Use the Rate Session tool to give anonymous feedback to presenters and organizers.

It’s simple: on the app, navigate to the session you’re in, and hit the blue “Rate Session” button.

Answer five simple questions through a star-rating session, and give us your comments, if you have anything additional to say.

Ask any Asia Society staff or consultant if you need help.

We’re going green this year! We’re replacing the paper program with online versions. Pack your smart phone, iPad and/or laptop—and don’t forget your charger. We’ll put your digital devices to work at PGL13.

Use the PGL13 app to:

• See the program schedule
• Create a custom agenda
• Network with others
• Take notes
• Rate sessions
• Download presentations
• Share photos
• Connect via social media

For iPhone (plus iPad & iPod Touch) and Android phones, visit App Store or Google Play on your device and search for “PGL13.”

For all other phone types (including BlackBerry and all other web browser-enabled phones): while on your smartphone, go to http://app.core-apps.com/asiapgl2013. From there you will be directed to download the version of the app for your particular device, or on some phones, bookmark this page for future reference.

For those without the technology, we’ll have a paper at-a-glance schedule for you.

Together, we’re saving over 26,000 sheets of paper this year.

By Cathryn Berger Kaye

What motivates our work as educators? While raising test scores and achieving accountability may be critical to our everyday tasks, most of us entered education to make a difference in the lives of children, families, and communities: to provide children with optimum learning experiences transferable to their lives outside of school that guide them to adulthood with a solid sense of personal efficacy, and the ability to make choices and decisions healthy for themselves and our society.

Students benefit from service learning, a real-world application of their academic learning while they are still in school. This research-based approach allows them a laboratory to practice, review, reassess, and reflect, all with the guidance and support of knowledgeable teachers. They see the viability and purpose of their study. This process adds rigor to academics, builds interdisciplinary understandings, and deepens learning.

The five stages of service learning provide an exceptional and somewhat familiar template. We follow these stages in the development of many learning experiences, albeit primarily for learning. When we add the critical and valued element of service, we elevate the learning with purposeful application.

The Five Stages of Service Learning

Five stages of service learning

If you imagine that the skills and knowledge you aim to impart in your students as the ingredients, then the five stagesare the recipe.

The five stages constitute a process that is key to students’ effectiveness and critical to the learning of transferable skills and content. Even though each stage is referenced separately, keep in mind that they are linked together and often experienced simultaneously. Visualize how overlays are used in an anatomy book to reveal what is occurring in the human body system by system. Each stage of service learning is like one of these overlays, revealing one part of a dynamic interdependent whole.

Investigation: Includes both the inventory of student interest, skills, and talents, and the social analysis of the issue being addressed. This analysis requires gathering information about the identified need through action research including use of varied approaches: media, interviews of experts, survey of varied populations, and direct observation/personal experiences.

Preparation: Includes the continued acquisition of knowledge that addresses any questions that arise from the investigation; academic content; identification of groups already working towards solutions; organization of a plan with clarification of roles, responsibilities and timelines; and ongoing development of any skills needed to carry the plan successfully to fruition.

Action: Includes the implementation of the plan that usually takes the form of direct service, indirect service, advocacy, or research. Action is always planned with mutual agreement and respect with partners so this builds understanding and perspective of issues and how other people live.

Reflection: Reflection is the connector between each stage of service and also summative. Through reflection students consider their thoughts and feelings (cognition and affect) regarding any overarching essential question or inquiry that is a driving force of the total experience. Reflection informs how the process develops, increases self-awareness, assists in developing future plans, and employs varied multiple intelligences.

Demonstration: Student demonstration captures or contains the totality of the experience including what has been learned, the process of learning, and the service or contribution accomplished. Beginning with investigation, students document all parts of the process, resulting in a complete and comprehensive ability to tell the story of what took place during each stage that includes key informative reflection. Students draw upon their skills and talents in the manner of demonstration, often integrating technology.

