Exploring China through Folktales SIOP lesson plan

 

Exploring China through Folktales

Developed for Middle School Social Studies (Grades 6, 7 or 8)

By: Crystal-Mae Waugh

ESL Inclusion Teacher

Framingham Public Schools

Exploring China East and West Study Tour

Primary Source Educating for Global Understanding

Lesson Introduction:

“Exploring China through Folktales” is a middle school (6^th/7^th/8^th grade) social studies unit developed for an inclusion classroom setting. It can be adapted for Sheltered English Instruction or mainstream student populations. The lesson fosters conversation and higher order thinking skills and text has been adapted to be more accessible for English language learners. This unit fits into the middle school study of world geography and civilizations. The lesson incorporates multimedia footage of today with folktales from the 7^th century B.C.E. Students will analyze the impact of folktales on the development of Chinese culture by observing video footage and retelling a folktale. The folktales give students a sense of the people and the culture. These stories are an integral part of Chinese history, rich in language that describes both environment and sentiment. The tales show the students the history of Hangzhou through the folklore and oral tradition of its local people. The footage of the Chinese opera will allow them to see the authentic ways of oral tradition and compare the different modes of storytelling. The Chinese opera is an iconic depiction of Chinese storytelling and history. In this unit, students will analyze the ways in which a folktale can give Westerners a glimpse of Eastern history and culture.

Teacher Name: Mae Waugh		School Name: Primary Source	Class: Middle School Social Studies/ESL
Date: October 2012		Unit Title: Exploring China through Folktales	Unit Length: One week (45 minute blocks)
Lesson Overview: In this lesson, students will learn about Chinese history and culture through a famous Chinese folktale. Students will compare and contrast the merits of reading a text versus watching a traditional Chinese opera.		Standards: Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks: • 6.RL.7 Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story to listening to or viewing an audio, video or live version of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch • 6.RIT.3 Analyze in detail how a key individual, event or idea is introduced, illustrated and elaborated in a text • 6.W.8 Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources; assess the credibility of each source; and quote or paraphrase the data and conclusions of others while avoiding plagiarism and providing basic bibliographic information for sources. • 6.SL.2 Interpret information presented in diverse media and formats (e.g. visually, quantitatively, orally) and explain how it contributes to a topic, text or issue under study • 6.L.1 Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking
Higher Order Questions • What can the folktales tell us about what China was like in the past? • What are the benefits of using primary sources to learn about the history and culture of China and which is a more reliable source—a video or a folktale? • How is the Chinese Opera an enduring icon in China's history and today?		Language Objectives: Students will be able to... • Read and retell a folktale fluently • Discuss and interpret the difference between reading a folktale and watching a dramatization • Determine and clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words in context	Content Objectives: Students will be able to... • Evaluate different primary sources for validity and information • Synthesize information from various sources including video footage, websites and folktales • Analyze the importance of the Chinese opera and folktales and their roles in the enduring legacy of Ancient China
Key Vocabulary Unit: folktale oral tradition Chinese opera Lady White Snake Text: predicament inheritance ancestors slander assault retch allies Pronunciations: Hangzhou ~ HONG-JO Emei ~ um-AY Xu Xian ~ SHOO shee-EN Zhenjiang ~ JUN-jee-ONG Fahai ~ FAH-HI Kunlun ~ KUN-LUN Yangzi ~ YONG-dzuh		Resources and Materials “Lady White Snake” Chinese Opera performed at the Beijing Tea House, July 31, 2012 youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti9Tgqt8dEg&feature=youtu.be “Lady White Snake A Tale From Chinese Opera” Retold by Aaron Shepard http://www.aaronshep.com/stories/062.html “The Legend of the White Snake” http://www.chinapage.com/wsnake.html Shepard, Aaron. Lady White Snake: A Tale From Chinese Opera Pan Asian Publications (USA) (April 1, 2001). Children of Hangzhou, Connecting with China (video series.) ISBN: 9780887277634 http://www.cheng-tsui.com/store/products/children_hangzhou/children_hangzhou West Lake Tour Video http://www.chinahighlights.com/hangzhou/attraction/west-lake.htm Handouts: “About the Story” “About Chinese Opera” Venn Diagram “Lady White Snake through Yangliuqing woodcut paintings”
Building Background Activities: 1. Introduce West Lake and Hangzhou with the West Lake Tour Video. 2. Watch Hangzhou Kids video		Links to Student Background and Experience 1. Discuss what is a folktale. Have students brainstorm folktales they know from their native cultures or childhood. 2. Have students create a KWL chart for Opera. 3. Create as a class, (or have students create individually) a Mind Map for what they know about China. As the unit progresses, have students add what they are learning to their Mind Map in a different color.
Learning Strategies Graphic organizers predicting summarizing evaluating self-monitoring		Lesson Progression Activities: 1. Read the picture book, “Lady White Snake A Tale From Chinese Opera” Retold by Aaron Shepard, if possible. 2. Class discussion. Is it a folktale? Why or why not? 3. Read handout “About the Story.” 4. Answer comprehension questions in groups that lead students to analyze figurative and literal meaning in the text. 5. Make a t-chart about examples from the text in which we can make inferences about Chinese culture. 6. Read handout “About Chinese Opera.” 7. Watch the Chinese opera footage. 8. Use a Venn Diagram to compare Lady White Snake Chinese Opera and text. 9. Give students the 5 Yangliuqing woodcut paintings handout and have them retell the folktale in writing.
	Final Assessments Writing assignment: answer this question, How do folktales and Chinese opera provide us insight into Chinese culture? Students choose one project: Record and oral narrative for video of the Chinese opera in English In groups, write a script and act out the folktale for Lady White Snake

