2Learn.ca Education Society
http://www.2learn.ca/

2Learn.ca recently developed a resource collection entitled “Global Citizenship.” This web-based resource features links for students and teachers that focus on global citizenship, thinking globally, and acting locally (see http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/specialedition/globalCitizen/globalcitizens.asp). Among the many web sites linked from these pages are:

• The United Nations Millennium Development Goals;
• Oxfam Education’s global citizenship information; and
• Global Citizens for Change.

This newly created resource is also available in French (see http://www.2learn.ca/toile2/Editions/cglobale/cGlobale.asp).

Alberta Initiative for School Improvement Clearinghouse
http://education.alberta.ca/admin/aisi.aspx

The Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI) was developed through a collaborative partnership of the education community in 1999 and first implemented in all Alberta school authorities in the 2000. The goal of this program is to improve student learning and performance by fostering initiatives that reflect the unique needs and circumstances of each school authority.

A quick search of the AISI Clearinghouse using the keywords “social studies” revealed three promising practices that are relevant to this month’s What’s New Topic including: a professional development model being used in the Horizon School Division; a Backwards Design Unit Planning Template for Social Studies developed by the Edmonton Catholic Separate School District; as well as Calgary School District’s Professional Learning Community Cluster Groups. Search the Clearinghouse to learn more about how these practices might be useful in your school/district.

Alberta Regional Consortia
http://www.arpdc.ab.ca/

With support from Alberta Education, the Alberta Regional PD Consortia provides support for the implementation of new programs of studies which may include coordination, development and delivery of in-services. A quick scan reveals that several social studies sessions are being offered through each consortium member as follows:

• Calgary Regional Consortium (CRC), See CRC’s program listings at http://www.crcpd.ab.ca/programs.html.
  
  
• Central Alberta Regional Consortium (CARC), See CARC’s session information at http://www.carcpd.ab.ca/programs/index.html and information about their social studies project at http://www.carcpd.ab.ca/social/index.html.
  
  
• Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium http://www.erlc.ualberta.ca/ See ERLC’s session information at http://www.erlc.ualberta.ca/programs/default.php.
  
  
• Learning Network, See the Learning Network’s session information at http://www.learning-network.org/programs.html.
  
  
• Northern Regional Consortium, See NRLC’s social studies corner at http://www.nrlc.net/social_studies/index.shtml and 2008 session information at http://www.nrlc.net/updates.php#STANDARDJanuary2008.
  
  
• Southern Alberta Professional Development Consortium (SAPDC),

  Click on the workshops, topic/subject listing to find information about SAPDC’s social studies workshops.

Alberta Teachers’ Association – Social Studies Council
http://www.teachers.ab.ca/Professional+Development/Specialist+Councils
/Council+Directory/Social+Studies+Council.htm

The Alberta Teachers’ Association Social Studies Council promotes the study of social studies in Alberta and seeks to constantly improve the teaching of social studies by:

• encouraging and assisting in the establishment of regional councils;
  
  
• promoting inservice sessions and encouraging dialogue related to curriculum issues;
  
  
• providing social studies resource people upon request;
  
  
• holding annual conferences with keynote speakers and opportunities for interaction and liaison among colleagues;
  
  
• publishing a biannual scholarly journal entitled One World; and
  
  
• publishing a quarterly newsletter entitled Focus which provides members with up-to-date information, timely news articles, conference and workshop information, and short articles related to social studies teaching and learning.

Visit the Social Studies Council web page to learn more about becoming a member or to contact their current executive.

Alberta Teachers’ Association – Teacher Conventions: Convention Directory
http://www.teachers.ab.ca/Professional+Development/Teachers+Conventions/
Convention+Directory/

Several Alberta teacher convention programs for 2008 featured social studies sessions devoted to global education topics. As the social studies implementation schedule rolls out (see http://www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12/curriculum/impshed.pdf), it can be anticipated that social studies sessions will continue to be offered. A sampling of the sessions offered by three teachers’ conventions this year is described below with links to the corresponding convention web sites. See the link above to find additional information from each convention association. It may be possible to access the presentations and handouts online or by contacting the association.

• Calgary City’s Teachers’ Convention Association, Feb 14th-15th, 2008, 21st Century Passport, http://www.cctca.com. Sessions featuring globalization and global citizenship concepts included:

  Your Dollar is Your Vote: In the session offered by Jennifer Woodard and Karrie Peace, teachers learned how a popular documentary, a newspaper, sweatshops and a Christmas shopping trip can help make the term globalization meaningful to students.

  Global Connections for Secondary Teachers: In Karen Hobbs’ session, she enhanced teachers’ understanding of global citizenship, prepared them to examine the perspectives of others, and considered implications on quality of life for all people.

  Exploring Citizenship Through 21st Century Learning: In Michelle Speight’s session, she helped teachers explore how students can become active citizens in a global community by utilizing networked technology to share, compare and examine multiple world perspectives.

  See the complete program at http://www.cctca.com/Portals/0/2008.pdf.

  
  
  
• Central Eastern Alberta Teachers’ Convention Association, Mar 6th – 7th, 2008, Teachers: Heroes with Heart, http://ceatca.teachers.ab.ca/. Sessions that featured interdisciplinary activities and conflict resolution activities related to global peace are described below.

  A Peace of Poetry: Darryl Smolik’s interactive session was designed to help teachers empower themselves and their students to express their thoughts about global issues through poetry. Lesson plan handouts were provided.

  Peace and Conflict Resolution in your Classroom: Adriana Guarinos introduced teaching tools for intercultural understanding and conflict resolution. Hands–on experiences with take-home classroom–ready peace and conflict resolution activities and free curriculum-linked global education resources were provided with a focus on the work of UNICEF.

• Greater Edmonton Teachers’ Convention Association, Feb 28th – 29th, 2008, Leaping Forward for Learning. Seventeen sessions classified as “social studies and global education” were offered at this year’s convention, a sampling of which is described below. See http://www.getca.com/Program/Facilities/SessionsList/tabid/80/Default.aspx for a complete listing of the social studies sessions.

  Global Issues: Non-government Organizations: Karen Hobbs helped session participants increase their awareness and understanding of the role of Canada’s non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in developing countries. By participating in a web-quest, participants became familiar with the work done by NGOs and how this relates to the Millennium Development Goals.

  New Alberta Social Studies 20-1 Resource from Oxford University Press: Perspectives on Nationalism: Rick Winter introduced Perspectives on Nationalism, the new Social Studies 20-1 resource published in February 2008 by Oxford University Press Canada. Using inquiry-based learning, Perspectives on Nationalism offers extensive skill development in each chapter to equip students with the tools they need to conduct more effective inquiries and achieve a respect for diversity and a personal understanding of citizenship.

  New 20-1 and 20-2 Exploring Nationalism texts from McGraw-Hill Ryerson: Robert Gardner reviewed McGraw-Hill Ryerson’s new Social Studies 20-1 and 20-2 resources, as well as examined: strategies for teaching multiple perspectives, issue analysis, and decision-making; assessment strategies; and strategies that develop instructional continuity across the senior high program. Practical "Monday morning ready" activities were provided as models.

Pearson Education, Many Voices
http://www.pearsoned.ca/school/manyvoices/

Written specifically for the Alberta social studies curriculum, Many Voices is a multi-component resource by Pearson Education. The complementary web site provides grade level links that offer supporting materials for Many Voices including: unit and annual plans, curriculum correlations, suggestions for use of the supporting Internet CDs, and Catholic Values correlations.