#ostlund

The Buffalo Sabres have been considered to have one of the deepest prospect pools in the NHL, which is in part due to them selecting high in recent drafts because of their not qualifying for the playoffs. The Sabres have displayed an eye for talent, but the organization’s developmental model has not yielded enough results.  Leading up to the opening of training camp in mid-September, we will look…

A Turkish-born taxi driver in Sweden has been hailed as a hero after he lent his bank card for 3 days to a buyer who forgot his pockets on his option to a enterprise journey in Germany. The story was reported in Sweden and has turn out to be viral on social media in Turkey. The businessman, Christer Ostlund, instructed Dagens Nyheter newspaper that he was frightened that he could not have been capable of make it residence and again to the airport on time. Then his driver, Omer Temel, provided his bank card, assuring him that there was sufficient cash on it. As Mr Temel refused Mr Ostlund's provide to switch him cash via a Swedish cellphone app, the consumer accepted his driver's sudden provide. Mr Temel then handed his card to Mr Ostlund, giving him his pin quantity and get in touch with particulars. You may also be interested by: Mr Ostlund was touched by the gesture. "I had never met this person before. He had no idea who I was and where I was heading," he mentioned. The story was picked up by Turkish media retailers, which regularly carry optimistic tales involving Turkish nationals overseas. Mr Ostlund's comment that "people like Temel would save the world" was shared extensively. In response, Mr Temel mentioned: "In my world you must dare to trust people, life feels more blissful if you can live that way." One Twitter consumer jokingly posted: "Just don't try this in Turkey", adopted by laughing emojis.

'Religion in humanity restored'

I am very excited to share this link.  I know it is only one global education practice, but I believe it is a good one. Being a part of the selection and initial implementation phase, it is exciting to see where this program is now.

In 2011, Winthrop University was going through its Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation process.  As part of the process, the university needed to create, select, and implement a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP).  Numerous ideas were thrown in, however as a whole, the university decided to select the Global Learning Initiative (GLI).  The GLI was to be Winthrop’s QEP for the next five years.

Parts of Winthrop’s mission places emphasis on helping students develop knowledge and skills to prepare them for the contemporary world.  Winthrop also has a commitment to University-Level Competencies (ULC), which must be submitted every year by every department.  Two particular competencies, ULC 2 and ULC 3, provided reasoning for the selection of the GLI are that Winthrop students will: “take seriously the perspectives of others” and “understand the interconnected nature of the world and the time in which they live (Winthrop University’s University-Level Competencies, n.d., p. 1). To implement the GLI, Winthrop decided to integrate global learning across its general education requirements.

Winthrop defines global as “local, regional, national, and/or international experiences that may differ from one’s own culture” (Winthrop University’s Global Learning Initiative, n.d., p. 2).  The GLI serves to improve student learning in terms of global knowledge, global attitudes, and global engagement.  Goals of the program are to: infuse global learning components into ACAD101 (most commonly referred to by other institutions as Freshman Seminar) and HMXP 102 (a human experience course aimed at understanding the perspectives other others and using information from different viewpoints to form competent conclusions for one’s own thoughts); integrate global components in general education courses; increase the number of GLI Cultural Events; identify study abroad programs in each major that allows students to transfer courses to meet the general education requirements; and assess student learning outcomes (Winthrop University’s Global Learning Initiative, n.d.).

Since the implementation of the GLI, Winthrop has changed its ULCs slightly and no longer includes ULC 2; take seriously the perspectives of others.  However, Winthrop does still utilize ULC 3; understand the interconnected nature of the world and the time in which they live.  Based on Winthrop University’s 2014 National Survey of Student Engagement Results (n.d.), Winthrop students were asked the following questions, corresponding to ULC 3:

During the current school year, about how often have you done the following:  

attended an art exhibit, play or other arts performance

connected your learning to societal problems or issues

included diverse perspectives in course discussions or assignments

tried to better understand someone else’s views by imagining how an issue looks from his or her perspective

During the current school year, about how often have you had discussion with people from the following groups:  

people of a race or ethnicity other than your own, people from an economic background other than your own

people with religious beliefs other than your own

people with political views other than your own

Which of the following have you done (or is in progress) before you graduate:

participate in a study abroad programs (*only seniors were asked)

How much does your institution emphasize the following:

encouraging contact among students from different backgrounds (social, racial/ethnic, religious, etc)

How much has your experience at this institution contributed to your knowledge, skills, and personal development in the following areas:

understanding people of other backgrounds (economic, racial/ethnic, political, religious, nationality, etc.)

Results from Winthrop University’s 2014 National Survey of Student Engagement Results (n.d.) state the following:

41% of first-time freshman report quite a bit or very much compared to the average NSSE first-year students of 25%

40% of seniors report quite a bit or very much compared to the average NSSE senior students of 21%

It can be inferred that Winthrop’s GLI is having an impact on its students and helping them to prepare for the globalized world now in which they live.  

 References

Winthrop University’s 2014 National Survey of Student Engagement Results. (n.d.). http://www2.winthrop.edu/effectiveness/nsse/2014NSSE_ULC3.aspx

Winthrop University’s Global Learning Initiative. (n.d.). https://www2.winthrop.edu/gli/default.asp

This website has 18 different sites for educators of students of all ages.  Some sites link to lesson plans, videos, books, films, and even other links.  There are also global organizations, professional development resources, as well as web portals.  

One site stood out to me, “Facing the Future.”  It claims to be have “standards-based resources related to global issues and sustainable solutions” (National Education Association Global Education Resources, n.d.).  This site had hands-on curricula for K – 4th grade, 5th – 8th grade, 9th – 12th grade, and higher education curricula.  In the link for higher education, it has additional links for resources on global issues and sustainable solutions.  There are student PDFs, educator’s packages, as well as teacher’s guides.  The site “Facing the Future,” claims to help building awareness and develop critical thinking skills by engaging with hand-on experiences.

Instead of developing an entire curriculum centered on global education practices, I believe Residence Life staff members can utilize this information to help promote global awareness and education.  With step-by-step instructions, it is easy for any student to implement.  The only issue would be that some of the items need to be purchased, which usually isn’t cheap.

  References

Can teachers accurately predict the score of test results of major tests?  Or does their judgment get clouded based off their perceived relationship with students.  Zakharov and Carnoy (2015) interviewed and surveyed 2938 students and mathematics and Russian teachers in 182 classrooms in Pskovskaya and Yaroslavskaya oblasts and Krasnoyarsky krai in Russia to determine if teachers could accurately predict their students’ scores on the Unified State Examination (USE), a test required for graduation from secondary school which also serves as an entry exam to all universities in Russia.  

In Russia, high school students have the same math and Russian language teacher for their 10th and 11th grade (Zakharov & Carnoy, 2015).  The classes are typically smaller, allowing teachers to really get to know their students.  In some cases, teachers have had some students for at least five years. Teachers are able to get to know their students, their student’s abilities, and their student’s attitudes.

Zakharov and Carnoy (2015) conclude that a teacher’s view on their relationship with students, influences their prediction of student performance on the USE.  Teachers who perceived to have positive interactions with their class overestimate their class’ scores, while teachers who perceived to have negative interactions with their class underestimate their class’ ability.  Furthermore, math teachers with larger class sizes are more likely to underestimate their classes’ scores because they do not believe they have a good relationship with the class.  Russian language teachers overestimate their students’ abilities, but based on grades from first semester rather than relationship perceptions.

References