Effects of Diabetes in the Classroom

Diabetes Facts

According to National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, diabetes is one of the most common chronic diseases in school-aged children, affecting about 200,000 young people in the United States. According to recent estimates, about 19,000 youths are diagnosed with type 1 and type 2 diabetes each year (1). Diabetes is a chronic disease in which blood sugar, called glucose, levels are above normal.

Two types of diabetes afflict the population, named type 1 and type 2. In type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks the beta cells of the pancreas and destroys them. The pancreas of a person with type 1 diabetes can no longer produce insulin, so these people must take insulin daily to live (National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 12). In type 2 diabetes, the muscles, liver and fat cells do not use insulin properly. The pancreas keep up with the added demand at first, but over time it loses its ability to produce enough insulin or control the glucose.

(National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 13)

Diabetes Legislation

Legislation protects students with diabetes and ensures they receive adequate attention and education. Three federal laws provide protection to children with diabetes at school: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; the Americans with Disabilities Act; and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Kaufman 91). Section 504 is a civil rights law that prohibits schools that receive federal funds from discriminating against people on the basis of disability. The American with Disabilities Act is another civil rights law that protects students with disabilities and in order to qualify under IDEA, “the student's diabetes must impair his or her ability to learn so that the student requires special education.” (Kaufman 91). This protects students who experience hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia and these dangerous episodes significantly affects the student’s ability to concentrate. (Kaufman 91)

Accommodations in School

Studies conducted by the American Diabetes Association have shown that the majority of school personnel have an inadequate understanding of diabetes and that parents of children with diabetes lack confidence in their teachers’ ability to manage diabetes effectively ( S131). Despite their assurance of a safe education since the 1970s, not all schools are equipped to service their students with diabetes. Students with diabetes should be able to eat frequently, check their glucose level and be closely monitored by adults to prevent hypoglycemia. These expectations should be committed to writing in the form of two signed documents: a health care plan that explains what medical procedures should take place at school; and a 504 Plan, Individualized Education Program (IEP), or other care plan that explains in what ways the usual school routine needs to be altered for that particular student. (Kaufman 92) The plan should include specific information for that child with regard to monitoring of blood glucose; insulin; meals and snacks; treatment of hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia; and exercise and sports (Kaufman 92).

In school the nurse is the most appropriate person to care for a student with diabetes, but non-medical school personnel could be trained and supervised to perform diabetes care tasks safely in the school setting (National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 16). These activities may include blood glucose monitoring, insulin and glucagon administration, and urine or blood ketone testing. School personnel should also receive student-specific training and be supervised by the school nurse or another qualified health care professional (National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 17).

Optimally, a school health team should be created and include the student with diabetes, the parents/guardian, the school nurse and other health care personnel, the staff members designated as trained diabetes personnel, administrators, the principal, the 504/IEP coordinator, office staff, the student’s teacher or teachers, the guidance counselor, the coach, lunchroom and other school staff members (National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 18).

