Nicole Blum
Dr Nicole Blum is a Senior Lecturer at UCL Institute of Education (London, UK). Her key areas of teaching and research interest are global learning & education for sustainable development.
Location United Kingdom
Activity
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Nicole Blum replied to Gary L Thomas
@GaryLThomas In terms of your last point, I think it's less about expecting teachers to 'know' everything and more about them having the skills to facilitate learning for students when new issues arise - e.g. by asking them to investigate and think critically instead of accepting things as a given (from the media, etc.). In my experience I also find that...
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Nicole Blum replied to Gary L Thomas
Hi @GaryLThomas. Not off topic at all. I think you're right that students (and adults) are often rightly concerned with things in their own nations and communities. The aim isn't to shift all their attention to 'global' things that may seem far away, but to get them to think through how what is happening locally or nationally is in fact strongly connected to...
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@RosanneBoutin Yes, finding time for professional dialogue and development is always helpful, although it's sometimes hard for busy educators to do this!
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks for all the thoughtful reflections. It looks like there is a great variety of different motivations for involvement in global education (GCE, etc.) and also lots of positive ideas about how it might benefit your pupils. Many of these focus on supporting a more positive future for all - something that to me has always seemed an important part of any...
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Nicole Blum made a comment
It looks as if encouraging global citizenship is a popular choice from the group. I wonder if this is also partly because of the increasing visibility of that term in the SDGs? As some of you have noted, there are certainly connections between all of these ideas, so it can be hard to pick just one. Rather, elements of each might be infused into practice to...
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@AsukaSatoh So glad that you found the video inspirational! I'm sure the speakers would be very pleased.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
There are some great ideas and examples of practice coming up in the posts here. Lots of you are talking about things you are already doing, and also noting some new things to try. It's also interesting to note that several of you have talked about the challenges of time, language and support from leadership. We'll talk more about these later on in the course...
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@MahmoudZaghloul Thanks for your post. Please do provide a translation into English so that everyone can read your ideas.
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Nicole Blum replied to masoud borzoo
@masoudborzoo Thank you. So glad you enjoyed it.
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@GaryLThomas Yes, absolutely - it's important to make it relevant to your students and their lives, so that's a good way of thinking about it.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Welcome to week 2 everyone! Very much looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the coming week.
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@LuFu I think many in the group would agree with you that GE is challenging where there is not sufficient support from policy makers. Building a supportive school community can certainly be a step in the right direction!
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks for these reflections. Do keep adding your posts to the Padlet space!
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@LuFu Yes, absolutely. How the terms are interpreted can vary a lot depending on the context and educators' own experiences.
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@MarkBurrow Thanks for this. Some thoughtful reflections on GE and teaching English. As you say, lots of opportunties to think through how we are all interconnected and about the global relationships which language can support (or can also act as a barrier to).
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@LuFu This is great. I especially like the idea of educators growing with their students.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Looking forward to hearing more from the group on this one. Which definition resonates most with you?
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks for the posts so far. Nice to hear about the activities that you are already doing with your students. It seems like the SDGs are often a good starting point as they are often highly visible in the media. They can also be a good source of critique - e.g. how are they useful, but also what do they not include?
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks for the posts on Padlet so far. Keep them coming!
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@GaryLThomas No, that's fine. You can always edit you post to add your name at the end of your text if you would like.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Great to hear thoughts from the group so far. It sounds as if many of the views in the video resonated with you and prompted you to reflect on your own practice, which is great. In particular, several of you talked about how GE (or GCE) can be part of both formal and informal learning - an important point, and one to keep in mind when you think about what...
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@GaryLThomas One approach would be to use that news article as a prompt to start a conversation about immigration and the movement of people around the world in general. You could ask your student to consider the many reasons why people move, what the barriers and opportunities for this might be, and if this might relate to any issues that they are aware of...
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Nicole Blum replied to Renjie Yue
@RenjieYue Yes, I agree - all educators have to be sensitive to the local contexts in which we work. This may mean that certain topics are more difficult to include in teaching. I think the way to approach it is to think about was IS ok to include and focus on developing quality teaching around that.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Wonderful to hear from those who have joined the course this week. It sounds like there is a great deal of expertise and interest, so it will be great to work with you all in the coming weeks!
