Global Classrooms

The model described here by Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay is extremely well thought-out, tested, and global. I have not participated in anything so grand in my teaching, although I am now very curious to learn more and see how/if I can implement a project or two in the coming school year. I have, however, collaborated with the other two high schools in my district on a much smaller scale. Students from my Geometry class have Skyped with 2 other classes in 2 other high schools to conducts a large scale competition at the end of the year. It was basically an online review completion, but it is a small step in the right direction to go from collaborating across town to collaborating across the globe.

To complete this simple, one class period activity, the three teachers had to work together to be sure content was aligned and students were assessed fairly. With different bell schedules, we had to coordinate our timing and be sure all technology was working and accessible in the rooms for each class. Although the student body is pretty similar in the three high schools of my district, I still needed to reinforce the idea of being respectful and fair when competing with the other schools. I understand working on Geometry with rivals on the football field is a change to most students’ mindset. Students and teachers both had to learn and respect the norms of the other classrooms, as well as the different approaches to learning/explaining a particular problem. This activity was both a review of mathematical concepts, as well as a lesson in respect, ethics, and fairness.  

I would like to expand this activity to include learning throughout the semester instead of just a review at the end. In my own classroom, I have had students teach/present certain topics that are review before I teach the new content. Perhaps my students can teach a topic, followed by another school for the next topic and so forth. Better yet, students can work in groups to create videos working with a student at each of the other schools. We can create an archive that students and teachers can access throughout the semester based on their curriculum and timing.

Working on these smaller, collaborative projects might be a good first step for teachers who are intimidated by the time investment or technology components required for a larger project, as suggested by the Flattened Classroom. Growing larger and going global is only a few steps away once an initial example is put to the test.