The greatest immediate danger to students with diabetes is hypoglycemia (National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 36). A hypoglycemic attack can come on suddenly and while symptoms can vary, all school personnel should know how to recognize hypoglycemia and know what to do if they observe its onset (National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 37).

Diabetes Education

Educating educators, parents and students—both diabetic and not diabetic is imperative. One tool for diabetes education is a freeware computer program called AIDA that permits the interactive simulation of plasma insulin and blood glucose profiles for demonstration, teaching, self-learning, and research purposes (Palacio 107). The downloadable computer program has been available for free on the internet for over 10 years and it is a self-education tool, particularly for people with diabetes and their relatives, as well as for heath care providers and students. (Palacio 107) The program allows users to manipulate of example patient parameters such as weight, insulin sensitivity, renal function, and threshold for glycosuria. (Palacio 107)

In 2006, Palacio conducted a research study on the validity of the online program. He piloted AIDA at a Biotechnology Summer Camp in Atlanta, Georgia for middle school students. The learning outcome was to help the students understand some basics of insulin pharmacology, as well as the effects of insulin in a simulated young patient with Type 1 diabetes, and the effects of both insulin and changes in diet and lifestyle in a young patient with Type 2 diabetes. (Palacio 107) Palacio found 86% reported AIDA online to be of interest as an educational tool, 81% found the program to have utility, and 57% expressed a desire to continue using the software. (Palacio 110)

According to Palacio, “The ability to graphically display simple pharmacokinetics, and rapidly expand the illustrations, makes AIDA online a valuable approach to teach young teenagers with minimal knowledge of insulin about the complex relationship between the timing of an insulin injection and the effect of insulin within the blood.” (113).

AIDA is just one example of established and tested diabetes education software and supplements that exist. It can be an invaluable resource for those afflicted with diabetes, but the most important point is to educate not only the diabetic student, but also the parents and school staff with the responsibilities to keep these students safe.

Bibliography

Kaufman, Francine Ratner MD. “Diabetes at School: What a Child’s Health Care Team Needs to Know About Federal Disability Law” CLINICAL DIABETES • Volume 20, Number 2, 2002 p. 91-92

National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “Helping the Student with Diabetes Succeed A Guide for School Personnel” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Updated Edition 2010

Palacio, Andres M.D.; Eldon D. Lehmann, Eldon D., M.B. B.S., B.Sc. (Hons.), Ph.D., F.R.C.R.; Darin E. Olson, Darin E. M.D., Ph.D. “Teaching Diabetes to Middle-School Students with the www.2aida.net AIDA Online Diabetes Software Simulator” Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology Volume 1, Issue 1, January 2007 © Diabetes Technology Society

Nutrition and Obesity in Children

Childhood obesity has dire consequences and can lead to many childhood health problems that persist into adulthood. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, obese children's health risks include high blood pressure and high cholesterol, increase risk of type 2 diabetes, breathing problems, joint problems, fatty liver disease, gallstones, heartburn and a greater risk of social and psychological problems (Basics About Childhood Obesity 2011). Obese children are more likely to become obese adults and the health concerns of children are likely to continue or worsen.

Obesity is measured using Body mass index. Calculated using a child's weight and high, it does not measure body fat directly, but it is a reasonable indicator of body fatness for most children and teens (Basics About Childhood Obesity 2011). Children between the 85^th and 95^th percentile are classified overweight and above the 95^th percentile they are classified as obese (Basics About Childhood Obesity 2011).

According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 17% of children and adolescents are obese and data from the Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System reports 1 in 7 low-income preschool-aged children is obese (Basics About Childhood Obesity 2011). The prevalence of obesity in American children has increased in the past 30 years and this great increase in obesity may lead to increases in incidence of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and possibly cancer and is therefore projected to produce the first decline in U.S. life expectancy since the Great Depression (Trasande 159).

In his study “Environment and Obesity in the National Children's Study,” Transande states, “The recent explosive increase in prevalence of obesity reflects a complex interplay among changes in individual behaviors; changes in community structure, lifestyle, and the built environment; and possibly exposures to certain synthetic chemicals, such as endocrine disruptors, that may have the capacity to disrupt energy balance.” (Trasande 159).