At what grade levels can service learning be effective? From kindergarten through grade twelve. We have tremendous evidence of service learning being highly valued by teachers and students in public, independent, and international schools. Students have increased their empathy and understanding of history by interviewing veterans and providing memoirs now treasured by the families of these men and women who have served. Studies of botany have expanded to experimentation in gardening to provide produce in “food deserts” for a welcoming community. Young children have taught yoga to Russian immigrants moving beyond language differences to shared experiences. Imagine transforming a traditional canned food collection, often organized as a competition between classes, into an exploration of poverty and hunger in the community leading to a partnership with a food bank to hold a collection in April when the need is greatest. And what if a computer class revamped the food bank’s website to include how other schools can connect a food drive to academic content? The possibilities are present, simply waiting to be shaped by willing teachers and students eager to have a meaningful voice in how they learn and participate in their community.

Can we integrate service learning in our schools today? Absolutely. Service learning is already deemed a valuable educational approach in schools across the globe. With service learning, student ideas become a reality and the excitement genuine. Contributions made are significant with students and their community as beneficiaries of the process. By discovering and applying their interests and talents along with academic content, skills and knowledge, students bring ideas to life. Service establishes a purpose for learning. Students and the exceptional educators who engage them prove to be valued contributors for our collective well-being, now and in the future.

Gallup defined the development of 21st century skills to include teaching that addresses seven specific areas:

• collaboration
• knowledge construction
• skilled communication
• global awareness
• self-regulation
• real-world problem solving, and
• technology used in learning.

So what do we need to do to teach our students the 21st century skills that they need to succeed?

Teach them to solve real world problems

We want to prepare our students to solve real-world problems, not to be really good at taking multiple choice tests or solve isolated mathematical equations. We want our students to be able to apply what they’re learning in the classroom in real-life contexts. So, what are we trying to teach them, if not these important 21st century skills and how to apply them?

We need to focus on creating projects that teach students the skills that they will need to face the challenges that the rising generation will inherit and assessments that evaluate their ability to apply these skills in realistic, authentic ways.

Gallup’s study found that the younger respondents aged 18 to 22 were more likely to report applying skills learned in school to solve real-world problems than older respondents. The researchers at Gallup believe that this shift reflects recent efforts to incorporate real-world, project-based learning into our schools and suggests that US education is moving in the right direction.

Help them learn to utilize collaborative technology effectively

Working in today’s world increasingly requires a firm understanding of and comfort with collaborative technology. Our students will soon work on teams and projects with people from all over the world so we need to teach them how to use technology both individually and in collaboration with their peers.

Nevertheless, just 14% of students say that they regularly used video conferencing or online collaboration tools to work with others and 39% say that they never used online collaboration tools in their last year of school.

Our students are going to be connecting and competing with their peers from around the world. We need to give them the technological literacy that they need to engage in such virtual collaboration.

What now?

As Gallup Education’s Brandon Busteed writes in his blog “The best type of curriculum for preparing students for the workforce is one that focuses on real-world problem-solving. It sounds simple, but for the first time, we have clearly established a link between students learning 21st century skills and future work success.”

We’ve got the vision of where to go. Now we just need to (collaboratively) work to find a way there.

To hear more from Brandon,– join us at the Partnership for Global Learning Conference In New York City June 28-29, 2013.

To that end, educators and schools are increasingly experimenting and adopting cross-curricular approaches to teaching. By allowing students to explore how certain topics can be approached with different methodologies and multiple lenses, teachers can effectively promote interdisciplinary thinking among youth.

One way to do this in the classroom is for teachers to collaborate on including different subjects in lesson plans and developing cross-curricular modules. Outside of the classroom, students may be assigned to develop and carry out research or activities. Working in groups or individually on a project that requires drawing upon knowledge gained through a variety of experiences is proven to help students develop interdisciplinary thinking skills.

These are only some of the ways to introduce kids to studying, acting and thinking creatively. Overall, global education itself is especially suited to promoting creativity thanks to its broad scope and interdisciplinary nature. Here are some of our sessions that will be addressing the subject. Join us at the Partnership for Global Learning Conference on June28-29 to learn more!

