Beyond Borders

1
Beyond Borders

• "Journeys are the midwives of thought. Few places
  are more conducive to internal conversations than
  a moving plane, ship or train. There is an almost
  quaint correlation between what is in front of
  our eyes and the thoughts we are able to have in
  our heads large thoughts at times requiring
  large views, new thoughts new places.
  Introspective reflections which are liable to
  stall are helped along by the flow of the
  landscape. The mind may be reluctant to think
  properly when thinking is all it is supposed to
  do. At the end of hours of train-dreaming, we
  may feel we have been returned to ourselves
  that is, brought back into contact with emotions
  and ideas of importance to us. It is not
  necessarily at home that we best encounter our
  true selves. The furniture insists that we cannot
  change because it does not the domestic setting
  keeps us tethered to the person we are in
  ordinary life, but who may not be who we
  essentially are. "
• Alain de Botton (The Art of Travel)

2
Beyond Borders  Exploring the Self through
Diverse Perspectives

• A Year 9 English Unit by
• Hugo Grieve Loreto Kirribilli
• Maura Manning Pymble Ladies College

3
The Situation

• A recent National Geographic study tested 18-24
  year old Americans, 83 percent of whom could not
  find Afghanistan on a map. Seventy percent could
  not find Israel or Iran. Only 37 percent could
  locate Iraq.
• 50 percent of all the books in translation now
  published worldwide are translated from English,
  but only 6 percent are translated into English.
• We have never been less isolationist in the
  variety of goods and services we consume from
  around the world, and never have we been more
  ignorant of the people who produce them.

4
Exploration of Difference

• It is not about what makes us all the same
• Opportunity to value dissonance
• Authentic learning begins when a student has
  powerful sense that they have encountered
  something fundamentally unfamiliar.

5
Our Intent

• To explore the complexities that inform
  contemporary Australian adolescent identity which
  is no longer bound by traditional national
  borders. 
• To encourage Year 9 students to look beyond
  themselves.
• To develop a critical awareness of others
  perspectives to enrich their understanding of
  themselves and our world.
• To address the Asian literature and general
  capabilities/cross-curricular requirements of the
  Australian Curriculum.
• To foster critical thinking and independence. 
     

6
Australian Curriculum

• To "equip all young Australians with the
  essential skills, knowledge and capabilities to
  thrive and compete in a globalised world and
  information rich workplaces of the current
  century."

7
Cross Curriculum Areas of the Australian
Curriculum

• Asia and Australias relationship with Asia A
• Civics and citizenship CC
• Critical and creative thinking CCT
• Difference and diversity DD
• Ethical understanding EU
• Information and communication technologies ICT
• Intercultural understanding IU
• Literacy L
• Personal and social competence PSC

8
The Unit

• Meaningful exploration of global awareness not
  just ticking a box that we have done Asia
• Using texts from Asia, Australia, US as a lens to
  examine ourselves
• Expanding our definition of Asia to include the
  rich literary heritage of South East Asia and the
  sub-continent
• The exploration of the notion of dual identity
• Providing students with opportunities to work
  independently and collaboratively at their own
  pace to cover a diverse range of texts and ideas

9
Flexible Grouping

• Many options for grouping
• Ability
• Learning Style
• Particular Skills
• Interest
• Differentiation
• Maker Model (1982)
• Content
• Process
• Product
• Learning Environment

10
Essential Questions

• How does Asia influence our Australian identity?
• Why should I want to know more about literature
  in Asia?
• Why adopt a global perspective?

11
Design

• Students are issued a passport
• Over the course of the unit, students travel from
  country to country building their knowledge of
  the place/culture and reflecting on how the texts
  inform their understanding of identity
• Classes blocked on together move flexibly from
  room to room completing tasks and reflecting on
  their experiences allow students to work at their
  own pace.

12
Sequence of Activities

• Building understanding of what informs identity
• Discussion of concept of dual or multiple
  identities
• Journey begins
• Text exploring being Asian in Australia (e.g.
  story from Growing Up Asian in Australia)
• Analytical writing activities
• Text exploring conflict of identity in the
  culture (substantial text)
• Range of activities based on this text
• Popular culture text
• Non-fiction exploring youth culture/culture of
  country
• Student reflection in their passport
• Student contribution to class Facebook
• Once students have completed tasks for this
  place, they travel to the next country and
  undertake similar sequence there.

13
Project Zero Visible Thinking

• Purpose and GoalsVisible Thinking is a flexible
  and systematic research-based approach to
  integrating the development of students' thinking
  with content learning across subject matters. An
  extensive and adaptable collection of practices,
  Visible Thinking has a double goal on the one
  hand, to cultivate students' thinking skills and
  dispositions, and, on the other, to deepen
  content learning. By thinking dispositions, we
  mean curiosity, concern for truth and
  understanding, a creative mindset, not just being
  skilled but also alert to thinking and learning
  opportunities and eager to take them

14
8 Cultural Forces that Define our Classrooms

• Time
• Opportunities
• Routines Structures
• Language
• Modelling
• Interactions Relationships
• Physical Environment
• Expectations

15
Strengths

• Positive staff feedback as they are working in
  their areas of interest.
• Students enjoyed the variety of teaching styles
• Element of surprise
• Classrooms became cultural landscapes

16
Challenges

• Reporting/tracking students progress
• Teacher understanding
• Uneven resources for different countries
• Parental concern about student placement
• Tension in teaching styles