To educate my sixth grade students about nutrition and obesity, I researched the nutrition label and the effects of nutritional eating at school. The ability to analyze a nutrition label and make good choices in the cafeteria could have positive repercussions in students' lives and help them combat obesity.

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 mandated that all packaged foods carry nutrition label-ing information presented as standardized "Nutrition Facts" to provide accurate and truthful information on packaged products (Misra 306). According to Misra, “Label users had diets lower in fat and higher in fruit and vegetable intake compared with nonusers.” (306). Misra found consumers were able to use food labels effectively only when the task did not involve mathematical skill, so she recommends “nutrition education for adolescents should focus on understanding and using food labels rather than on calculations.” (306).

Adolescents need total nutrition more than at any other time of their life, yet they frequently consume inadequate diets. Schools need to provide adequate and applicable health education and prevention programs to guide adolescents to healthy choices.

Children who eat well, learn well, according to Storey et al, authors of a study in 2008 in which 12 schools in England received a tailored action plan and support to modify their food provision and dining environment over a 15-week period. Storey et al observed behaviors during post-lunchtime classes at all schools to investigate if there was evidence that food insufficiency was positively associated with poorer academic, cognitive and psychosocial development in children and young people even in the developed world (33).

The study provides evidence of the benefits on learning-related behaviors of modifying children’s school food and eating environments. (Storey et al 37). Storey et al found on-task behavior had increased and off-task behavior had decreased in both groups, but the changes were significantly greater in the intervention group (35). The study showed that modifying food provision and dining environments had the potential to improve learning-related behaviors of secondary school pupils in the post-lunch period. (Storey et al 35)

The research uncovered the following effects: improving food choices; reducing queuing times; improving the dining ambience; and increasing time available for physical and social activities. (Storey et al 35) The benefits included increased concentration and engagement can potentially improve learning outcomes and attainment. Behavior improved during the post-lunch period, a time in the school day that, traditionally, has been problematic for effective classroom management (Storey et al 36).

From analyses based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a complex, multistage probability sample of the US civilian, non-institutionalized population, Ogden et al found the prevalence of high BMI in childhood has remained steady for 10 years and has not declined (Ogden et al 248). With adequate curriculum and instruction, educators can help reverse this trend by teaching students how to read a nutrition label and make healthy eating choices, which minimize their waistline while maximizing their mental potential.

Bibliography

CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “Basics About Childhood Obesity”

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/data.html Page last updated: April 26, 2011. Accessed 2/3/2012.

CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “Data and Statistics”

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/basics.html Page last updated: April 21, 2011. Accessed 2/3/2012.

Misra, Ranjita. “Influence of Food Labels on Adolescent” The Clearing House 75. 6. (Jul. - Aug. 2002): pp. 306-309

Ogden, Cynthia L. PhD; Carroll, Margaret D. MSPH; Curtin, Lester R. PhD; Lamb, Molly M. PhD; Flegal, Katherine M. PhD “Prevalence of High Body Mass Index in US Children and Adolescents, 2007-2008” Jama 303.3 (January 20, 2010): 242-249

Storey, HC; Pearce, J; Ashfield-Watt, PAL; Wood, L; Baines, E; Nelson, M “A randomized controlled trial of the effect of school food and dining room modifications on classroom behaviour in secondary school children” European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2011): 65, 32–38

Trasande, Leonardo; Cronk, Chris; Durkin, Maureen; Weiss, Marianne; Schoeller, Dale A.; Gall, Elizabeth A.; Hewitt, Jeanne B.; Carrel, Aaron L.; Landrigan, Philip J.; Gillman, Matthew W. “Environment and Obesity in the National Children's Study” Environmental Health Perspectives 117.2 (Feb., 2009):159-166

The Paradox of 21st Century Education

The unfortunate predicament about implementing the best practices in 21st Century education theories is that they are theory. We are still too young within the 21st century to see the effects. Each generation, experts in pedagogy present new theories which improve upon or rework the education system in the United States. In the 1950's they called it the "Life Adjustment Movement" and in the 1980's it was coined "Outcome-Based Education" and today we call it "21st Century Education." Each movement after another "devalued academic subject matter while making schooling relevant, hands-on, and attuned to the real interests and needs of young people." (Ravitch, 2009) Today's progressive education movement focuses on instating critical thinking skills and media literacy from kindergarten through graduate school.