Asian Studies Program: An Interdisciplinary Collaborative Teaching Model
Presented by Melda Yildiz and Xurong Kong

Classrooms to Communities: Facilitate Connections to the Real World
Presented by Laura Tajima, Suzy Sorensen, and Deepesh Dhingra

Think Globally, Problem-Solve Locally, Act Neighborly
Presented by Stacy Allen Webster and Edward Tierney

Integrate Cross Curricular, Project-Based Learning with Common Core Standards
Presented by Amy Long, Shannon Kuhlman, and Jared Manns

BYkids Films as a Passport to the World
Presented by Holly Carter

I’m not sure what I was taken aback by more: the fact that Americans need a sign to remind us to appreciate our teachers or that we have relegated thanking teachers to one week out of the year. Either way, it got me thinking about the value we place on the teaching profession as a society. It made me start to wonder if teacher appreciation week was a global practice or just another “Hallmark holiday” to give a passing kudos to teachers and make a few extra dollars along the way.

This compelled me to reflect on my recent visit to Finland as part of a University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education research team. We spent time learning about the teacher preparation program at the University of Helsinki and then visited schools around Helsinki to get a better sense of what makes their education system so successful. We kept track of our learning using social media, most notably Twitter and through a daily blog. Among the lessons learned, we left with a strong sense that the teaching profession in Finland is highly respected and valued as an important function of society. Teachers are held in the same regard as other top professions, including medicine and law. The trust placed in teachers, as expressed by students, parents and the community, made me feel as if teacher appreciation happens all the time, not just during one week in the year.

Our #PennFinn13 team recently participated in a Parent-Teacher Chat hosted on Twitter weekly by my colleague, Joe Mazza. The team discussed our takeaways during a Google Hangout sponsored by Edutopia, where we analyzed the idea of teacher appreciation and how it plays out differently in the United States compared to Finland.

As a former teacher, I recall carrying home a box of mugs, candies, and trinkets during Teacher Appreciation week every year. While these small tokens of appreciation were nice, it did not really change the way I did my job or buoy me at a time of year that is relentless in most schools!

The truth is, I really only needed three things to feel valued and appreciated: trust, autonomy, and opportunities for growth.

As a teacher, please trust that

• I have the best interest of all of my students in mind every single day.
• I have prepared myself and my classroom for optimal learning.
• I myself am not done learning and will continue to get better with the proper support and encouragement.
• I am willing to collaborate with my colleagues, parents, and administration to meet the needs of all our students.
• I am not afraid of being held accountable as long as the standards by which I’m measured are clear and I’ve had a voice in developing them.

And provide me the autonomy to

• Make decisions about what is in the best interest of my students by adjusting my curriculum, instruction, and assessment to address those needs.
• Take chances in my classroom to inspire students and engage them in deeper learning, not simply rote memorization or test-taking skills.
• Design learning experiences that are authentic and allow students to learn at their own pace.
• Work with my colleagues on improving the learning experience for students, not to spend time completing endless paperwork based on accountability.
• Engage in professional learning that meets my needs and allows me to assume the stance of “teacher as researcher.”

Finally, provide me opportunities for growth to

• Learn more about the distinct learning styles and needs of my students.
• Better understand the increasing diversity in my classroom–socially, culturally, economically, and academically.
• Identify ways in which I can improve my professional practice, while sharing my gifts so that others might benefit.
• Learn from my colleagues about what works and what doesn’t; the expertise is often already in our schools.
• Explore topics that spark my passion and interests, but also address my needs as a teacher.

The value placed on teachers appears to be in stark contrast around the globe. Different countries have invested heavily in teacher preparation and on-going professional learning because they understand that education is the engine that drives their economy and future innovation. Since teachers play a major role in this process, they are afforded greater respect and appreciation as a cultural norm.

In the United States, it appears that the over-emphasis on teacher accountability and testing as a form of compliance instead of formative development erodes the confidence and appreciation we show for teachers. I find the “celebration” of teacher appreciation week to be a confusing practice, when many of our policies and practices send mixed messages about how much we really do trust and appreciate teachers. As millions of teachers around the United States conduct themselves as professionals every day, I would hope that we might celebrate them by shifting our thinking from a deficit model that focuses on what teachers can’t or don’t do to one that highlights and builds upon the overwhelming assets they do bring to our schools and communities.

As a teacher, I know I would have appreciated that more than a mug.

Follow Brandon Wiley and Asia Society on Twitter.

Educators know this, but implementing practices that support excellent teaching is often harder, especially in school systems that must address myriad issues that frankly go beyond education.

