Scott W. Brown

Vital interests: cultivating global competence in the international studies classroom

Are students being prepared for the challenges they will face in a globalising world? We investigated whether middle school students were interested in global issues, had knowledge of global issues and possessed the skills needed for competence as a citizen in a globalising world in the context of participating in a five-week, web-based international negotiation simulation conducted by the GlobalEd Project. A repeated measures ANOVA on a pre- and post-test scores and a chi square analysis on qualitative data indicated significant pre- to post-increases in knowledge and skills from this educational programme. Potential implications of these findings with regard to global education are discussed.

Promoting Positive Academic Dispositions Using a Web-Based PBL Environment: The GlobalEd 2 Project.

Abstract Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional design approach for promoting student learning, understanding and knowledge development in context rich settings. Previous PBL research has primarily focused on face-to-face learning environments, but current technologies afford PBL designers the opportunities to create online, virtual, PBL envi-ronments. The GlobalEd 2 Project is an example of a PBL environment that combines the positive characteristics of both face-to-face and online environments in a 14-week simu -lation of international negotiations of science advisors on global water resource issues. The GlobalEd 2 PBL environment is described examining the impact it has had on middle school students’ interest in future science education experiences, self-efficacy related to writing in science and self-efficacy related to technology use for academic purposes using a pre-test post-test design. Analyses using ANOVAs of gain scores and ANCOVAs of sub-group differences demonstrate a positive impact on the science interest and self-efficacy of 208 middle-grade students from urban and suburban schools.Keywords: problem-based learning, self-efficacy, writing, science interest, global education

Developing Scientific Literacy Skills through Interdisciplinary, Technology-Based Global Simulations: GlobalEd 2

GlobalEd 2 (GE2) is a set of technology-mediated, problem-based learning (PBL) simulations for middle-grade students, that capitalises on the multidisciplinary nature of the social sciences as an expanded curricular space for students to learn and apply scientific literacies and concepts, while simultaneously also enriching their understanding of the social sciences. This paper reports the results of an implementation of the GE2 curriculum focused on water resources with 535 seventh and eighth grade students from both suburban and urban school systems. The results indicate positive changes in students’ writing self-efficacy, interest in pursuing future science educational opportunities and the quality of their written scientific argumentation after participation in a GE2 simulation. Curricular implications and future research directions are discussed.

Evolving Beyond Self-Interest? Some Experimental Findings From Simulated International Negotiations

Negotiation is a process of exchange intellectually, socially, and in terms of the items (tangible or not) that provide the focal point for negotiations. In recent years, the English School has discussed international institutions from a normative point of view that emphasizes the development of shared norms and values. Actors are affected by their institutional surroundings and hence learn by doing and come to identify with the norms of the system. Primary institutions have developed over time and the international system is still evolving toward being more intertwined and toward the convergence realm on the spectrum, which ranges from power politics to coexistence to cooperation and then convergence. Thus far, most work in the English School tradition has tended to be normative and historical in approach. This article examines positive empirical evidence to support the theory of institutional development and social interaction. Using data from the GlobalEd project (www.globaled.uconn.edu), this article will examine how shared norms and practices become embedded in the operation of actors participating in international, simulated negotiations. Analysis of messages from these negotiations will show that participants adapt to the rules and the norms of the interaction environment. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the norms of the community become part of actors’ behavior and influence, positively, future interactions. Our conclusions indicate that increased interaction leads to positive spillover effects in terms of cooperation and international agreements.

Educating Students for STEM Literacy: GlobalEd 2

GlobalEd 2 (GE2) engages classrooms of students online, and simulates negotiations of international agreements on issues of global concern such as water scarcity and climate change. GE2 is an interdisciplinary problem-based curriculum targeting students’ global awareness, scientific literacies, and twenty-first century workforce skills. For the past 15 years, various iterations of GE2 have been implemented in classrooms, ranging from middle schools through college. Results have demonstrated the positive impact of GE2 along a number of dimensions including writing, argumentation, science knowledge, and social perspective taking. This chapter provides an overview of GE2, its design principles and discusses data from a recent implementation with college freshmen, specifically focusing on gains with respect to self-efficacy across multiple domains.

Promoting Students' Writing Skills in Science through an Educational Simulation: The GlobalEd 2 Project

Using a problem-based learning (PBL) approach, GlobalEd 2 (GE2) utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to learning writing, science, and social studies. Leveraging technologies commonly available in most middle grade classrooms (computers with Internet connections), GE2 engages classrooms of students as teams in simulated negotiations of international agreements on issues of global concern such as water resources and climate change. The impact of student interactions within the simulation on the writing self-efficacy and the ability to author evidenced-based arguments in science of 420 7th and 8th grade students across two states is presented. Results indicate that after participation in a GE2 simulation, students not only increased their writing self-efficacy, but also significantly increased the quality of their written scientific arguments.