Our era is filled with paradoxes. 21st century learning demands critical thinking and proficiency on standardized assessments. Kids have to learn how to be independent. 21st Century teachers must teach content and skills. Unfortunately, 21st century skills and technology cause as many problems as they solve. 

 

One topic not addressed in 21st Century commentaries is the necessity of students to have knowledge of the past, but also knowledge of the present. In a not-so-recent study conducted by the National Geographic Society (1988), school-age students were asked to find their country on a map and students from the United States ranked in the bottom third. (Hunter, 2004.) How can we entertain the idea that we are preparing our students to compete academically on a global scale, when they can't even find their own country on a map?

The paradox of 21st century learning is that we cannot teach students to think critically without teaching them the content they need to think about. Diane Ravitch, in an editorial to the Boston Globe stated, "We have neglected to teach them that one cannot think critically without quite a lot of knowledge to think about. Thinking critically involves comparing and contrasting and synthesizing what one has learned. And a great deal of knowledge is necessary before one can begin to reflect on its meaning and look for alternative explanations." (Ravitch, 2009)

Innovations in education swing like a pendulum. Core knowledge is necessary for a good education, yet "our kids need world-class skills and world-class content." (Toppo, 2009) Successful 21st Century teachers must teach content and skills. In order for students to succeed in today's job market, they need to not only be able to problem solve, but also need to be knowledgeable of the past, present and future. "Kay notes that virtually all of the industrialized countries the USA is competing with "are pursuing both content and skills." (Toppo, 2009)

But how do we teach students to think critically? According to Toppo, “research shows that many teachers find it difficult to actually teach children to think creatively or collaborate. In the end, they rarely get better at the very skills that P21 advocates.” (Toppo, 2009)

The Longfield School in the UK, featured by the Learning Alliance is a success story where 21^st century skills have been incorporated and have thus enhanced the learning experience of students and positively affected their abilities. Once failing, the school morphed by fostering dialogue between students, teachers and administration about how to improve the school and student learning, which “led to a curriculum that meets the needs of more learners more of the time and with measurable consequences for improved behavior, increased engagement in lessons and a significant reduction in exclusion.” (Learning Alliance) The school has online learning spaces, a school year that begins in June and the school is open late, so students can be found staying to study or doing extra-curricular activities. There is a strong emphasis on managing time effectively and

“flexibility is inbuilt to enable any variety of teaching and learning opportunities whether it’s external visits, catch-up sessions, activities for gifted and talented students, extension work, enrichment activities, or teaching and learning for additional qualifications.” (Learning Alliance)

The question facing 21^st century educators is: "Do kids learn to think by reading great literature, doing difficult math and learning history, philosophy and science or can they tackle those subjects on their own if schools simply teach them to problem-solve, communicate, use technology and think creatively?" (Toppo, 2009) The goal of 21st century teaching is to prepare the students with skills that will help them compete in today's job market and world. The most important lesson to instill in students is to be lifelong learners. Students need skills and content. They need to be independent thinkers, yet work well with others. They must think critically while being assessed standardly. The role of a 21^st century students is not easy because they encounter many academic demands, but with a delicate balance of content from both the past and present, coupled with experiences which cultivate skills like problem solving and media literacy, they can be prepared for the 21^st century market.

Sources:

Hunter, William D. “Got Global Competency?” International Educator Spring 2004 p.6-12

“Learning Journey: Longfield School” The 21st Century Learning Alliance

Ravitch, Diane. “Critical thinking? You need knowledge” Boston Globe September 15, 2009. A. 15

Toppo, Greg. “What to learn: 'core knowledge' or '21st-century skills'?” USA Today Updated 3/5/2009 12:06 PM

Internationalization Strategies Translated to the Elementary Arena

Internationalization at home is a buzzword in higher-education publications and studies. It is a push to develop globalized citizens among our college graduates. It is true that college campuses service a significant amount of international students, but I counter, the necessity to service international students does not just lie at the university level. In fact, there should be internationalization of education beginning at the primary levels, especially in metropolitan areas such as Boston. In Boston Public Schools, as of January 2011, 28% of students were English language learners. (ELL Changes, p.1) This means more than one-quarter of students in Boston are immigrants or children of immigrants to the United States. This in itself is internationalization at home. Often referred to as the melting pot, the United States continues to be a homeland inundated with differing cultures.