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Hello everyone and welcome to the course! Great to see you starting to introduce yourselves. I'm very much looking forward to hearing more from everyone about your ideas and experiences of global education as we progress through the course.
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@SarahHanisah Yes, we know that this can be a challenge. Many of our students take the MA in flexible mode (up to 5 years to complete) for this reason. It allows you to enrol (and pay for) one or two modules per year depending on your finances and availability, so can spread the cost over time. Hope that is helpful.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Wonderful to hear so much interest in our MA programme. Do check out the information in the links above and send us an email if you have any further questions!
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@MarikitMayeno Yes, that's fine. The course is flexible!
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Great to hear so many hopeful thoughts! I've been working in ESD and related fields for more than 20 years now and it's so encouraging to see that interest and committment from educators keeps growing - even in the face of some significant challenges.
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@JodieVelarde Yes, I would agree that reflection is essential for all educators - even if it is often hard to find the time and space to do this.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks for sharing these creative and thoughtful ideas from your practice, everyone. Interesting to see lots of comments about the balance between providing content and encouraging students to consider their values and attitudes, as well as their relationships to other beings (human and non-human) on the planet.
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@JenniferOrlinski I'd agree - it can be very challenging to teach in contexts where critical discussion of some topics is not welcome. It's important that we as educators are mindful of this (sometimes even for our own protection). Perhaps this is another reason why developing networks with other like-minded educators is helpful in finding support,...
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Good to see more thoughts coming in here. Interesting that ideas about empowerment, creativity, and adaptation keep coming up as key things we want to develop in learners of all ages.
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@ZintleSongqwaru Yes, this is a good point about ESD and quality education. My sense is that quality education is about developing learners and preparing them for their future lives, so that certainly includes a concern with sustainability of the planet.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Some great ideas here and lots of positive comments about things that you are already doing in your practice. This is great to hear!
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks so much for these positive reflections. It's wonderful to know what you feel you have learned by engaging with the course materials and with others on the course!
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Nicole Blum replied to Swati D
@SwatiD Do have a look at step 3.5. The PDF we provided includes details of networks and conferences that might be of interest.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks for sharing these resources - much appreciated. Looking forward to seeing more case studies in the Padlets and also hearing more in the discussions here.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks to those who have shared their thoughts so far. Really keen to hear more about what others in the group think of the framework and how might help you to reflect on your practice.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Really nice to hear your thoughts and encouraging to know that you are finding the resources useful to your thinking and future practice. In my experience finding new resources can inspire me to try new things in my own practice, even if setting aside the time and space to do that is often a challenge.
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Nicole Blum replied to Nikki Cordner
@NikkiCordner Great. I'm aware of Engineers without Borders and also a few health-related professional organisations through work myself and colleagues here at UCL have done with those professions in the past. I'm sure that there are others out there for other professions. If anyone knows of any, do let us know so that we can link to them on the course in future!
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Nicole Blum replied to Rika Mardiana
@RikaMardiana Great! So glad that you are feeling inspired to think about new initiatives for the future!
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks, everyone. Glad that you are finding the resources useful to your thinking.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Some really interesting reflections in this discussion so far. Thinking through how to use tools/ frameworks like Sterling's in a specific context or with a specific group of learners can certainly be a challenge! I think perhaps that is always an issue with theoretical frameworks, as these tend to be quite complex (and the language can be a bit dry!) Are...
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Nicole Blum replied to Gina Parker
@GinaParker Yes, they do offer some useful tools for work with children and young adults on global issues and GC. Others might like to have a look at some of their resources: https://archive.sapere.org.uk/Default.aspx?tabid=289
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Nicole Blum replied to Gina Parker
@GinaParker Yes, a good idea to think about scales and how we might move between different ways of thinking and working - that helps to emphasise that it's an on-going process rather than a single goal or outcome.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks everyone. It's been great to hear your thoughts so far.
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Nicole Blum replied to Soma Guha
Interesting about it getting harder to find space for ESD for older learners. Does anyone have any ideas about how to address this?
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Great to see the thoughtful discussions on this. Do keep sharing your ideas about how these (sometimes complex) ideas can be integrated into practice.
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Thanks for sharing.
