New resource guide for teachers to help Hoosier schoolchildren face their global future

IU collaborative effort puts ‘Indiana in the World’

By Richard Doty

The Indiana University International Resource Center and the Kelley School of Business Global Programs Office have combined to develop the resource guide “Indiana in the World.”

The 162-page publication is a collection of lesson plans for middle and high school classes to help students discover Indiana’s global connections by exploring their own communities. The lesson plans were developed by writing teams of Hoosier teachers, with assistance from the Indiana Department of Education.

“We have distributed some 4,000 copies of the resource book to every public and private middle and high school in the state,” said Shawn Reynolds, director of the IU International Resource Center and coordinator of the project. “The response so far from teachers has been very encouraging.”

At Carmel High School near Indianapolis, teacher Michelle Foutz helped field test the program in an economics class for seniors. “The lessons were useful because they added application and real-life examples to various concepts in our international trade unit,” Foutz said. She added that the lessons helped the students develop critical thinking and made them realize that they live in a global economy. “Since my students are seniors, it was beneficial for them to spend time thinking about the future and which careers would best utilize their strengths and interests,” she said.

“The greatest benefit of the program is the emphasis on economics and its relationship to place and location,” said Ted Springer, who field tested the program in northern Indiana at Harrison Middle School in Merrillville. “The plans were well thought out and contained all of the components for a complete lesson.”

The workbook is an extensive revision of a document first developed 30 years ago by James Becker of the IU School of Education. “The changes were needed to relate to the 21st century,” Reynolds explained. Louise Siffin, director of global programs in the Kelley School, said the school believes it is important to reach the less traditional audience of pre-collegiate students with programs like this. “It’s important to teach students coming to a university environment, whether it’s IU or elsewhere, or those who will enter the workforce after high school, that we are international,” Siffin said.

Lesson plans in the resource book examine Indiana’s global connections through four themes: (1) the world in your community, (2) Indiana’s resources, goods and services, (3) interdependence and (4) transitions. The material is written with a multi-disciplinary approach for use by teachers of social studies, geography, economics, business, foreign languages, history and other topics. Among the topics are: “Geography in your local mall;” “Global economy: the hometown effect;” “Coming to Indiana: new immigrants;” and “Indiana in motion: you can get there from here.”

The resource guide includes a global education resources section that lists Web sites, reference publications, Indiana-based global connections and a poster map of international investment in Indiana.

Mary Crampton has used the program to work with gifted and talented fourth grade students at Cloverdale Elementary School southwest of Indianapolis. “The students love it because it’s current,” Crampton said. “It starts with what they know and connects their world with the larger world to involve them in decision making and problem solving as they explore Indiana’s international connections.”

“The new century will see even greater globalization for Indiana,” said Reynolds. “This ever-accelerating trend will challenge teachers to find new global education resources for themselves and their students. This resource book will help prepare Indiana students for the international environment they will find in their lives and workplaces.”

Funding for the “Indiana in the World” project is from the Indiana Humanities Council, Cinergy PSI, the IU Center for International Business Education and Research, the Purdue University Center for International Business Education and Research, the IU Office of International Programs and the Indiana Department of Education.

http://www.indianaintheworld.indiana.edu/