In a recent Asia Society study, Stanford professor and education expert Linda Darling-Hammond examines teacher quality policies in Singapore, Melbourne, and Toronto and offers advice for what policymakers can do to create and sustain high-quality teaching forces.

While much of this report is geared towards systemic changes that enable the development and retention of a high-quality teaching force, Darling-Hammond’s research suggests a variety of school-level policies and practices that can improve instruction and achievement in our schools.

Here are some lessons:

1. Create a school-wide mentoring and coaching system 

All three of the cities studied provide mentoring and coaching support to their teachers, especially those who are just beginning their careers. In Ontario, the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) provides supports such as orientation and mentoring over the first four years of a teacher’s career. Through this program, Ontario drove down their once high teacher attrition rate and is now able to retain over 98% of first-year hires.

While we may not be able to change the level of government support that mentoring and coaching receives, we can work to create school-level mentorship and coaching programs. Educators and school leaders can strive to create school-level mentorship programs. Such programs can help educators develop a sense of community at the school-level and hopefully encourage them to continue teaching at the school.

2. Encourage collaborative inquiry 

School leaders and educators can also encourage collaborative inquiry in their schools, so that teachers see one another as educational resources and partners. In Singapore, starting during pre-service preparation, teachers are encouraged to share knowledge and collaborate with another. Promoting a culture of collaboration and trust enables educators and school leaders in Singapore to leverage innovative instruction and assessment practices.

This practice of collaborative inquiry can also be adopted at the school level. Educators and school leaders can work together to create a culture that encourages teachers to view one another as peers and resources. They can encourage their peers to share their success stories, highlight to their school community what is working, and spread these successful practices to other teachers and classrooms.

3. Establish more effective performance management and evaluation systems 

Teacher performance reviews should not be seen as punitive assessments but rather as formative assessments, evaluating teacher learning and shaping further professional development and learning opportunities for teachers. In Melbourne, school-wide evaluations use multiple sources of feedback to inform individual, team, and collective practice and support educators as they develop a personal professional development plan aligned with their individual and the collective school goals. Such practices drive and enable both individual and collective improvement. At a school-level, educators and school leaders can work together to create more productive evaluation systems. Such evaluation systems can not only promote a stronger sense of community but can also achieve the intended goal of such assessments—improving both student and teacher learning.

4. Cultivate emerging leaders 

Another feature of systems with high-quality teaching forces is their focus on career and leadership development. This is also a change that we can adopt at the school-level. Look for educators that are going above and beyond and highlight their efforts. Encourage them to take on leadership positions within the school—whether as leaders in teacher inquiry groups or in more formalized positions as department heads or lead teachers. Make an effort to cultivate people who are helping the school and who you could see leading in the future.

Take Action

These are all practical changes that can be implemented at the school-level. Educators are education leaders, and as such, anyone can start a movement to support teaching, adopt world-class practices, and ultimately, improve student achievement.

To learn more, directly from Linda-Darling Hammond, please join us at the Partnership for Global Learning Conference June 27*-29, 2013.

As a response, educators are focusing on the importance of promoting creativity, leadership skills and the ability to critically assess and retain information in the classroom. To this end, Project-based Learning (PBL) is becoming an increasingly important educational tool. It involves presenting students with complex tasks which may range from putting together a presentation to developing an actual artifact and require independent critical thinking.

A growing number of studies proves the effectiveness of PBL in helping students retain the lesson material and encouraging them to take initiative in their education as well as their communities. When combined with cross-curricular and globally themed curricula, PBL can also help youths gain a more complex and nuanced vision of the world. Moreover, if introduced with the right methodology, PBL can contribute to create a more dynamic learning environment and help students develop critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.

To learn more about Project-based Learning and develop new ideas for your curriculum, attend one of our many breakout sessions on the subject. Join teachers and experts from across the country who will present on the successes and challenges they encountered in implementing PBL strategies in their schools and classrooms. These range from overviews of how a school in Ohio is succeeding in implementing PBL in all its curricula (Create a Schoolwide Approach to Project-Based Learning); a summer program focusing on social action and global citizenship that allows students from the Fairfax Country Public School system to earn college credit and engage with resources from George Mason University (Global Education: Social Constructs, Action, and Globalization); the development of a 7th grade teaching module that includes real-life learning, Common Core Standards and cross-curricular concepts (Integrate Cross Curricular, Project-Based Learning with Common Core Standards); the Cell Project and its relevance in promoting the concepts of “taking action” and project planning among students (Create a “Take Action” Cell Project) .

