Connecting Classrooms

Partnerships with Palestine

Who Are We?

Anne Jakins

Nick Falk

British Council Ambassadors

Palestinian Teachers

Aims of the Connecting

Classrooms Programme

School Partnerships that give young people the chance

to collaborate with their international peers on

curriculum based activities which are:

sustainable – equitable - makes a difference

An opportunity for students to develop a fuller

understanding of other countries and cultures.

Funding for teacher mobility

Background and Travel

How we can help!

West Bank is packed with History – friendly people,

traditional villages and Biblical sites

Friendly determined and always hopeful people in spite

of violent episodes and failed peace agreements

Tremendous scope for meaningful educational projects

which span the curriculum.

The Partnership Journey

steps for success

1. Preparing – getting to know each other

2. Developing and working towards equality – teaching,

leadership and curricular enhancement

3. Embedding – becoming global citizens

4. Expanding – share your experience evaluate and

celebrate

Creating a Partnership Appoint a lead teacher – get to know your partner

teachers – identify common objectives

Agree on effective reliable communication – mobile

phones, email, finding local contacts with internet

access

Involving colleagues - using existing expertise

Baseline assessment and evaluation

Developing Cultural

UnderstandingConsider cultural expectations:

Formality and informality titles or first names?

Professional or personal?

Time

The importance of seniority in school

Prayer time

Gender

Greetings

Deeper Understanding of Global

Citizenship - 5 themes

Identity and Belonging

Fairness and Equality

Rights and Responsibilities

Sustainable Living

Conflict and Peace

8 Global Citizenship Skills Self- awareness

Empathy

Conflict Resolution

Creative Thinking

Critical Thinking

Communicating

Collaborating

Taking Action

Project IdeasIdentity:

What’s in your invisible backpack?

Your backpack grows and changes with you. It collects

your experiences of people, places and events. There are

different pockets where each of your roles and identities

fit – sibling parent educator etc

Share five contents of your invisible backpack

Effective International

Learning Start with a baseline assessment of initial perceptions.

Identity is a good starting point.

Staff involvement – lead teacher

Realistic expectations about impact

Use this partnership as a ‘springboard’ for other

international partnerships

Evaluate the partnership outcomes.

Project Ideas

Fairness and Equality

Where does our food come from?

Use everyday food to explore trade. How far has

food travelled?

Explore equality issues related to gender,

disability or race.

Explore fairness, equality and competitiveness in

sport.

Project Ideas

Rights and Responsibilities

The right to play and leisure time.

Compare how much time is devoted to play, leisure and sport at school. What local facilities are provided locally?

Consider the responsibilities that students have within the classroom.

List and discuss the difference between ‘needs rights and wants’

Project Ideas

Sustainable Living

School gardens – what are the

growing conditions in your outside

space? Could the same crops be

grown in your partner’s garden?

Compare different climates and

weather data.

More Project Ideas

Conflict and Peace

The Kites are Flying - Michael Morpurgo

How is conflict dealt with in traditional

stories and expressions? Use drama or

creative writing to rewrite stories so the

conflict is dealt with in a different way.

Research symbols of peace and use them

in Art work – students can design their own

Possible Challenges Effective Communication

Different Expectations

Creating an Equal Partnership

Building New Skills

Diverse Partnerships

Developing Understanding and Empathy

How can these be resolved?

GoodLuck