Appalachian State University Launches Global Leaders Scholars Program in Partnership with Participate Learning

Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education has a clear vision for preparing its students to become leaders in the field of education. That vision includes ensuring future teachers have the global perspective necessary to prepare today’s K-12 students to succeed in the global workforce.

To expand this vision of global engagement and intercultural diversity, the college recently launched a Global Leaders Scholars Program. This program will help participants become education leaders who not only understand their membership in the global community, but also how to infuse global learning opportunities and problem solving into all aspects of instruction for their students. This additional training also focuses on showing these future teachers how to take action – and teach their students to take action – to improve their local and global communities.

The first group of 20 Global Leaders Scholars began their year-long training on October 21 with a kickoff session. The curriculum and instruction for the Global Leaders Scholars Program is provided through a partnership with Participate Learning, a leader in global education.

“The Reich College of Education is proud to partner with Participate Learning to develop globally-competent teachers and leaders,” said Dr. Hannah Reeder, assistant dean for the Reich College of Education. “The Global Leaders Scholars will learn how to infuse global learning into their core instruction while building inclusive learning environments that are focused on empowering students through a global mindset. This work aligns with the College’s mission to support global service and engagement through outreach, connection, and collaboration. We are grateful to Participate Learning for partnering with us to offer this opportunity to our pre-service teachers.”

The curriculum and instruction comes from Participate Learning and their Global Leaders framework. This global education framework is designed to prepare students to become globally competitive for their future careers. As the framework integrates with a partner’s existing priorities, it’s a great match for what Appalachian State wants to achieve with the Global Leaders Scholars Program.

The scholars will learn to build their capacity as global educators who, in turn, build global leadership in students through learning experiences designed to take action in local communities and beyond. Over the year, scholars will complete a series of courses on global leadership. In addition, scholars can benefit from the online community of practice provided by Participate Learning to deepen their understanding of the course content. For each professional development course they complete, scholars will have the opportunity to earn a digital credential to add to their virtual global education portfolio.

“Our focus at Participate Learning is to unite the world through global learning, and that’s why the partnership for the Global Leaders Scholars Program is such a perfect fit. The program demonstrates that the Reich College of Education is always identifying new ways to enrich the curriculum they offer and develop K-12 teachers ready to prepare their students to succeed in the global workforce,” said Jake Henry, Chief Academic Officer at Participate Learning. “Our team at Participate Learning is excited about our partnership with Appalachian State and the opportunity to bring our Global Leaders framework to these future leaders.”

Find out more about how Participate Learning works with schools to develop personalized plans to infuse global learning into their curriculum here. Connect with us on Twitter to see more examples of learning in action from our partner schools.

Photo credit: Rebekah Saylors