British mathematics educator Tony Cotton suggests that teachers use math instruction to help students--who live in an internationally connected world--ponder international events and the global implications of policies in depth. He describes two math-based activities toward that end. First, teachers might guide learners in examining data connected…

U.S. schools are becoming increasingly religiously diverse, but students rarely learn about different religious beliefs and how those beliefs--or nonbelief--might shape people's responses to important issues. Face to Faith is a free program that uses videoconferencing to connect students with peers from around the world to discuss issues related…

Typically embodied in classroom-based projects, service learning aims to link community service with the school curriculum to enhance both character development and academic skills. Service learning can also go beyond these goals to prepare students to become engaged citizens, by expanding their understanding of social problems and the role of…

Describes the Universal Curriculum, a program designed to prepare students to make constructive contributions to their communities and to actively pursue solutions to global problems. The program helps students deal with major issues confronting humankind and work on making the world a better place in which to live. (MD)

Describes a program, developed in a small Vermont elementary school, that centered on world hunger and global awareness by involving students in helping stop food waste during lunch. Community members and businesses pledged money as an incentive for stopping waste, and the money raised went to UNICEF. (MD)

Information sources and suggestions for ways students can study how their community connects with the rest of the world. (MLF)

Neither the traditionalists nor the structuralists have addressed what schools should be teaching to prepare students for citizenship in the twenty-first century global society. The American Forum's model schools network, part of the global education movement, identifies four domains of student inquiry for future school curricula. Includes five…

There are concrete ways to bring international concerns into classrooms. The answer to whether we want to do so can only emerge out of civic and professional debate. Lists of organizations and resource materials about hunger and related problems are provided. (MLF)

Project ICONS (International Communication and Negotiation Simulation) is a computer-assisted simulation that casts students in diplomat and policymaker roles. Thrust into a laboratory of high-powered negotiations, they grapple with solutions to real and urgent international issues: world health, human rights, and the spread of nuclear technology.…

The key to understanding world hunger is to realize the distribution of power between those who control economic circumstances and those who, through no fault of their own, are unable to continue traditional practices that provided food. Educators can help students understand the forces that influence food distribution. (MLF)

In one Iowa school district's (state mandated) global education program, students contemplate (1) their roles and stakes in world issues; and (2) ways to pursue dreams and desired outcomes through available governmental and nongovernmental avenues. A sidebar describes the Odyssey of the Mind international problem-solving competition. (MLH)

Although the Cold War has ended, the need for students to improve their intercultural awareness and understanding of international problems (hunger, environmental degradation, and increasing population) has grown stronger. I*Earn, a global network, allows K-12 students to work on joint social and environmental projects that can greatly improve…

When faced with real-world problems, students devise accurate, logical, and creative solutions using skills connecting to different subject areas. Students are intrigued by assignments involving preservation of species and design of environmentally friendly products and transit systems. Problem-based learning depends on coaching, modeling, and…

International collaboration for global understanding can be enhanced through the development of a world core curriculum that includes international dimensions in national curriculums. These should contain goals and content that enhance mutual understandings about the social, cultural, economic, and political aspects of international society.(MD)

Change in the way social issues are addressed depends on our recognizing the value of using issues to improve thinking and decision-making skills and to develop historicalmindedness and a global perspective rather than learning the content of particular topics or the "right" answer about an issue. (Author/DCS)