Professional Learning Goals

• We engaged in meaningful professional learning through collaboration with one another and by finding resources created by experts in various fields (e.g., related to global citizenship and social entrepreneurship)
• We devised ways to implement the revised geography curriculum in order to emphasize the Global Competencies, and encouraged students to become responsible global citizens who will be problem solvers and agents of change
• We began to explore ways to use the SAMR model to design a unit of inquiry that integrated technology in a meaningful way through both innovative lesson design and assessment. We intend to continue to work towards this goal.

Activities and Resources

This unit plan implements the revised geography curriculum, including all four elements of the Citizenship Education Framework. The culminating task will act as an introduction to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and social entrepreneurship, teaching our students to create innovative and achievable solutions to society’s most pressing issues.

For the culminating task, students will brainstorm social issues that they are passionate about and create a heartbreak map. They will then select one particular issue that relates to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Students will act as social entrepreneurs in order to create an action plan that outlines an innovative and achievable solution for this social issue. Students will share their action plan with their peers during a Market Place.

Unexpected Challenges

• Not all classes were able to consistently access technology and connectivity to the Internet (e.g., Wi-Fi, computers)
• It took us longer to frontload/teach the unit and complete the geographic inquiry task than we expected, so we didn’t have enough time to spend on the action plan (in terms of the students having an opportunity to connect or collaborate with experts, or  actually follow through on their action plans)

Enhancing Student Learning and Development

• Students were provided with the opportunity to develop a number of skills related to the inquiry process (formulating rich questions, determining the reliability of primary and secondary sources, analyzing data and evidence, synthesizing information and drawing informed critical judgments, and communicating their conclusions)
• Students were provided with the opportunity to apply the geographic thinking concepts in order to think critically like a geographer, which will hopefully help to shape their future learning in geography
• Students were provided with learning experiences that hopefully allowed them to develop a greater appreciation and respect for natural and human environments and communities
• Students were provided with meaningful, authentic opportunities for learning
• Through the use of social media, students worked to develop the skills and practices of responsible digital citizens in the hopes of creating more positive digital footprints
• Students were encouraged to see their potential as social entrepreneurs and agents of change

Sharing

• Throughout the implementation of the unit, we collaborated and partnered with other Grade 7 and 8 geography and English teachers at our school in order to build capacity with the Revised Geography Curriculum
• Throughout the unit, we used social media (Twitter, Instagram) to communicate our professional learning and our students’ learning
• We will continue to seek out opportunities to share our learning through family of schools, regional or board-wide professional learning opportunities
• We will submit a summary of our work to the Toronto District School Board’s department of Social and World Studies & the Humanities

Project Evaluation

• We were successful in engaging in meaningful professional learning through collaboration with one another, and we were able to find useful resources (e.g., related to global citizenship and social entrepreneurship)
• We were successful in devising ways to implement the revised geography curriculum in order to emphasize the Global Competencies
• Going forward, we intend to further develop our use of the SAMR model (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) in order to continue to move away from using technology as a tool to enhance learning to a tool that transforms learning. We would like to continue to explore innovative ways for students to learn about the Global Goals by connecting more with the global community using social media, Skype conferencing and Google Earth. We would also like to explore meaningful ways for students to share their learning and raise awareness about the Global Goals using social media (i.e., Twitter, blogging, Instagram).