How to Help Students 'Raise Their Voice' on Global Issues

In my previous article in this series, I spoke about curriculum development and adapting our lesson plans to prepare students for the world. In this article, I wish to extend this thought by examining a layered approach to shape the framework of students’ analysis of international issues and dialogue.

This is possible by using a methodology called Harvard Thinking Routines. According to theorists Ron Ritchhart, Mark Church and Karin Morrison, using thinking routines allows students to make thinking more visible, while also making students more independent and engaged in learning. According to Ritchhart and colleagues, these mechanisms give students a structured way to be curious, to connect with prior knowledge, and to prepare for both group and independent inquiry. These tools include mechanisms such as Think Pair Share, Think Puzzle Explore, Colour Symbol Image and Compass Points, just to mention a few.

Our classrooms can provide a framework to foster students’ critical thinking, which will serve as a building block to making decisions in the present and the future. This, however, will depend on the space for dialogue, exchange and feedback created in the classroom.

Thinking routine techniques are tools used to foster deeper and reflective learning. They provide a way to navigate the variables of the inquiry and they develop students’ capacity to document, reflect and share their ideas in a structured way.

For example, in a unit examining how developing countries can successfully increase standards of living, I used the technique Compass Points to explore and document ideas linked to the topic. Students analysed images, documents and data linked to different countries, and they then examined the variables using the Compass Points technique to explore and document their thoughts.

This could be followed by a panel made up of students and specialists in the school and extended community. This can be a very useful tool for students to build on and link to their prior learning. For example, in the first year students learn about global citizenship, and in the following year they learn about sustainable development goals linked to global citizenship.

As another example, I used this approach in a unit linking sustainable development, the water cycle, policy and governance.

A good inspiration for such a unit can come from the global challenges that are launched each year by international organisations such as the United Nations. Many of these challenges are tailored for children and relate to different themes.

In November, the United Nations puts a focus on children, with the celebration of World Children’s Day on November 20.  UNICEF launches a global challenge each year with pedagogical tools for schools to participate.

This year, in the framework of my curriculum linked to sustainable development, I decided to participate with my class. For students aged 11-14, the global challenge consisted of reimagining a greener more sustainable future for every child and to reimagine and draw the world they wished to live in after Covid.

My students drew the image on paper and digitally to represent a right they wanted to focus on linked to the world they imagined. The students were given the opportunity to present their image, with structured guidelines for their presentation. 

After seeing the dialogue these presentations led to, I decided to invite the local UNICEF team to join a panel interactive conference, where the students presented their work to the panel and their peers. They then engaged in dialogue on the topics, questions and issues raised by the students with their poster images. A student leadership team was tasked with moderating, managing and coordinating the conference in designated volunteer student roles.

At first, the students were nervous, but they were delighted at the thought of presenting their work to an external guest.

As an educator, it was a learning experience to see how students threw themselves into the task

Students came up with proposals for the structure for the workshop conference, the sequence of events – which were at times different from my original idea – and they proposed the focus of the conference theme. Then as the teacher, I coordinated the organisation of the conference and gave students tools to filter perspectives, use research statistics, navigate theoretical paradigms and frame decision making.

I provided guidance for the representation of ideas in their image, to guide the content requirements in their presentation and to foster a balanced approach to examine variables linked to their country of origin and investigate other countries in the word using primary data (collected from family, friends or acquaintances) and secondary data sources.

The result was an engaged workshop conference in three segments: the presentation of their images was followed by an exchange with the volunteer expert team from UNICEF, who gave feedback on the poster images and discussed the issues raised with the students.

The students gave very positive feedback from this experience and were very encouraged to hear from a group of experts from UNICEF. As the teacher, I learned from this experience seeing how students navigated the dialogue with the UNICEF expert team, the questions they asked, and the way they framed their answers and questions.

This experience has helped me understand how to frame the topic in the future, in order to prepare students to ask critical questions regarding the analysis of the subject.

After this conference workshop, each student produced a report to document their experience. Again, it was a learning experience for me to see students reflect on the conference and provide insight on how to plan the next event of this nature. This approach supported unfolding the unit in different layers: the theory, the perspectives, and real-life discussion with the panel.

This approach hopefully will shape how students will see their place and role as a decision maker on global issues now and in the future, and how they will continue to navigate social research as they pursue their studies. This experience can build students’ ability to raise their voice on global issues and encourage them to play their part in being the solution rather than spectators.

RITCHHART, R et al. (2011). Making thinking visible: how to promote engagement, understanding and independence for all learners. San Francisco: Jossey – Bass.