TEACH
DR. COWELL’S GLOBAL EDUCATION TOOLKIT
Click on the file folder to find just a small sampling of some of the tools I have begun developing and implementing my classrooms within the Global Education framework.
Check back regularly as these tools may be updated as my practice develops and evolves.
DR. COWELL’S SPOTLIGHT CHALLENGE ACTIVITY
During my coursework and preparation for my Field Experience, I was challenged to create an activity that utilized one of the Digital Resources listed below. I chose Radio Garden. Click folder for activity PDF.
This activity builds global competency by asking students to engage directly with music from another country through Radio Garden while intentionally setting aside their own musical expectations and cultural biases. By listening objectively, identifying unfamiliar musical characteristics, and reflecting on what those sounds might communicate about another culture or lived experience, students practice recognizing different perspectives and developing greater cultural awareness through music.
My students thoroughly enjoyed this activity and provided some incredibly meaningful insight — not just from the standpoint of global education and competency but demonstrating the mastery of their vocabulary with vocal technique and pedagogy. One student even commented on the frequencies produced in the vibrato from a singer.
“The vibrato is super unique. It feels rhythmic and instead of vibrating naturally to the lower pitch, it feels like it fluctuates instead between the sharper or higher pitch.” - commenting on Spanish Flamenco
Amazing Digital Tools
for Global Education
Radio Garden lets students explore live radio stations from countries and communities around the world. Students can hear different music, languages, and cultures firsthand, helping them experience new global perspectives.
Practical Application: see SPOTLIGHT CHALLENGE ACTIVITY above
METkids lets students explore artwork and objects from The Metropolitan Museum of Art through an interactive, kid-friendly experience. Students can discover art from different places, cultures, and time periods, helping them explore new perspectives and better understand the world through art.
Practical Application: As students explore music and composers of the Romantic period, jump into the METkids Time Machine and explore art from 1800–1900. Ask students to identify connections between the music they are studying and artistic movements happening around the world during the same period. Bonus — have them use vocabulary terms like motif, theme, or tone poem / program music.
THE KENNEDY CENTER EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Kennedy Center Education provides classroom resources that help students explore music, theater, dance, visual arts, and other creative traditions. Its collections connect the arts with different cultures, histories, and perspectives, giving students another way to explore and understand the world.
Practical Application: Choose a country, culture, or artistic tradition connected to your current curriculum and explore the Kennedy Center's collections for related performances and classroom resources. Have students examine how artists use music, dance, theater, or visual art to communicate cultural experiences and perspectives.
Class2Class connects classrooms from around the world so students can learn and collaborate directly with peers in other countries. Through shared projects and cultural exchanges, students explore different perspectives, build intercultural understanding, and develop the skills needed to become active global citizens.
Practical Application: Connect your students with a classroom in another country and have both classes explore the same topic from their own perspectives: from school life and music to climate change or an SDG. They could even discuss ways to solve problems within their local communities, compare their experiences, ask questions of their international peers, and collaborate on a shared product or solution.
PEACE CORPS EDUCATOR RESOURCES
Peace Corps Educator Resources provide lessons and materials that bring global cultures, experiences, and perspectives into the classroom. Through stories and resources connected to Peace Corps communities around the world, students can build cultural understanding, empathy, and global awareness.
Practical Application: Select a Peace Corps story, video, or lesson connected to a country your students are studying and use it to introduce a firsthand cultural perspective. Ask students to compare their assumptions about the community before and after hearing from someone who lived and worked there. The Peace Corps collection specifically includes materials designed around intercultural understanding and global citizenship.
Local Organizations
with Global Mindsets
Explore organizations across the St. Louis region that bring global perspectives into our local communities and offer opportunities for educators and students to connect, learn, and engage with the wider world.
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ST. LOUIS
Connect with resources, programs, and community experiences that help educators introduce students to the cultures, stories, and perspectives of St. Louis’s growing immigrant and refugee communities.
WORLD AFFAIRS COUNCIL OF ST. LOUIS
Explore programs and resources that bring international affairs and global issues into local classrooms while connecting students with the wider world.
UNITED NATIONS ASSOCIATION OF ST. LOUIS
Discover opportunities to engage students with the work of the United Nations, the Sustainable Development Goals, human rights, and issues affecting communities around the globe.
Find opportunities to connect students and educators with St. Louis’s international community while building greater cultural awareness, inclusion, and understanding across differences.