Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/391693
BACK TO SCHOOL 2014 | wyoea.org 15 BACK TO SCHOOL 2014 | wyoea.org 15 Liesl Sisson Will Share Global Experience with Students and Other Educators Liesl Sisson, a mathematics educator at Wheatland High School and WEA member, joined an American delegation of 30 award-winning educators on a field study of China from June 20-28. She was part of the 2014 NEA Foundation Global Learning Fellowship, a year-long learning journey during which educators built their global competency skills, or the capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance. "As the workforce becomes more globalized, the field of education needs to as well," said Sisson. "We need to teach our students how to effectively work with and understand different cultures. A global perspective will ultimately help our students in the near future." The fellowship expands on the NEA Foundation's mission to advance student achievement by investing in public education that will prepare all students to learn and thrive in a rapidly changing world. It provides a structured and collaborative learning experience to help educators, all of whom were recipients of the NEA Foundation's Award for Teaching Excellence, acquire the necessary skills to integrate global competence into their daily classroom instruction, advance pedagogy in their school/district, prepare students to thrive in the interconnected global age, and thus contribute to the closing of the global achievement gap. Over the course of the year, Fellows were supported by the NEA Foundation staff, partners, and other field experts, as they worked through the following: Readings and webinars to introduce global competence and country-specific concepts; Online coursework on global competence and country-specific concepts; Introductory language learning; A two-day professional development workshop with sessions led by leaders in global competency and country-specific knowledge; and An international field study designed to focus on the themes of global competence, education (both practice and issues of international, national, and state policy) and economics. The international field study in China included visits to schools in Beijing and Xi'an to provide educators with structured opportunities to observe high quality instruction and to interact with Chinese teachers and administrators. It also included opportunities to investigate China's historical and cultural significance. In preparation, the Fellows completed an online course to provide them with a framework to contextualize their experiences in China by examining the impact of its historical and cultural legacies on contemporary Chinese society and educational system. The Fellows are now bringing their knowledge home, with a lesson plan, unit plan, or full curriculum integrated with global competency skills. By creating this plan, and then sharing with educators around the world via an open source platform, they are contributing to an increasing field of knowledge on this topic. Furthermore, the Fellows become positioned to lead the profession by becoming advocates for global learning and global competence within their schools, communities, and districts. View this and other WEA and NEA awards on the WEA website – wyoea.org/awards