QUESTIONS
ON INTERNATIONALISM
1. Is our school’s commitment to internationalism
explicit in our Guiding Statements?
Answers:
·
Overall,
the response is positive.
·
Two
issues raised:
o
The 4th
clause in our P&O which talks about internationalism does not contain the
actual term, but describes what is being done about it at school. So, should we
include the term itself?
o
Should
the clause be more general, in its description, or should we add more
descriptions of what is done or will be done in the future…may work on the
wording next time it is revised
2. Do we have a
specific definition of what internationalism means in our school context?
Answers:
·
Teachers
who collaborate on international projects, activities or clubs say they have
the same understanding of the concept. Also they say the administration shares
this understanding. However, they are not aware what the whole school community
understands from the term.
·
Teachers
are not informed about what other teachers are doing on this subject; if they
did, they might collaborate and plan accordingly, bringing multiple disciplines
to the activity/project.
·
It might
be a good idea to have a seminar+workshop on this subject before school opens;
so all teachers can discuss this issue and have a common understanding. We
never had a good discussion of this topic; it might help.
·
If there
were a clear understanding of what is expected from teachers, it would be
easier to plan. We could work with standards on internationalism. How many
projects are expected, what would be their aim? That is not only say “do an international activity” but
more like “plan lessons, projects, activities that will make students more
aware of other countries, their history, geography, literature, arts, music,
religions, monuments, milestones, customs, local culture…” or “… build
awareness and respect of other cultures, with the aim of forming ties/fitting
in in different parts of the world/building empathy/not allowing prejudices to
be formed”
·
We might
add a “study of cultures”
·
Most
international activities concentrate on a few countries: USA, UK, France,
Germany, and Italy. There are many other countries and cultures, much more
diverse than these. It would be good to include other countries and cultures
into our programs.
·
Our
programs, activities, projects, clubs do not include most students, but a small
selection. There needs to be a way to involve most students and teachers into
such programs. One way may be to add these to grade level curricula. When doing
that, it would be nice to plan with multiple disciplines so that a more
complete culture could be investigated.
3. Is this definition
known and accepted by all staff and the school community in general?
Based on the opinions expressed by members of the
Learning Community it would be correct to say that awareness of
internationalism and its importance in the school community is widespread.
However, it appears that sharing these views on a wider platform would be most
beneficial and receiving feedback from staff, students and the whole school
community needs to be recorded to assess what progress is being made.
4. How do we put our
commitment to internationalism into practice
within
the school’s culture?
by embracing CIS standards;
by application of ISO standards;
by application to start IB program;
by recruiting native speakers of English who share
their culture with the school community;
by exposure to TV broadcasts in English, French,
German;
choice of course books and global teaching methods;
study of different countries included in the
curriculum;
by participating in student exchange programs; i.e. AFS, Rotary
by holding International Conferences; i.e. Chess
Tournament, Spectrum of Education
by participating in standard international exams;
i.e. PET, TOEFL, FIT,DELF
by celebrating different cultures on special days;
i.e. Christmas, New Year
by exposing students to at least 3 languages;
by carrying out ‘Respect for Differences’ project;
by using notice board to display multi-cultures;
by displaying world map in playground and other
places in the school;
by holding school assemblies;
the
school’s operations?
by observing international safety standards;
by holding regular safety drills;
by providing and improving ICT;
by keeping well-maintained kitchen, providing
nutritious, balanced meals;
by serving international dishes in dining hall;
by maintenance and control of canteen facilities;
by providing health care for students/staff on
campus;
by providing on campus ambulance service for
emergencies;
by maintaining the buildings, classrooms,
facilities;
by maintaining and controlling hygenic standards in
cleaning services;
by providing adequate indoor/outdoor spaces,
heating, lighting and acoustical comfort;
by providing for staff/students/visitors with
disabilities;?????
by controling and maintaining school bus services;
teaching
and learning?
by running whole/holistic learning program;
by training in current teaching methods; i.e.
differentiation, technology in the classroom
by choosing international course books;
by choosing literary texts from world authors;
by dedication to improving library resources;
by studying world leaders;?????
by recognizing different learning styles;
by activating epal, pen pals and skype projects;
world map in playground and on the walls;
by encouraging critical thinking;
school
activities?
by initiating community service projects; i.e.
Interact, LÖSEV, Playing for Change
by celebrating International Days; i.e. World Water Day, Dot
Day
by running international clubs; i.e. Junior MUN,
MUN, DI, Extreme Robotics, Comenius
by participating in international projects,
competitions;
5. How do we measure
the extent to which students are developing international understanding?
from input
from students involved in international projects; i.e. Junior MUN, MUN, EYP,
ESU
from input
from students who have been involved in exchange programs, cultural visits;
from
the increase in number of students involved in international projects;
from
the increase in number of clubs catering for internationalism;
from students’
oral and written responses to world literature in L1 and L2;
from students’
oral and written responses to world affairs;
from staff
and student response to Academic Honesty Policy;
6. Do we undertake
regular audits of the extent to which we are supporting the development of
internationally minded students?
annual
department aims;
annual
increase of number of students involved in international activities;
budget
for support of international programs;
administrative
support of multi-cultures and student exchange programs;
collaborative
aims of school and Turkish Culture Foundation;
end-of
year department reports;
7. What factors
support us in our efforts to develop internationally minded students?
·
being a CIS accredited
school;
·
being a candidate for
IB program;
·
student exchange
programs
·
college counsellor for
universities abroad;
·
visits to other
countries;
·
school philosophy and
culture;
·
employing teachers from
different countries;
·
learning two foreign
languages;
·
access to internet,
digital platforms;
·
exposure to world
literature;
·
cultural activities and
international clubs;
·
celebration of
multi-faith, multi-cultural days;
·
native speaker of
English in library;
·
performance tasks
involving multi-cultural topics;
·
participation in
international competitions, joint projects;
·
debates on universal
topics;
8. What factors
hinder our work in this area?
·
trust issues in finding
schools abroad to communicate with;
·
regional difficulty of
being included in Comenius programs;
·
financial restrictions;
·
teachers’ workload;
·
MEB exam system;