The studies cited in this analysis are all based from university-level studies, however their findings can be incorporated across educational grade levels. What these authors propose are ways to integrate international students with national students, methods of develop curriculum that is more culturally responsive and globally minded and ways to assist teachers into becoming internationalized, so that their classrooms can become a microcosm of international education. 

 

According to Betty Leask, author of “Using Formal and Informal Curricula to Improve Interactions Between Home and International Students,” Internationalization of the curriculum is the “incorporation of an international and intercultural dimension into the content of the curriculum as well as the teaching and learning processes and support services of a program of study. An internationalized curriculum will engage students with internationally informed research and cultural and linguistic diversity. It will purposefully develop their international and intercultural perspectives as global professionals and citizens.” (Leask, p.209)

Though many college students participate in study abroad, they are not necessarily receiving an internationalized education. “Building Bridges” by Josef A. Mestenhauser proposes the idea of learning in context, the concept that experiences like study abroad may be considered international education, but the lessons are not integrating existing knowledge and processing of the dissimilar. “While we are 'doing' international education, we may not know why, when the learning is completed, and what we do with it in the end,” he wrote. (Mestenhauser, p. 10.) He believed a disconnect between the cognitive categories was not allowing the transfer to occur “often because it was assumed to develop by osmosis and was not intended or planned—or learning and knowledge was not part of the objectives of the programs.” (Mestenhauser, p. 10.)

This article elicits the need to set some frameworks about internationalization at home standards. What would that look like in an elementary school? The United States now has “Common Core Standards” for English Language Arts and Mathematics, but what about the incorporation of national standards for Internationalization at Home? Internationalization is not procedural knowledge, but it is conceptual knowledge that is imperative for all students of the 21^st century with which to be familiar.

In setting standards for learning, we set a purpose for learning. Mestenhauser proposes etic v. emic learning, with the etic perspective meaning that we see other cultures through the lens of our own knowledge and experience. (Mestenhauser, p.10.) Emic thinking allows the observer of another culture to see it through its own internal logic. Ultimately, Mestenhauser calls upon the students to be metacognitive and not engage in international experiences just for the experience, but through reflection after and during the experience to actually gain an awareness of global citizenship and his own global citizenry. 

 

While at the elementary level we cannot easily enter our students into study abroad programs, we can create ways in which our students can partake in scenarios which have real-world applications. Mestenhauser suggests “real world laboratories” in which students “would actually work on projects that resemble the real work culture outside of the universities.” (Mestenhauser, p.11.) This is a concept we could instate at the pre-collegiate level, such as developing project-based learning in which the essential questions explore other cultures, or by developing a Model UN unit in which the students could take part. 

 

Leask's article also presents strategies to build relationships among students and introduces mentors as a key component of building an internationalized student body. According to Leask,“development of intercultural competencies... requires a campus environment and culture that obviously motivates and rewards interaction between international and home students in and out of the classroom.”(Leask, p.205) Her use of the word “campus” could easily be replaced with “district” or “school,” as her idea is transferable to primary education. 

 

In designing a curriculum that is internationalized, instructors must “explicitly include relevant intercultural learning objectives” and “structure assessment activities so that it is clear what intercultural competencies are being measured.”(Leask, p. 210.) It is also important to ensure both international and home students understand the purpose of the interaction, are assisted to develop the skills needed to engage and are provided with the environment in which to be able to engage effectively. (Leask, p.210.) According to Leask, instructors can facilitate interaction by requiring students to work on tasks throughout their study that are structured so that the students cannot complete the activities without a meaningful cultural exchange. 

 

Even after recommendations on how to get students interacting within the classroom, the study found that it was not transcending the classroom door. International students felt their domestic counterparts avoided them and domestic students reported language and cultural differences made it hard to interact. “Both home and international students clearly recognized the value of interacting with each other, but for entirely different reasons both were clearly dissatisfied with the levels and types of interaction they had with each other.” (Leask, p.215)

This is where integration at the elementary level can impact future internationalism within students. If students are taught to integrate as children, they will not face the same problems faced above at the university level. Introducing students to other cultures and people as children can lead the way to a much more culturally-sensitive and responsive collegiate body.