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Nicole Blum replied to Meryl Batchelder
@MerylBatchelder We haven't included it in the course, but ti can be a useful image for thinking through things. If you know of any good resources on this, please do share them here.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Some great reflections here and it's good to know that the models resonate with your own experiences. I think it's often the case that as educators we are already doing lots of positive things without realising it!
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Nicole Blum replied to Simon Hyde-White
@SimonHyde-White Yes, thank you. The Rounder Sense of Purpose competencies are useful. Others might like to have a look at them too: https://aroundersenseofpurpose.eu/framework/the-12-rsp-competences/
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Nicole Blum made a comment
It's great to hear so many positive reflections from the group! I think this kind of outlook is important given the challenges that we all face (individuall, as communities and as a planet).
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Nicole Blum replied to Isabella W
@IsabellaW In week 3 (step 3.8), we have set up two Padlets (one for schools and another for universities) where participants to share examples of their practice with the group. So you can post the PDF there. :)
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Nicole Blum replied to Isabella W
Yes, I think starting small and local can be a good way to avoid overwhelming students (especially younger ones). Also a focus on the positive things that are already being done around the world to address climate change can help - as evidence that there is indeed hope! Others in the group may have more specific examples from their own practice to share, too.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks for sharing your reflections over the last few days. It seems as if limited time and support are the key challenges that many of you have faced (as have our speakers in the video), but there is also a lot of hope here which is great to see. As a number of you have already said, it's building networks of support and finding 'like minded' educators that...
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@HectorSolatges Yes, it can be challenging when there might be resistance to new ideas or to change. Joining networks of educators who are also interested in these issues can be a great help! We provide some links to opportunties for networks and further learning in week 3.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
There are some insightful reflections in the posts so far. Many thanks all for sharing.
Some really interesting discussions about responsibility and younger generations. I think it's important to consider not just want we can teach to younger people, but what we can learn from them and also what we can learn from older generations as well.
It's also...
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks for the recent posts. Some great ideas and questions coming up. Keep them coming!
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@RubinaPasha Yes, it can often be a challenge to get support from students and their parents, especially when they are rightly concerned about passing exams and their future careers.
One way of addressing this is by making the case that the future of the planet is also a concern worth thinking about as it will impact on the future of all individuals. It...
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@RosalindBeaumont Yes, I like this analogy too!
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@RosalindBeaumont @JenniferOrlinski Yes, I would agree - it's often about framing what we are teaching, so the idea of asking 'why' should you do this research is a good one.
You can also ask questions like 'what are the sustainability impacts of the research you are planning?' (e.g. does it involve travel or the use of materials that are not...
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Really enjoying the images and examples of ideas to share with fellow educators and students. There are a few ideas that I might borrow to use in my own teaching at UCL IOE!
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@GHANWAALTAF Yes, absolutely. Integration is key!
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks, everyone, for the thoughtful replies. It's always inspiring to hear about so much interesting work happening around the world! Also interesting to note how much is now happening online (including this course). I wonder if that changes how we think about teaching and learning? Does it open up new opportunities?
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@BozenaMarkovicBaluchova That sounds like a wonderful initiative. So great to get people together to talk about these issues - especially around engaging with media - and think about ways to address them constructively. If you can share anything from the event (e.g. online resources, papers, etc.) then please do!
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Nicole Blum replied to Gina Parker
@sudaxmurdan Good to 'see' you here!
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Nicole Blum made a comment
A big welcome to everyone who has joined us in the last week or so. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts as you move through the course.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Welcome to week 3! Hopefully you've been enjoying the course so far. Very much looking forward to hearing more from everyone as we move on to this week's discussions.
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@GinaParker Sorry about that - have now fixed the link, so you should be able to see it now.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Yes, welcome back everyone for week 2!
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Lots of good ideas here and it's interesting to hear your views on the roles that educators might have in ESD. There are a range of different issues that need to be considered depending on the age, level and diverse learning styles of students, so it's also good to hear some thoughts on that based on your own experiences.
How might we as educators at...
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@د.عبدالستارعبودكاظم Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Please do re-post in English so that others in the group can also read them.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Some great thoughts here. One message that seems to be coming through strongly is about the need to emphasise interconnectedness - between humans, with other living beings, and across borders. Linked to this is perhaps also a focus on responsibility - to others and to the planet.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks for sharing so many creative ideas and examples of practice here. Several of you have noted that it's often good to start with a small initiative and then build from there. This can be a really helpful strategy, especially when it's a new area/ approach for an institution or group.