PGL13 Sessions

• Integrate Cross Curricular, Project-Based Learning with Common Core Standards led by Amy Long, Shannon Kuhlman, Jared Manns
• Create a “Take Action” Cell Project led by Brad Lanier, Nancy Galster
• Global Education: Social Constructs, Action, and Globalization led by Craig Perrier
• Create a Schoolwide Approach to Project-Based Learning led by Terri Holden, Kevin Jones

Learn more about our many other breakout sessions that address how to promote student engagement and action in the classroom and beyond.

Educators can teach their students about the world while also empowering them to improve it. They can instill in their students a sense of global citizenship and a desire to work collaboratively with their peers to make their community a better place. Through activities ranging from inquiry to action research projects to international service trips and exchanges to local community services projects, students can experience firsthand both the challenge’s facing today’s world and their ability to make a positive impact.

With support from teacher Noah Zeichner, students at Chief Sealth International High School in Seattle, WA organized a school-wide World Water Week event. This student-led festival includes a service learning project, a public keynote event, a synchronous all-school lesson, assemblies, an evening family event, and a day-long student conference that features 25-30 different workshop sessions. These Seattle students understood the importance of international water issues and felt empowered to educate their peers and to make a difference in their local community. These students are already taking action to improve their future.

This weekend, the first ever Student Voice Summit will take place here in New York City. The conference will bring together Student Voice – an international network of empowered students who strive to involve youth in the debate on education policy. Student Voice was founded on the belief that too often, students are excluded from the policy discussions shaping their future. Students around the world have formed a movement to stop this exclusion and make sure their voices are heard.

We want our students to eventually have the skills to lead – why not encourage and empower them to follow the example of the Students at Chief Sealth International High School and Student Voice and start leading now?

Interesting in learning strategies for empowering your students to take action? Hear directly from Noah and the student-leaders of the Student Voice movement, at the Partnership for Global Learning Conference June 28 – 29, 2013 in NYC.

PGL13 Sessions

• World Water Week: Schoolwide Global Learning and Action led by Noah Zeichner
• Student Panel: Redefining the Global Age featuring Isabel Cruz & Zak Malamed
• Student-Led Conferences: Turn the Tables led by Christine Kha, Jessica Evangelista & Komal Achhnani
• Develop Global Citizens in the Facebook Era led by Zak Ringelstein
• Knowledge to Action: Global Ed and Youth Leadership Outside the Classroom led by Amy Westby & Daniel Carlton

The conference brings together teachers, school leaders, policymakers, and resource organizations from throughout the United States and world. The sessions are hands-on and a great way to spread your teaching innovations.

We seek proposals that fit in at least one of the following four strands:

Deeper Learning
The skills and knowledge an ever-changing world demands.

Help students learn how to learn. Give them opportunities to apply critical thinking and decision-making skills to real-world issues and projects. Design learning experiences that allow them to work collaboratively and effectively with peers and experts around the world. Moreover, see how this type of education can benchmark a student’s academic growth—and meet the Common Core standards to boot—to ensure they’re on the right track to success.

Expanded Learning
Creative approaches to global competence beyond school hours and walls.

Adopt a global learning framework and open a world of opportunities for youth engagements. See how schools are partnering with afterschool and summer programs, community organizations, and businesses to design expanded learning programs that offer internships, service learning projects, and other out-of-school activities to bolster students’ global competence and academic success.

A Digital World
Create a truly global environment, right in your own classroom.

Integrate technology and media to create a truly global learning environment. Technology provides tools to help students investigate the world, analyze information critically, weigh perspectives, and communicate ideas. It’s also an all-powerful platform for students to reach a broad audience on issues that matter the most to them.

Take Action
Students create their own future through real-world projects.

Globally competent students are change makers—they are not bystanders. They’re keenly able to recognize opportunities and problems and have the capacity to act on and defend their beliefs. A well-rounded global education not only opens student’s eyes, but also sets the stage for them to act in ways that are inspired by their course of study and driven by a desire to make a difference locally, regionally, and globally.