Download Certificate of Global Competence

Needham High School
Global
Competence
Program
©Needham Public Schools
A collaborative initiative of the
Needham Education Foundation and
Needham High School
Why Global Competence?
Students will participate in an increasingly
interdependent world requiring:
• Understanding of people, places and
environments from many perspectives
• Skills in communicating, interacting and
building relationships with people of
another culture
2006 NHS Global Competence
Study Committee Conclusions
A. Think globally
B. Communicate effectively
C. Contribute responsibly
Think Globally
•Be a geographically informed person
•Understand the interdependence of the
world
•Participate in international experiences
•Think about issues from a global
perspective
•Evaluate information critically from
various sources
Communicate Effectively
•Converse proficiently in a foreign language
•Communicate through a variety of media
Contribute Responsibly
• Build relationships with people from
other cultures with respect and flexibility
• Seek knowledge to shape one’s own
values
• Analyze one’s own motivation in relation
to others, reflect and adjust
• Help others embrace multiple
perspectives
By learning more about their
world, students learn more about
themselves.
• Personal growth
• Overcoming uneasiness
• Facing challenges
• Opportunity to use skills
History and Links
•East Asian Study Committee
•District goal - Promote Active Citizenship
•NHS curriculum and graduation
requirements
•NHS learning expectations
•School sponsored exchanges and trips
•B.C. Global Proficiency Model
Introducing the Needham High School
Global Competence Program (GCP)!
• Achievable by all
• Encompassing
what students
are already doing
• Student-directed
The GCP Requirements
• Foreign travel
• Foreign
language
proficiency
• Global service
• Global Focus
Project
• GCP Résumé
• Reflective essay
Students who successfully complete the above will
be awarded a Certificate of Global Competence, and
will be recognized at Class Day.
GCP International Travel
Requirement
• Challenging student to step outside comfort
zone and connect directly to the
culture/people
• Student financial
commitment
encouraged
• Student involvement
in planning
encouraged
Foreign Language Proficiency
• World language
through Level 4
• Passing grade of
C or above each
year
Global Service
• 1 Community Classroom credit (30 hours)
• Exposes student
to another world
culture
• Ideally enables
student to employ
foreign language
skills
Global Focus Project


•
Select an aspect of a
foreign country or region’s
culture, political system,
history, geography or
economy to explore
Study this interest area by
engaging in 3 extracurricular activities (books,
movies, cultural events,
foreign cooking, lectures
etc.)
Write a 2-3 page essay on
the topic, synthesizing
what was learned through
the extra-curricular
activities
GCP Résumé
A summary of
the student’s
GCP related
activities
GCP Reflective Essay
•250-500 words
•Using the Common College
Application essay topics
•Reflecting upon student’s
travel and/or other GCP
experiences
GCP Travel and Global
Service Partners
Partnerships created to assist
students in finding eligible travel and
global service options.
GCP Review Committee and
Portfolio Committee
Review Committee
• Travel/global
service programs
that aren’t preapproved
• Exceptions to
language
requirement
Portfolio Committee
• Reviews completed
portfolios 3x/year to
determine if student
has qualified for a
Certificate of Global
Competence
Travel is Accessible to ALL!
•Plan up to 2 years in advance
•Fundraise
•Work: NBA/GCP Partners
•Rotary Exchanges
•Ask the GCP Travel Partners about scholarship opportunities
•Apply for the Friends of the GCP scholarship or the PTC’s
GCP scholarship
•Visit “A GCP Travel Experience is within Everyone’s Reach”
on the GCP website
GCP Website
•Link to the GCP website from the NHS
homepage: www.nhs.needham.k12.ma.us
•All necessary forms, information sheets
and approved travel program and global
service lists can be downloaded from the
site.
GCP Checklist
GCP Travel
Experience
Form
GCP Global
Service Form
GCP Academic
Alternative
Proposal Form
Needham High School
Global
Competence
Program
GCP Global
Focus Project
Form
GCP Global Focus Project Form
Student Name: __________________________________________________________
Student Email: __________________________________________________________
Country/Region of Focus: _________________________________________________
Activity #1:
Activity: _______________________________________________________________
Date completed: _________________________
Activity #2:
Activity: _______________________________________________________________
Date completed: _________________________
Activity #3:
Activity: _______________________________________________________________
Date completed: _________________________
Essay Topic: ____________________________________________________________
In a double-spaced, 3-4 page essay, discuss what motivated you to pursue
your area of focus, describe the ways in which the project's activities
have widened your cultural understanding, and predict how you may apply
what you have learned to your future endeavors. Attach the essay to this
form.
http://nhs.needham.k12.ma.us/info/global-c/global-comp.htm
GCP Focus Project Form 3/29//08
GCP Résumé
Form
Needh am High School
lobal
G
Competence
Program
Global Competence Program Résumé
Jane Smit h
A Sample
Student’s
Path to GCP
Certification
I. International Trave l Experience
World Chall enge Exped iti ons ; www .wcexp edtions.com; Peru; July 7 -Augu st 7, 2007
 Progra m’s mission: educa tion through exper ie nce, phys ical cha ll eng es, eye opening cult ura l exchang e; deve loping teamwork skills in preparing for the trip
and in manag ing all aspects of the travel exp erienc e
 Progra m’s focus: 19-month d evelopment progr am, culm inating in month-long
exped iti on to Peru; deve loping leadership and respons ibilit y; cha ll eng ing trek;
one -week meaningful service project; dir ect connec tion with the culture and the
people of Peru
 Major personal achievements: ove rcame phys ical and e motion al cha ll eng es
whil e learning to adapt to lif e in a foreign cult ure ; greatly im proved my
conve rsation al Spanish; gained a desire to continue b roadening my ho rizons
through future cult ural exchanges
II. Co mmuni ty Service
Taugh t English to elementary studen ts at a vill age schoo l i n Peru in conjunc tion w it h
World Chall enge Exped iti ons program; July 21 -28, 2007
 Responsibilities: deve loping and im plementing c reative lesson plans wit h other
volunteers that eng aged the studen ts in fun activiti es designed to promote Eng li sh
language learning; one -on-one, studen t-driven languag e learning sessions ;
buil ding shelves for Eng li sh language books dona ted to the schoo l by the
volunteers
 Skills used: teamwork , creative thinking, teaching skill s, conn ecting w it h people
from ano ther cult ure, Spanish, wood c rafting, adaptabili ty
 Skills acqui red: learned about suc cessful t eaching methods for eng aging young
students; became more adaptable as I adjusted to lif e in a fairly primiti ve v ill age ;
im proved my conve rsationa l Spanish
III. Academic
A. Fore ign Lang uage Study
 Spanish: 7 ye ars
B. Other Global Academic Studies
 World Hist ory Since 1945: overv iew of major world even ts since
1945 and their global im pact
IV. Ex tra- Curricular
A. Latin A merican cooking: ove r the course of one yea r, prepared 12 family
meals using recipes for comm on Latin A me rican dishes
B. Attended fla menco dance performance : in December 2006, I a ttended a
flamenco dance performance sponsored by Spanis h Consu late
C. Read The Palace Walk, by Nagu ib Mahfou z: this book exposed me to
Egypt ia n cu lt ure from the perspective of conservative Islami c women
What are our challenges?
• Cost of student travel
• Overcoming perception of the
program as an added pressure
• Incorporating teachers into the
experience
THANK YOU!
NEF for providing the grant to fund
development of the GCP
The GCP Steering Committee, comprised
of NHS faculty, administrators and
students, NPS administrators and
community members