Teaching Locally, Engaging Globally: Creating a Community of Global Thinking Fellows (2016-2018)

Funded by USDA: NIFA Higher Education Challenge Grant Program

The purpose of this proposal is to provide faculty with up-to-date curriculum on critical thinking concepts and instruction through an online academy hosted by three institutions. The Global Thinking Academy (GTA) will promote the strengthening of critical thinking by faculty through direct instruction, but also through the multidisciplinary perspectives shared by other participants and the project team. Other key topics of the GTA include teaching and learning pedagogy, critical thinking pedagogy, international curriculum integration, and case study writing. Context for the GTA will be created through application and study of the NIFA Priority Areas through the examination of the impact of Climate Change on Global Food Security and Hunger. Eighteen participants will participate in the GTA and then attend an international trip with the key members of the project team. Products will include scenario-based RLOs that provide a unique perspective by incorporating not only skills of critical thinking, but also the intersection of each participant’s discipline and NIFA Priority Areas. The products of the project would be approximately 18 scenarios written through the Academy experience. One additional product of the project will be a Best Practices Guide for Integrating International Field Experiences into Critical Thinking Curriculum.