Your Name and Title: Eliane Metni, Global Teenager Project and iEARN-Lebanon Coordinator

Organization Name: GTP and iEARN

Co-Presenter Name(s): Garfield Gini Newman, Anita Townsend, Bob Hofman
Country from Which You Will Present: Canada, Holland, Lebanon
Language in Which You Will Present: English
Target Audience: Teachers, Middle and High School

Short Session Description:United Beyond Our Diversity Learning Circles enhanced by the TC2 critical thinking tools.

Full Session Description:

In this session we will demonstrate how the use the critical thinking tools in the Global Teenager Project Learning Circle “United Beyond Our Diversity” have enabled 14 classes from Canada, Holland, Ukraine, Romania, Ghana, Lebanon and Taiwan to explore meaningfully how they are united beyond their diversity.

The session will start with a brief presentation of the Global Teenager Project and the United beyond Our Diversity theme; The wiki hosting one of the Learning Circles (12-15 years of age) will be shared with an overview of the 6 phases of the Learning Circle.

We will then present how the critical thinking tools fit in each phase of the circle and share specific questions raised during the circle; and the use of these tools has been supported by weekly webinars.

Background information about the project:

In the GTP UBOD Learning Circle students raise critical questions, research, analyze and present their views about what unites us and the value of our local and global diversity. The classes in this learning circle will dig deeper than the surface to explore the common threads and the richness of our diversity despite the apparent differences in our geography, culture, religion and race.

In this Learning Circle our aim is to connect diverse cultures to build bridges between people and to find the common humanity that binds us all. Classes currently participating are join from Canada, Lebanon, The Netherlands, Ukraine, Taiwan, Kenya, Ghana and Romania.

The Global Teenager Project is partnering with the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE) in Toronto Canada to research how, through improved questioning and specific thinking skill strategies, we can improve the learning for those students in the learning circle. Garfield Gini- Newman, senior lecturer at OISE and a consultant with the Thinking Skills Consortium (TC2) of Canada provided tools and supported teachers in designing learning which provides richer questions for students to focus their learning within this international learning community.

Background information.

The outcome of the 2012 'United beyond our Diversity" Learning Circle will be presented at the 2013 iEARN World conference in Qatar.

Websites / URLs Associated with Your Session:

• https://gtpubod1215september2012.pbworks.com
• https://gtpubod1518september2012.pbworks.com