A group of the Towards Democracy and Diversity Participants

USF - Tampa

Congratulations to everyone on a successful 7th Annual Global Classrooms: Tampa Bay Model United Nations Conference! Thanks to the student-delegates and advisors for their hard work and participation. This year’s Tampa Bay Model United Nations conference was organized by Dr. Kelly Miliziano who also served as President this year.  Most of the GSP teachers participated, bringing their classes to the USF campus for the conference.  Over 1,000 middle school and senior high students attended. View Flickr Photo stream

Held in Raleigh, North Carolina, four teachers attended the 2006 ISSA Conference.  Teachers learned about global content, explored cutting-edge pedagogy, established important contacts, and gathered curriculum and pedagogic materials, which they have infused into their classrooms and shared with Project members who did not attend the Conference.

Held in Tampa, Florida, this Conference convened students and teachers throughout the Tampa Bay area.  Several teachers from the GSP were Conference participants and shared their experiences with Project members who were unable to attend.  The costs of teachers’ Conference attendance were subsidized by the school districts. Click Here to read Article in the News.

This conference was not only one of the highlights of the year, but perhaps also of the entire program.  This association unites K-12 educators, curriculum developers, and university faculty in the common interest of promoting global education and international studies.  This year, the event was co-hosted by the GSP and was held in Tampa, Florida.  All GSP teachers attended and served as conference facilitators.  Additionally, the GSP teachers presented a number of sessions: Women and Human Rights; Call to End Violence Against Women; Alternative Energy Sources: The Case for Solar Power Can You Dig It? Preserving the Past Across the Planet: Archeology in the 21st Century China In Transition. An additional honor for the program was that Jefferson High (magnet for international studies), where two of our GSP teachers teach, was selected as the school site visit for the conference. View Conference Brochure

The three presentations made at FCSS — “Contemporary Issues in Latin America”, “Global Economics: Responses to Limited Energy Resources”, and “Including English Language Learners in the Social Studies” — were modified for a national audience and presented at the NCSS conference in Houston.  The Director also delivered two papers on global education at the College and University Faculty Assembly gathering. Additionally, the seven GSP participants in attendance engaged in various activities of the International Assembly, including the keynote lecture by Caiphas Nziramasanga.  The GSP received invitations to a special luncheon honoring noted global educator John Cogan.

At the 51st annual conference of the Florida Council for the Social Studies, the GSP made 3 presentations: Contemporary Issues in Latin America”: This session included discussion of issues such as human rights, economic development, and immigration.  Engaging activities were demonstrated and handouts were distributed.  Participants also had the opportunity for questions and discussion.

Global Economics: Responses to Limited Energy Resources”: GSP teachers presented global economics activities related to energy use, feasible alternatives, and the impact of energy consumption in the global economy. Innovative strategies were demonstrated and handouts distributed and there were opportunities for discussion. “Including English Language Learners in the Social Studies”: The GSP Director presented on this topic, highlighting practical strategies that can work not only with ELLs, but with all students.  Using global topics and issues, she demonstrated through activities and materials developed for standard topics in US history & geography courses.

Additionally, because the ISSA director, Dr. Caroline Starbird, was an exhibitor at the conference, the Patel Center Academic Director (Dr. Mark Amen) and the GSP Director (Dr. Barbara Cruz) took that opportunity to meet with Dr. Starbird to plan for the ISSA conference (which the GSP co-hosted) that was held in Tampa in January 09

In February 2008, five GSP teachers and the project director traveled to Chicago, IL to present at the annual conference of the International Studies Schools Association.  GSP representatives participated in two panel presentations.  The first one, entitled Global Economics: Lessons that Engage, explored international trade issues, maquiladoras, and the role of ethics in a market economy through interactive, hands-on teaching strategies.  The second panel, Human Rights and International Law, featured global lessons and learning activities that advance students’ understanding of human rights issues such as child labor, child soldiers, and human trafficking. The International Studies Schools Association is a national network of K-12 schools dedicated to improving students’ understanding of the world. The Global Schools Project will be co-hosting the 2009 annual conference of the ISSA in Tampa.

Held December 1-3, 2007 in San Diego, CA, our panel presentation on global education and technology featured active learning strategies, innovative approaches, and global content.  Again, the Global Schools Project web site was highlighted and we feel we have generated a significant amount of traffic on the site from this presentation, further disseminating the Project’s work.

Held in Orlando, Florida, the Florida Council for the Social Studies annual conference provided the GSP teachers an opportunity to share their curriculum work with other educators and showcase the GSP web site.  Representing the Global Schools Project, the teachers were passionate, articulate, and represented the program in the best light possible.  As part of their panel presentation, “Global Perspectives into the Social Studies Secondary Classroom,” each of the teachers presented a lesson they had developed as part of the project, handed out classroom learning activities, and then entertained questions.  A resounding success!