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What is TR@TC Global Citizens?
The overarching aim of the TR@TC Global Citizens Program is to provide teachers, both experienced and new, with a space to experiment with their pedagogy and practice while feeling safe to take professional risks. We want to support teachers in being ambitious in the ways they think about teaching and learning.
At the same time, by using principles of inquiry-based learning and healing-centered engagement, we aim to provide high school students with learning spaces where they can imagine and grow. Global Citizens experiences integrate opportunities for students to practice and develop important disciplinary literacies and 21st Century Skills that are vital for participating in a global, interconnected community.
It is important for all of us to share the role of being global citizens who are accountable for the health and well-being of the people and environment around us. As we do this, we must account for our decisions on both a local and global scale. In this program, we are doing this by asking question like:
How can we contribute positively to our local communities?
How can these contributions also impact wider-reaching initiatives that can positively impact the world on a more global scale?
Each summer, NYC public school teachers and high school students work alongside Teaching Residents to engage in inquiry-based projects. Summer programming culminates with a showcase of findings and recommendations that connect to a local issues that are being studied. To date, we are in the process of developing and implementing three different learning paths that function under the umbrella of the TR@TC Global Citizens Program: Citizen Scientist, Digital Citizens, and Citizen Activist.
TR@TC Global Citizens Learning Paths
To date, we are in the process of developing and implementing three different learning paths that function under the umbrella of the TR@TC Global Citizens Program: Citizen Scientist, Digital Citizens, and Citizen Storyteller.
While varied in content, all experiences are designed to meet the following common criteria:
Each learning path...
...allows students to deeply explore an area of personal interest, especially something that connects with their personal passions.
...provides students with opportunities to develop and enhance disciplinary literacies and 21st Century skills.
...results in a final product that showcases students’ work in ways that can be shared with a wider audience.
As a whole, TR@TC Global Citizens is attempting to work with students to develop skills that are specific to engaging in community-based action research, advocacy and organizing. Each learning path offers opportunities to focus on specific elements that are connected to this work.
Citizen Scientist
This interdisciplinary summer program integrates Life Science, Earth Science, and ELA Common Core learning standards. Teachers are exploring ways to support students in developing and acting upon the skills they will need to be environmental citizen scientists and community activists. Most commonly, Citizen Scientist investigate questions related to the health of the New York City waterbodies.
Digital Citizens
First piloted as part the TR@TC Global Citizens pivot to virtual summer programming in 2020, this interdisciplinary curriculum integrates Computer Science, Life Science and ELA Common Core learning standards. Teachers who are the designers and implementers of this program are experimenting with ways to support students in thinking about issues in their communities using design thinking strategies to solve problems innovatively. This pathway has since shifted to in-person experiences that offer opportunities for students to solve problems in collaboration with local organizations such as the NYC Parks Department.
Citizen Storyteller
The Citizen Storyteller Summer Program provides an opportunity for high school-aged students to engage in diverse, exciting methods of storytelling including oral history, poetry, theater, and podcasts. Students will develop academic language proficiency within these disciplines by engaging in project-based learning in real-world storytelling settings. The program includes authentic opportunities for students to learn from mentors in each field through field trips and workshops with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Society of Illustrators, the Teachers College Digital Futures Institute, and more