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@DhanTamang Yes, ESD and GCE certainly are/ should be linked. This is especially noted in SDG 4.7, which hopefully will guide educators and policy makers to take this into consideration.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
There is a growing collection of fantastic thoughts and images on the Padlet. Do check them out if you haven't done so yet!
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@AbdelazizHamzaoui Thanks for your post - please do repost this in English so that everyone can hear your ideas.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Wonderful to hear from more of the group over the last few days. There are some great examples of practice here with a range of age groups. One element coming through many of the comments is about encouraging learners (and ourselves) to be reflective/ reflexive about our own role and impacts on sustainability. This can be part of thinking around education and...
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Nicole Blum replied to Bryony Franklin
@BryonyFranklin Great to hear that sustainability is being embedded in teaching at the School of Pharmacy! I did some work with colleagues there on global perspectives a number of years ago.
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Nicole Blum replied to Simon Hyde-White
Hi Simon. Glad you could join us.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Great to see some thoughts coming in on this topic. Looking forward to hearing more from others in the group.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks for the thoughts and reflections that you have shared so far. There is clearly a strong committment to providing our learners with the knowledge, skills and values that they need to address sustainability in their lifetimes. I also noted that there is a balance to be struck between empowering learners and also getting them to reflect critically on their...
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Nicole Blum replied to Dhan Tamang
@DhanTamang Yes, we'll look at this in later steps of the course.
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Nicole Blum replied to Elena Koneska Svetieva
@ElenaKoneskaSvetieva Yes, we give some examples from a range of disciplines later in the course (weeks 2 and 3).
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Thanks so much for sharing your ideas here. There are some really exciting examples of how you are already incorporating sustainability/ ESD in your practice!
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Nicole Blum replied to MD. RISHAD ABDULLAH
@MD.RISHADABDULLAH UNESCO has produced a very useful resource on embedding ESD in textbooks that might be helpful to explore: <https://mgiep.unesco.org/article/textbooks-for-sustainable-development-a-guide-to-embedding>
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Nicole Blum replied to Aude-Marie Limacher-Burrell
@Aude-MarieLimacher-Burrell Yes, definitely! We'll look at some examples of this and some useful approaches to doing it in later steps this week and next week. There have also been some great ideas about this posted by fellow learners in steps 1.4 and 1.8.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Hello and welcome everyone to the course! It's great to hear about you and your interests and to see you beginning to talk to one another. Very much looking forward to working with you all over the next few weeks.
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Nicole Blum replied to Taiwo Gbenga-Akanmu
@TaiwoGbenga-Akanmu Thank you very much. Glad you have found it helpful.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Good to see some reflections coming in here. Hopefully everyone will find this a useful activity. Do share your thoughts!
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Nicole Blum replied to Ken D
@KenD Thanks for the feedback. That's useful to know.
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@EllenHart Yes, this is a good point about making partnerships about mutual learning and exchange. It has often been the case (and possibly sometimes still is) that schools in the UK see partnerships as a way for pupils to learn about other parts of the world, so it can be a bit one-sided, rather than as a way for them to also consider their own place in the...
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@KenD Yes, the Global Schools work is European, so limited in that sense, although hopefully lessons from it can be used in lots of contexts. We are always keen to add more resources from around the world and from diverse perspectives, so if anyone knows of others that we could add to our Padlets, do let us know!
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Nice to see that these resources are proving useful. Do also have a look at the Padlet for more. If you know of others that we haven't mentioned, please let us know here so that we can add them to the course in the future as well.
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Great! Glad you'll be sharing with others who might find it useful.
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Great to hear some thoughts here about how these activities and approaches might be familiar to you or perhaps new sources of ideas. I expect that this will be quite diverse depending on local contexts, school settings, etc. so will be interested to hear more....
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@LawalO.T I would tend to agree. The main thing is to be sensitive to the learners and the community and to address some topics with care. Also perhaps it helps to take a long view of things - for instance, by starting with a small discussion or activity around a topic that might be sensitive, and then expanding from there over time as you see how the...
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Nicole Blum made a comment
Great to hear that the discussions and ideas are helping everyone to reflect on either what they are already doing or might be able to do in the future. Keep those ideas coming!
