How Do We Analyze A Global Issue

Grade Level

Introduction

Teacher/Student
Objective

Gauging Student
Understanding

By providing students with a set of guides by which to examine a global issue, and teaching them to apply it to a specific case study, students should be able to work through the process, distinguish between and among various perspectives, and be able to show specifically how the issue is related to their lives: personally, locally, nationally and globally.

Materials

• Copies of the Handout Global Issues Analysis Model.
• Teacher-collected resource materials on a selected global issue.

Initial Data for
Consideration
and/or Process

Teacher-directed: Use the model as a demonstration of how to analyze a global issue. Give students an oral introduction to a selected global issue and instruct them to take notes on the Handout. The use of overhead transparencies to illustrate data, brochures, or articles about successful programs and/or news articles to show national/local impact would make the presentation more concrete.

Readings: Many texts and supplementary materials have sections on specific global issues. Assign appropriate readings, supplementing as necessary for Sections IV-VI of the Handout with news articles, brochures and/or speakers.

Current News Articles: Base the issue analysis on current news articles, assigning students to locate the articles through the use of a computerized news service or periodical index. Use class discussion and/or guest speakers to supplement the other materials.

Small Group (Jigsaw Method): Divide students into groups and provide data for one of the sections on the chart. After examining the materials and preparing a summary for their assigned section, regroup students. Each new group has a representative specializing in each section on the chart. The representative is responsible for teaching that section to the rest of the group.

Whichever method is used, make sure that the students understand the model as a sequence. It is important that they see it as a pattern and practice it enough so that the steps become a part of their thinking process as they approach a new issue. Reinforcing the model throughout a course is the best way to help students internalize it.

The purpose of each step is explained below; use these as guidelines either at the time the model is first introduced–step by step–or an as inductive exercise to summarize the lesson after having worked through the issue.

Summarizing the Problem: Instruct students to imagine that they are in a court of law. They need to present the most convincing evidence that this is a serious issue involving a large number of people which crosses national boundaries. Encourage them to see that their evidence should be specific but not narrow. The evidence should be presented in a logical sequence leading to the conclusion that there is a serious problem.

Causes: Most course objectives stress the importance of cause-and-effect relationships. Help students to distinguish between direct and underlying causes. The use of web diagrams, charts or cartoons will help them to visualize causes.

Perspectives: It is important for students to understand that there are multiple perspectives on a global issue. They should be able to explain how a person's perspective is influenced by his/her background and experience, and how differently some issues are viewed by those outside their own country.

Successful Programs: Psychologists have noticed in today's students a tendency to become depressed over the seeming hopelessness of some global problems such as the arms race, hunger and poverty. As part of the study of a global issue, it is vital to show students what can be done and what has been successful. Depending on the issue, the teacher can use materials or speakers from such organizations as Amnesty International, the Peace Corps, Heifer Project, various UN programs, etc. Start a file of materials on successful programs and have students bring in articles or suggest contacts to update it.

Global/National/Local: Help the students to trace the impact of an issue on each level and to understand that a global issue manifests itself in different ways at the national and local levels. Make them see the connections between the issue and their role as citizens of a nation, state, and community (pending legislation, involvement in organizations, consumer decisions).

Think Globally, Act Locally: Students will feel more connected to global issues if they see ways in which they as individuals can become involved. Many classes write letters or send faxes to officials; others make donations to an organization; some may volunteer for a local project such as a soup kitchen or Habitats for Humanity. Even seeking out new experiences or acquaintances is a form of action. Students could invite an immigrant from the former Soviet Union to come to their class and describe the adjustments he/she had to make in coming to the United States.

Other Possible
Activities

• Assign students to role play several perspectives on an issue, using their notes on the chart and other materials.

• Ask for volunteers to plan a news report on the issue for (1) an international newscast such as CNN; (2) a national newscast representing a specific country; and (3) a local newscast from your community.
• Assemble a bulletin board on the theme, "Think Globally, Act Locally." Include pictures and materials showing how people in your community are participating in projects related to a global issue.
• Plan an educational project on a global issue for another class in your school or at an elementary or middle school.
• Prepare and print (using a computer or word processor) a brochure with facts about a global issue and ideas for citizen action.