Team A:Leslie StansfieldAllison ChandlerErin Woodfield

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What is Global Service Learning?

According to Gibson, Rimminton & Landwehr-Brown “Global learning is a student-centered activity in which learners of different cultures use technology to improve their global perspectives while remaining in their home countries” (p. 11).

Our IdeasWe started with 3 very different

ideas

My idea for a global service learning project is for the war in Afghanistan. A lot of families have their spouses or loved ones out there. Each month, we can incorporate social studies lessons on the culture in Afghanistan and their educational system. We can implement geography projects and learn about the different towns that they have. We can incorporate writing and reading when learning about the Afghanistan culture. Students can compare and contrast their culture to the American culture. We can also do a Flat Stanley project that gets the students involved with keeping the soldiers there motivated with monthly inspirational cards, letters or care packages. We can use Skype to communicate with the soldiers or one of the students' family members and learn about where the soldier came from. It is best to introduce these real-life situations that is happening outside of our country. There are families who are living their lives without their loved ones and it would be influential to get our students educated on this topic. 

Allison’s idea

Rationale & Key PointsOur group is focusing on the events in the Middle East where over 1

million soldiers are currently serving duties. The purpose of our projects are to promote awareness and empathy in our students of how many are affected by this war. Students learn by volunteering their time to create selfless projects to show support to our troops overseas.

To reach out to soldiers overseas sacrificing time away from loved ones on home front

Interact with soldiers and natives of Iraq and Afghanistan to learn about the Middle Eastern cultures

Grow in interpersonal knowledge on how people over-come these situations and how others are affected

Learn about ways of giving back to those who are involved in issues larger than what is going on in the students local communities

Erin’s ideaJessica Simpson's TV show "The Price of Beauty" gave me this idea.  Her show requires her to travel around the world and learn what beauty means to people in their culture.  In one country, you're considered beautiful the heavier you are, which is the complete opposite from the U.S.  Another country, women are considered beautiful when having a longer neck, so they wear extremely heavy iron neck extenders 24/7.      So this show gave me the idea to learn what the price of Health is in another country.  By using Skype, or another resource, we could learn about how people stay healthy in other countries, and what it means to them.  Whether it's using herbal remedies, or other practices, people should learn other ways to get healthy rather than popping pills to "mask" a sickness or infection.  After learning about these practices, we could adopt these practices into our own culture and discover new ways to stay healthy physically, socially, and emotionally.

Leslie’s idea

My idea was based on something my former school did.  Each year the 3rd and 4th graders would get a pen pal at a senior living center.  They would correspond during the year and the children would perform twice a year with the chorus.  I thought it would be fun if two classroom in two different countries did this.  Children would be in teams.  They would be pen pals with each other and a senior in each country.  The children could chat and share letters over skype.  The performances could be recorded for the seniors to watch.  The children could talk about life in their country and learn about history from the seniors.

How it all came together

We decided to run with Allison’s idea and incorporate something Leslie thought of. Children can write letters to soldiers and incorporate the Flat Stanley idea. In addition, we would try and connect with soldiers that are helping to build or rebuild schools. This would allow students in the United States to send materials and letters to children in Afghanistan. This would build a connection between the students of the two countries as well as the soldiers feeling a connection both to home and the students in the school. This project would allow Afghanistan to become real to students in the United States. It would also, hopefully, help children in Afghanistan see children in the United States as caring and not the villains they are made out to be.

Hero in a Box• Organized to show appreciation for those serving overseas

• People are able to donate money or items to this program to send care packages to the troops.

• The website provides a list of items that troops need.

• Classes and the school can work together to gather items to send in

• This project can be implemented in the classroom by:

• teaching about the efforts made in Iraq and Afghanistan to students

• discussing how students their age would be living their lives with a loved one who is overseas

• learning about the culture of the Iraqi and Afghani people

http://www.Herobox.org

Possible effects on the classroom

Studies show that global learning is more effective when there is a high degree of cultural contrast. Our project certainly has that. When there is culture shock the learning experience sticks out in students’ minds. “To create as great a contrast as possible, one should consider the extent of difference between the cultures of the global-learning partners. Examination or cultural characteristics such as values and beliefs related to religion, the political system, economics, and language can help determine the extent of cultural contrast that can be achieved in a particular global-learning experience” Gibson, Rimmington, & Landwehr-Brown, 2008, p. 18).

Implementation

• Work with organizations such as Hero in a Box to find soldiers to correspond with.• Do study of geography of Afghanistan.•Get books on Afghanistan both fiction and nonfiction that are age appropriate for students.•Do unit on letter writing skills.•Read Flat Stanley•Introduce Skype.•Work with PTO to organize packages for soldiers and new school.•Get list of materials needed for new school.•Continue to Skype and send letters.

Effects on Global Learning

Students and staff will have the ability to learn about the Middle Eastern culture with direct interaction with the soldiers who are stationed there.

Expand students understanding to prevent close-mindedness against others from the Middle Eastern cultures

Students are able to learn about cultures beyond their classroom walls and their community in a fun and positive strategy

Possible effects on the world

Our world is more connected now than ever in the history of mankind. Like a spider web, breaking just one strand can cause everything to break down. We are becoming citizens of the world. Global citizenship requires strong interpersonal skills and a sense of our interconnectedness (Gibson, Rimminton, & Landwehr-Brown, 2008). Although the article by Gibson, Rimmington & Landwehr-Brown focuses on the impact of global service learning on gifted students, many facts apply to nongifted students. The article states, “If the obstacle of broadening the identification of the gifted can be overcome, then there needs to be an intervention focused on learning activities that will contribute to the preparation of future world citizens” (Gibson, Rimmington, & Landwehr-Brown, 2008, p. 12). Our project would do exactly that. By having students not only connect with soldiers in Afghanistan but also with children for whom the soldiers are working to build schools, our project will help both sides feel interconnected. It would help to break down the barriers of hate between the Muslim world and that of the United States. The article specifically states that global learning provides the opportunity for children to relate to each other across the cultural barriers and thus promotes deeper understanding. It “humanizes people who might otherwise seem abstract” (Gibson, Rimmington, & Landwehr-Brown, 2008, p. 18).

References

Gibson, K. L., Rimmington, G. M., & Landwehr-Brown, M. (2008, Jan-March). Developing global awareness and responsible world citizenship. Roeper Review, 30(1), 11-23.