Leak presents the great idea of a mentoring program called Business Mates that gets second year or higher students building relationships with new students. We use this strategy at the elementary level often with arrival of new students when we provide them with a classroom buddy (if possible one who is fluent in English and the new student's native language.) Leask found positive results indicating, “culturally diverse paired mentors and their mentees were more likely than the general student population to feel part of the university community and to be happy with the levels of interaction they had with other students.” (Leask, p.217.)

Both Mestenhauser and Leask present strategies to incorporate internationalization into the classroom, but how can teachers teach internationalism if they are not internationalized themselves? Irma Olmedo and Lesley Harbonb in “Broadening our sights: internationalizing teacher education for a global arena” discuss the necessity of globalized teachers. While this article addresses higher education, it's message can transcend into the elementary arena. This article talks about teachers studying abroad and learning cultures, but also learning from other teachers. An experience like this could have an impact not only on the teachers’ cultural sensitivities and internationalism, but also their ability to instruct. The authors suggests study abroad for student teachers, especially for language teachers. “If we aim to produce educators with a global perspective, we ourselves as teacher educators have to explore that global arena to see what we can learn and what we can share,” the article states. (Olmedo, p. 77.)

The challenge is to get teachers to “think globally” and then to “work locally.” (Olmedo, p.81.) International education means broadening the knowledge base of teachers and sensitizing them to different perspectives on issues that can affect children from all over the world, particularly when these teachers will be teaching students from all over the world. 

 

These authors propose placing teacher candidates in study abroad contexts, particularly ones that bring the future teachers into context their future students may experience. “Not only can those experiences help improve foreign language proficiency but they can also sensitize teachers to the frustrations that their own students face when in classrooms taught in a national language that they do not understand.” (Olmedo, p.87.) It is important for teachers to have the opportunity to travel and be immerse in other cultures, to know what students are experiencing. 

 

Similarity, Sabine Schuerholz-Lehr in “Higher Education: How Prepared Are the Educators?” looks as studies which linked educator's backgrounds and life experiences to their pedagogical approaches and examining their mind-sets and classroom pratices as they related to global awareness. She hypothesized “that the ability of higher education instructors to teach for intercultural competence and world-mindedness within their professional knowledge landscape is positively related with the extent to which they have acquired a world-minded identity both on and off the professional landscape.” (Schuerholz-Lehr, p.188). Schuerholz-Lehr investigated the relationship between faculty member's personal/professional background and life experiences and their pedagogies related to global awareness and world-mindedness. The data suggest a willingness among many faculties to diversity and multiculturalism, but many faculties struggle with strategies to incorporate those attitudes into their teaching. (Schuerholz-Lehr, p.188).

Her research indicated coursework and immersion in other cultures by living in another country had the greatest impact on the development of intercultural competence during graduate professional preparation. Additionally, she found advanced proficiency in a language other than English and substantive experience abroad were positively correlated with global competence and intercultural sensitivity indices. (Schuerholz-Lehr, p.195) However, one study by Halse (1999) she sited, found intercultural encounters do not automatically lead to an increase in intercultural understanding. (Schuerholz-Lehr, p.196) Overall, the information she collected suggests just traveling to another country did not translate automatically into more globally-aware teaching practices. Instead, the depth of the experience had the greatest impact on the strengthening of intercultural and cross-cultural competencies. 

 

What these studies demonstrate is teaching internationalization is like teaching any other concept or construct—it must be meaningful. Teachers can talk to students, create lesson plans, develop activities or send students abroad and yet these activities have no meaning for the student, they will not have lasting affects upon their education, if the learning does not have a purpose. There needs to be standards and objectives, both clearly communicated to the students and student motivation. With those three components, internationalization in education can be achieved at the university and elementary level. 

 

Bibliography

Boston Public Schools, “ELL Changes” Implementing the Acceleration Agenda: Helping English Language Learners acquire language mastery and fluency Produced by the Boston Public Schools Communications Office 6/11/11 http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/files/bps/ELL%20changes.pdf

Leask, Betty. “Using Formal and Informal Curricula to Improve Interactions Between Home and International Students”Journal of Studies in International Education Volume 13 Number 2 Summer 2009 205-221

Mestenhauser, Josef A. “Building Bridges”International Educator Summer 2003 p.6-11

Olmedo, Irma; Harbonb, Lesley. “Broadening our sights: internationalizing teacher education for a global arena”Teaching Education Vol. 21, No. 1, March 2010, 75–88

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