Initiating Experience: We originally designed TGPLAN as a way to extend the "pura vida" attitude towards life and learning that our students embraced during our travels to Costa Rica. After reading Travel as a Political Act by Rick Steves, we intentionally focused our experience on being travelers rather than tourists. Students were inspired by the global problem-solving they witnessed at EARTH University and moved by their own experiences completing service projects with the Bribri indigenous tribe.
Global issues explored at EARTH University: sustainable resources, waste management, energy production, globalization of food
Service projects performed with the Bribri: painting a nursing home, planting trees, collecting trash, interacting with tribal members
Other issues explored in Costa Rica: interaction of cultures, colonization, poverty, immigration, industrialization and globalization
Back in Austin, Texas, as we launch into curriculum units about colonization and post-colonial identity (reading The Tempest and magical realism novels in English) and water issues in chemistry and math, we wanted to tap into the passion and curiosity we witnessed among our students in Costa Rica. TGPLAN allows students to study a global issue on a local level and provides an authentic platform for advocacy.
Project Overview: Working in groups of 4-6 people, students are tasked with the following:
Culminating Activities/Tasks:
As a GROUP, students design a "take action" service learning project and present their ideas and reflect on their experiences during a Community Showcase Night. Students invite parents, community members, and experts in their fields to attend Showcase Night.
As INDIVIDUALS, students create an advocacy project (public service announcements, websites, brochures, podcasts) based on the issue researched. They also write a reflective/persuasive essay about the process.
Interdisciplinary Learning:
We've found that this type of learning squelches all "when are we ever going to use this stuff?" complaints. Our students know that they are creating real world solutions for actual problems, which means that their work is inherently interdisciplinary. In fact, we think a project like TGPLAN transcends the disciplines and embraces the most powerful of all the "power standards." The proverbial light bulb flashes when students realize that they must understand the history of an issue to design the most viable solution, they must use mathematical skills to build a garden or calculate the carbon footprint of our school, they must use scientific skills to analyze water quality if they are committed to river clean-up, and they must communicate effectively and create persuasive products in order to give voice to the voiceless and powerless.
Global issues explored at EARTH University: sustainable resources, waste management, energy production, globalization of food
Service projects performed with the Bribri: painting a nursing home, planting trees, collecting trash, interacting with tribal members
Other issues explored in Costa Rica: interaction of cultures, colonization, poverty, immigration, industrialization and globalization
Back in Austin, Texas, as we launch into curriculum units about colonization and post-colonial identity (reading The Tempest and magical realism novels in English) and water issues in chemistry and math, we wanted to tap into the passion and curiosity we witnessed among our students in Costa Rica. TGPLAN allows students to study a global issue on a local level and provides an authentic platform for advocacy.
Project Overview: Working in groups of 4-6 people, students are tasked with the following:
- Determine a topic of interest
- Create a driving question
- Locate/gather valid resources
- Conduct initial research
- Interview experts
- Brainstorm potential solutions
- Draft action plans
- Assess potential impact
- Craft a project proposal
- Implement a “take action” plan
- Create an advocacy project that persuades an audience
- Reflect on the service-learning experience and impact
- Communicate to experts and community members about the experience
Culminating Activities/Tasks:
As a GROUP, students design a "take action" service learning project and present their ideas and reflect on their experiences during a Community Showcase Night. Students invite parents, community members, and experts in their fields to attend Showcase Night.
As INDIVIDUALS, students create an advocacy project (public service announcements, websites, brochures, podcasts) based on the issue researched. They also write a reflective/persuasive essay about the process.
Interdisciplinary Learning:
We've found that this type of learning squelches all "when are we ever going to use this stuff?" complaints. Our students know that they are creating real world solutions for actual problems, which means that their work is inherently interdisciplinary. In fact, we think a project like TGPLAN transcends the disciplines and embraces the most powerful of all the "power standards." The proverbial light bulb flashes when students realize that they must understand the history of an issue to design the most viable solution, they must use mathematical skills to build a garden or calculate the carbon footprint of our school, they must use scientific skills to analyze water quality if they are committed to river clean-up, and they must communicate effectively and create persuasive products in order to give voice to the voiceless and powerless.