ESS and International Mindedness

International mindedness is a key concept underpinning an IB Education however in the most recent publication of "What is an IB Education?" from 2013, it is considered under the heading "multilingualism and intercultural understanding". The 2013 IB publication states, "Education for international-mindedness relies on the development of learning environments that value the world as the broadest context for learning." This should be at the heart of your planning for ESS and is very easy to do.

The use of case studies can aid in the development of international mindedness but you will also find that the curriculum is in fused with opportunities to develop students understanding of other cultures, perspectives and ideas from around the world. Doing this will enhance student's learning and result in better exam performances when done well.

I've gathered together some examples of pages from this site where international mindedness is foremost and can be used in your unit planning. Topic 1 is very rich with material and so every time you embed topic one ideas in your units then you are developing intercultural awareness.

1.1 Environmental Value Systems

Environmental value systems are an excellent way to start the course and get to know your students. I like to start by asking students to explore what they know already, who they are (in the context of...

1.1 Environmental History

It's important to balance the amount of time that you could spend on this topic with the relative weight placed on the topic in the syllabus/guide. On the one hand, there is about 1.5 hours allocated...

1.1 What do you think? What do they think?

It's useful to start with the student at the centre of things and to have them engage with their own EVS. Next students need to start developing an understanding of why different groups will have different...

1.1 Exploring ideas of Intrinsic Value

Some people believe that all / some elements of the natural environment have intrinsic value. They should be valued just because they exist. There are a number of countries which have given an equal right...

1.1 Tribal Societies

In order to develop a deeper understanding of how different societies interact with the environment and explore the ideas that tribal societies are somehow "in balance" with the environment, try this...

1.1 Cultural Attitudes

The development of environmental movements is often viewed from a very western perspective. We are going to investigate a couple of examples that will help broaden our understanding of how different societies...

1.1 Important People in Environmentalism

Significant Idea:Historical events, among other influences, affect the development of environmental value systems (EVSs) and environmental movements.Student ActivitiesVersion 1

1.1 Sometimes it takes a Disaster

Sometimes it takes a disaster to change the way a government or society responds to an environmental problem. In this activity students consider five major environmental disasters answering key questions...

1.4 Ecological Footprints - Personal Investigation

Following these simple instructions, students will calculate their own personal ecological footprint and compare it to some case studies available on the Footprint Network website. This is a great way...

1.4 Comparing EIAs

Students should review what is involved in an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and then as a class, complete the table using the links (and others they may find). You can adapt this activity to your...

1.5 Dilemma of DDT Debate

Refer back to The Dilemma of DDT in The Topics section for more background information on DDT.My most recent group of students really engaged in this activity and it made a memorable impression on them....

2.2 Investigating Food Chains

I have been using the HHMI Biointeractive activity Creating Chains and Webs to Model Ecological Relationships to help students interact with the concepts involved in the topic. I think the activity really...

2.3 Human Impacts on the Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles

I have designed an activity that enables students to make the connections between human impacts on both the nitrogen and carbon cycles. I think it is quite fun and builds on students own technological...

3.3 Tropical Biomes and Sustainable Development

Students need to know about tropical biomes and be able to discuss the challenges they face as societies in developing sustainably. I developed this case study exercise to develop an inquiry based approach...

3.3 Invasive Species

Invasive species are those which have been introduced into an environment to which they are not naturally found. If they become a problem, out-competing the native (endemic) species, then they are classed...

3.4 Conventions on Biodiversity

I often don't have much time left to cover this part of the guide but this is a nice self-directed task for students to engage with a country in which they are interested and to find out what they are...

3.4 Organisations in Conservation

Students need to understand the type and range of organisations involved in conservation projects. They range from the global in scale to very local organisations. This means that the groups have very...

4.2 Water Case Studies

Students can use the resources Water Case Study Resources to start building their own case studies. I usually have students produce a more detailed poster on one of these case studies and then we complete...

4.2 Conflict over Water

There's not a lot of time allocated to this topic statement but the guide specifically states that students should be able to discuss how international conflict over water can arise. There are some great...

4.3 Controversial Harvesting of a Species

This activity challenges the students preconceived ideas and opinions about this highly controversial issue. I have selected resources that are hard hitting and very often quite emotional to watch. This...

5.2 Comparative Food Production Case Study

As part of this course, students are required to have two food production case studies that they can compare for terrestrial systems. I have my students become familiar with Iowa intensive corn production...

5.3 Sustainable soil management case study

This is the incredible story of a man called Yacobo Sawadogo. He is a farmer from Burkina Faso who used traditional soil conservation techniques to restore soil damaged by years of desertification and...

6.4 Acid Deposition

Acid deposition was a major environmental problem in the 1970s and 1980s and continues to be a problem as long as fossil fuels are burned. This is one of the reasons why it is still a large part of the...

7.2 Impacts of Climate Change Case Studies

In an attempt to develop students' understanding of how the "impacts" of climate change will vary from location to location I have devised a case study exercise in which students compare two locations...

7.2 Climate Change Negotiations

This activity is a way to develop students' understanding of the process of climate change negotiations. It provides them with some perspectives on how this process has developed over time.

7.3 Mitigation of Climate Change

Here is an activity to help understand the mitigation of climate change. Students should review the slide show showing different mitigation strategies then rank the strategies by cost, ease and effectiveness.

7.3 Adaptation Strategies for Climate Change

It sometimes helps to look at specifics. I asked my students to research the adaptation strategies connected to the countries they had researched for the Impacts assignment 7.2 Impacts of Climate Change...

8.1 An Introduction to Human Population Demographics

For a biologist starting to teach what was then Environmental Systems, this topic was my biggest fear. I had never studied this topic academically and so had to set about teaching myself first before...

8.3 Plastic Pollution

Plastic has become the number one environmental enemy recently, partly following the BBC documentary Blue Planet where Sir David Attenborough raised its profile and the follow-up documentary Drowning...

8.4 Ecological Footprints

This sub-topic overlaps largely with sub-topic 1.4 on Sustainability. I chose to teach most of the concepts within sub-topic 1.4 and then to revisit and reenforce these ideas through this section of learning.

8.4 Human Population and Carrying Capacity

The concepts of a human population's carrying capacity and its ecological footprint are the inverse of each other. The carrying capacity is the maximum number of humans that can sustainably be supported...

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