skills as central facets of global citizenship and participation.
Educators want to see students not just survive the world they encounter but actually thrive within that world as constructive, innovative thinkers. No matter how they accomplish the goal, educators tend to share the common urge for vigor, motivation, and engagement in students as much as—or even more than—academic rigor. However, educators can’t always agree on what students need to learn, what the right standards might be, and how to reach those goals in the classroom—particularly given that much of the world’s population can find answers to knowledge-based questions on a smartphone. Linda Darling-Hammond (2010) notes that information is spreading so rapidly that “education can no longer be productively focused primarily on the transmission of pieces of information that, once memorized, comprise a stable storehouse of knowledge” (p. 4). Instead, she believes that education needs to focus on equipping students to be cognitively nimble (Darling-Hammond, 2010). Similarly, World Savvy co-founder and executive director Dana Mortenson believes that the only effective education in times of change is one that helps students “build skills and dispositions that make navigating change easier and more natural” (personal communication, October 28, 2016). Google chief education evangelist Jaime Casap suggests that instead of asking what students want to be when they grow up, we should ask what problems they want to solve, shifting students’ thinking beyond traditional job fields and toward a problem-solving mindset that will serve them well in any career context (AZEdNews, 2014).
Starting From Why: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity
Since the tragedies of September 11, 2001, the U.S. military had described the world’s state as a VUCA world, one marked by “Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity” (Owens, as cited in Gerras, 2010, p. 11). Politics aside, the acronym is both accurate and useful as we think about what it means to equip students to thrive in the future. For educators, this acronym provides a challenge that may require redesigning many elements of education: How do we prepare students to thrive in a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity? Does the traditional view of what a student needs to know and be able to do by graduation provide the skills and knowledge needed to navigate that world? Will traditional instructional strategies get them there? And if not, what do graduates need to be successful in a world we can’t even envision, in jobs that have yet to be created?
There is an urgency for global partnerships and engagement that goes beyond our curriculum and standards—though partnerships can be easily married to content, given that many global competencies are naturally content oriented to geography, history, and anthropology, to name a few; and our shared global challenges easily connect to science, mathematics, and world languages, as well as being reflected in literature, arts, and religion. (See chapter 2 on page 31 for more information about deciding on topics and educational goals.) To help teachers see the urgency of global citizenship and the accompanying competencies, I start workshops by asking teachers to identify the skills, knowledge, values, dispositions, and behaviors students will need to thrive in the VUCA world. Every time, no matter where I am in the world, the lists are incredibly similar. As the following exemplars from workshops in four different countries indicate, we have more goals in common than not.
MOUNT VERNON PRESBYTERIAN SCHOOL
Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America (2015 Workshop)
decodes, empathizes, thinks critically, is self-disciplined, is flexible, is resilient, resists judgment, expresses with or without approval, communicates, filters information, goes deep, is gritty, communicates value, listens, observes, gives and receives feedback, finds positive supports, has basic knowledge of disciplines, adapts, creates opportunities, self-assesses, self-reflects, collaborates, is socially and emotionally intelligent, reinvents, takes risks, is aware of action and inaction, creates
BUMPE HIGH SCHOOL AND VARIOUS NEARBY ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Bumpe, Sierra Leone, West Africa (2014 Workshop)
questions, dialogues, finds information, knows the difference between good and bad, lifelong learner, is decisive, demonstrates discipline, is accountable, is moral, is ethical, thinks creatively, is lawful, speaks out, is punctual, is time bound, is self-knowledgeable, motivates self, perseveres, is socially conscious, imagines, explores with curiosity, practices tolerance, is loving, solves problems, is honest, is proactive, collaborates, displays concern, teaches others, is result oriented, respects all, is authentic, leads, is responsible, thinks critically, overcomes fear, communicates, understands, empathizes, applies curriculum well
COLEGIO VALLE SAGRADO-URUBAMBA
Urubamba, Peru, South America (2013 Workshop)
integrates knowledge, writes, reads, understands, resolves problems (mathematical and in daily life), investigates, is technologically savvy, knows other world languages, is faithful, analyzes critically, knows and loves culture, loves, reflects, leads, lives in society, respects all (including the environment), resolves conflicts, makes choices, makes decisions, shows entrepreneurship, is proactive, controls emotions, shows solidarity, communicates, is sensitive to the needs of others, is reliable, is responsible, perseveres
COSTA RICAN REGIONAL EDUCATIONAL SPECIALISTS AND U.S. EDUCATORS
Sarapiquí, Costa Rica, Central America (2015 Workshop)
takes risks, resolves problems, makes decisions, discerns, thinks critically, leads, analyzes, engages, is flexible, practices patience, adapts, works in groups, empathizes, persists, loves country, has a sense of belonging, learns from others, informs, communicates, observes, is empowered, asks good questions, asserts self, is responsible, shows righteousness without impacting the rights of others, listens, participates, follows others, creates, is confident, innovates, respects others, shows self-respect, is proactive, appreciates everyone’s talents, respects different perspectives, grows, practices digital citizenship, creates strategies
Source: Adapted from Project-Based Learning for Global Citizenship workshop.
These lists identify many of the same priorities for students and societies, and they hit on many of the goals of the new global competency component of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), being developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to begin in 2018 (OECD, 2016). As the OECD’s work demonstrates, regardless of the field they choose, our students will spend their work lives collaborating across borders, whether geographic, political, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, or cultural. They will communicate with a wide array of stakeholders, who have complex and often conflicting needs and priorities. OECD (2016) thought leaders put it this way:
The driving ideas are that global trends are complex and require careful investigation, that cross-cultural engagement should balance clear communication with sensitivity to multiple perspectives, and that global competence should equip young people not just to understand but to act. (p. 1)
Students who are successful in the new economy will be those who have global and intercultural competencies, and those are best developed by engaging directly with global issues and perspectives, whether inside or outside the classroom. As their teachers, we need the same global and intercultural competencies if we hope to be part of that journey. As Reimers (2009) cautions, “Those who are educated to understand those transformations and how to turn them into sources of comparative advantage are likely to benefit from globalization; but those who are not will face real and growing challenges” (p. 4).
Regardless of the field they choose, our students will spend their work lives collaborating across borders, whether geographic,
