Teachers' First Experiences with Global Projects: Emerging Collaboration and Cultural Awareness

Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education. P.O. Box 719, Waynesville, NC 28786. Tel: 828-246-9558; Fax: 828-246-9557; e-mail: info@aace.org; Web site: https://www.aace.org/pubs/jolr/

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32

Cultural Awareness; Faculty Development; Global Approach; International Education; Teacher Surveys; Teacher Attitudes; Elementary School Students; Elementary School Teachers; Student Attitudes; Comparative Analysis; Skill Development; Program Design; Letters (Correspondence); Teaching Methods; Study Abroad; Program Descriptions; Foreign Countries; Teacher Collaboration; Computer Mediated Communication; International Educational Exchange; Technology Integration; Information Technology; Middle School Teachers; Middle School Students; High School Students; High School Teachers; Intercultural Communication

Sweden; Finland

2374-1473

Two cohorts of teachers participated in a professional development program in summer 2016 and 2017 focused on incorporating global perspectives and activities into K-12 classrooms using contemporary technologies. One part of this program required teachers to plan and carry out a global project with an international classroom as a means to introduce them to a host country's education system before they traveled abroad to that country the following summer. This paper summarizes descriptive survey results from 22 teachers and 264 of their K-12 students to depict the types of global projects undertaken along with the key outcomes that were supported (i.e., development of global skills, collaboration, and awareness of global issues and cultural perspectives). Results indicated that teachers new to global project design implemented two primary types of global projects: sharing and comparing cultural information and pen pal projects with either unscripted or scripted topical conversations. Students expressed high interest in global projects, but in these types of projects the topics of discussion chosen (or not chosen) by teachers and students did not lend themselves to developing advanced cultural awareness. Student interaction fell short of higher levels of collaboration. Implications are provided for professional development that prepares teachers to design more comprehensive projects focused on authentic themes that may better elicit collaboration and expand student awareness of global issues and cultural perspectives beyond the outcomes seen in this study.

As Provided

2019

EJ1208814