Elizabeth O. Crawford, with Worldwise Learning, have delved deep into the complexity and multifaceted nature of providing learning journeys for children to become contributing global citizens, something the world needs desperately. I particularly love the emphasis and support around co-planning lessons.

Founder and Learning Lead at Design-a-thon Works, Ashoka Fellow - Emer Beamer

This book represents a message of hope for the future, calling on educators to honour each of our stories, passions and concerns. Through a pedagogical framework designed to give students meaningful connection with their lived experiences, deep relational understanding through being seen, heard and valued and empowerment to take authentic action in their communities, Worldwise Learning demonstrates how educators can design learning for students of all ages to become positive contributors to the world. With inspiring spotlights, practical strategies for applying and transferring learning, and easy-to-follow ideas for co-planning with students, Worldwise Learning provides educational tools and frameworks that align with Globally Reconnect’s vision: to co-create a harmonious world in which we can all flourish. This beautiful book will be a must-read for all educators co-creating with us.

Founder, Globally Reconnect - Kavita Tanna

This book is an invitation, guidebook and launchpad aimed at activating the Worldwise Learner in all of us. Relevant, authentic, inspiring and chock full of tools to reflect, grow and synergize, Worldwise Learning truly empowers us to think for ourselves, explore alternative futures and take action to ensure the wellbeing of our entire global ecosystem.

6th Grade Language Arts Teacher, Evergreen Middle School, Evergreen, CO - Julia Fliss

We are living at a time when global competence is essential, not only for individuals but also for global stability, prosperity, and peace. And yet developing globally competent students is complicated. Luckily Worldwise Learning has provided a roadmap that recognizes the value of voice and agency, as well as the transformative power of storytelling to engage, illuminate, and, perhaps most importantly, connect young people across a diversity of cultures and geographies. In this very large world that is going to keep getting smaller and more interdependent, the message of Worldwise Learning – Connect, Understand, Act – has never seemed more relevant.

Senior Advisor of Girl Rising and Director of U.S. Educators Program - Kayce Freed Jennings

"Educating young people to be ‘worldwise’ and to integrate heart, head, and hand in order to become the citizens the world so desperately needs has just become a whole lot easier. This brilliant and essential book provides the vision, blueprint, examples, and direction that teachers can utilize right now to ensure their students – and the world they will shape – are both able to thrive. "

President and Co-Founder, Institute for Humane Education - Zoe Weil

Often most curricular reforms start with asking ’What’ to change - resulting in recycled old ways to teach the ’same’ - garnished with activities that masquerade as agency. This book starts with the ‘WHY” and sets out to invite the ‘WHO’ into designing the journey of change. What you get are simple, yet mature frameworks and proven strategies to support educators in empowering their students with the tools to see the wondrous interconnectedness of life and their role to sustain and nourish this web. This book is a must for all those who want their children to graduate with optimism and skills to design a more compassionate, sustainable tomorrow, today!

Founder, The Riverside School and Design for Change - Kiran Bir Sethi

Worldwise Learning offers a necessary pedagogical framework to advocate for students to push for global understanding and action. Building a co-created classroom that positions itself in global meaning-making is a profound need for maintaining our democracy, educating our youth, and allowing students to channel their inner curiosity. This work offers a clear outline for transforming one's classroom for worldwide change.

Executive Director, Human Restoration Project - Chris Mc Nutt

Worldwise Learning offers a necessary pedagogical framework to advocate for students to push for global understanding and action. Building a co-created classroom that positions itself in global meaning-making is a profound need for maintaining our democracy, educating our youth, and allowing students to channel their inner curiosity. This work offers a clear outline for transforming one's classroom for worldwide change.

Executive Director, Human Restoration Project - Chris McNutt

Worldwise Learning opens a door on to the kind of learning that David Perkins has memorably called ‘life worthy’. This is a door that many teachers are looking for as the importance of connecting learners to local and global issues, and to their sense of passion and purpose strains against more traditional models of learning that no longer serve our needs.

Senior Programme Specialist, LEGO Foundation - Stuart MacAlpine