Global Classroom

Washington State educators K-12 are  eligible to receive clock hours for their participation in Global Classroom programming. Check out our upcoming workshops for the 2023-2024 school year!

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In-Person: Each school year, Global Classroom organizes up to ten training programs on a variety of relevant international topics. Programs include guest speakers, panelists, hands-on activities, an up-to-date curriculum resource guide, dinner, and clock hours.

Virtual/Hybrid: Due to the pandemic, Global Classroom has shifted our programming to virtual models to ensure educators have access to our events and opportunities while we are remote, and as we navigate the transition back to in-person education. Programs include guest speakers, panelists, asynchronous activities, an up-to-date curriculum resource guide, and clock hours.

Participants leave with greater understanding of global issues and stronger connections to their colleagues in both the greater Seattle community and abroad. Curriculum Resource Guides are published following every event and posted free online, including STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) specific content.

Global Classroom is excited to relaunch our first asynchronous series for educators this fall! This series centers Reorienting Africa in the Classroom: An Introduction to the Modern African State. This course is available through June 2024. Follow the link to learn more, https://www.world-affairs.org/event/new-asynchronous-series-reorienting-africa-in-the-classroom-an-introduction-to-the-modern-african-state/

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This Asynchronous Series consists of an array of asynchronous resources and activities that teachers will be able to access and complete at any point throughout the school year. This series will also offer recordings of our LIVE workshops and opportunities to connect international speakers directly with classrooms and students. All participants will receive comprehensive curriculum resource guides to supplement the series and Washington State educators will be eligible for clock hours upon completion.

Since 2016, Global Classroom has offered a Spring and Fall Book Club to provide educators and community members with an opportunity to read highly-acclaimed, relevant literature pertaining to major global issues. Participants are often given the opportunity to meet and discuss the book with the author, and are then asked to reflect on or create a short lesson based around both the book and the issue it addresses. Past books have included: City of Thorns by Ben Rawlence, The Heartbeat of Iran by Tara Kangarlou, and Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World by Dr. Anu Taranath. Check out our past Book Clubs, here. See our calendar for upcoming opportunities to participate!

Global Classroom curates a short list of 3rd party travel and exchange opportunities for teachers and educators to expand their global competency through exchange programs and other international and domestic opportunities. Check out our opportunities for 2022-2023!

In the ‘Curriculum Resource Guides for Educators’ section of this website, visitors will find an extensive library of curriculum resource guides centering global issues and current events. Each guide consists of curricula designed to support K-12 teachers implementing the Washington State social studies Classroom-Based Assessments (CBAs), and additional curriculum materials including videos, podcasts, lesson plans, images, articles, and more. These guides are also valuable to anyone teaching world politics, history, geography, or economics as well as students working on assignments or projects related to global current events.

World Educator Award: Each year, the World Affairs Council honors a local educator who has made exceptional contributions in broadening the global horizons of students and colleagues. The recipient of the World Educator Award is an outstanding K-12 teacher who promotes international understanding in the classroom and contributes to the development of resources so that other educators and community members are better prepared to meet a major challenge of our time: to educate youth about world affairs. Nominate a World Educator for the 2023-2024 School Year!

Educator of the Month: is an appreciation initiative featured in our bi-weekly newsletter and website to recognize and highlight the great work educators are doing throughout Washington State centering global education. Global Classroom aims to celebrate K-12 educators, as well as educators in higher education, for their creativity, passion, and success in bringing the world into their classrooms, engaging students in timely and diverse topics surrounding global current events; providing accessible opportunities for students to connect with diverse perspectives, cultures, languages, and people; and preparing students to become globally engaged citizens and leaders. Click here to learn more about our Educators of the Month for 2022 and submit your nominations for 2024 today!

2023 marks the 25th year that the World Affairs Council has hosted the World Citizen Essay Contest, open to third through twelfth graders across Washington State. The goal of the contest is to promote discussion among students, teachers, families, and community members about the ways that individuals can affect positive change in the global community. Check out our 2023 World Citizen Essay Contest winners and submit your essay for the 2024 World Citizen Essay Contest by midnight on Sunday, March 24th, 2024.

Our Global Competence Certificate Portfolio program allows students to develop, reflect, and demonstrate their global competency in our increasingly interconnected and interdependent world. The program was created to track students’ development of competencies that are critical to their success as globally-engaged citizens, through the successful completion of a website portfolio and presentation in which students are required to encompass their experiences and perspectives centering three key competencies,

• Global Learning
• International Engagement
• Language and Intercultural Learning

Students will present their portfolios to educators and staff upon completion to receive a Global Competence Certificate, issued by the World Affairs Council of Seattle. Students who present their portfolios in 9-11th grades, but do not meet the requirements, will also have the opportunity to continue developing their portfolios, and earn the certificate later in their high school careers. Students participating in the Heritage Language Program are able to complete their portfolios in their Heritage Language (Spanish, Russian, and Romanian) and are eligible to receive the Global Seal of Biliteracy, issued by the Ethnic Heritage Council in addition to the Global Competence Certificate. Learn more about the Global Competence Certificate Portfolio and get started today!

Students are invited to attend select World Affairs Council Community Events with policy experts, political figures, and international leaders discussing important global issues. As we continue to navigate the pandemic, these educational and engaging events have transformed into “Virtual Field Trip” opportunities to allow students and teachers to attend online. Click here to learn about upcoming Community Events and plan your virtual field trip today!

International Youth Programs: Every year, Global Classroom partners with the Council’s Global Leadership Exchange (GLX) Team (formerly known as the International Visitor Program) to host visiting students from across the globe here in Seattle. We support GLX in providing international students with homestays and a full programming calendar of meetings with local organizations, as well as our own workshops to help make their time in Seattle educational, fun, and fulfilling. Click here for information on how to become a host family!

Classroom Visits: Each year, Global Classroom has the opportunity to welcome international leaders, participating in GLX exchanges, directly into classrooms in the Greater Seattle area and throughout Washington State. Connecting the local to the global, these classroom visits bring students and international visitors together to share their perspectives on what’s happening in the world; to reinforce curriculum with lived experience; and to create meaningful relationships beyond borders. We look forward to implementing several virtual classroom visits this spring, featuring international visitors representing Morocco, Malawi, and Zambia! Learn more about our experience with IVLP Alumni in the Classroom, https://www.world-affairs.org/event/reflections-connecting-the-local-to-global-ivlp-alumni-in-the-classroom-2022/