The Global Classroom

Liberal Arts Education in the 21st century

Global sustainability challenges require global solutions. Yet, most forms of action occur at the local level. The effects of local actions spread to the global level through multiple and interconnected networks. Being able to approach sustainability challenges in both local and global contexts is thus critical to higher education for sustainability in the 21st century. Therefore, we need curricula and teaching and learning environments that enable students to become critical citizens who actively participate and engage in solutions for realworld challenges.

GCN

Goals and Perspectives

The Global Classroom is both a teaching and a research project. Its goal is to create a transferable model curriculum as well as resources for implementing such a “Global Classroom Curriculum” in many different teaching contexts. It also seeks to contribute interdisciplinarily to areas of sustainability in higher education, learning studies, competency research, and learnin technologies.

The study program

...emphasizes research from the beginning. Students add to the knowledge base in their fields in form of peerreviewed and edited publications, presentations and virtual exhibits, taking advantage of new media and publication venues.
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The educational research

… in form of qualitative research accompanies the teaching phases of both student cohorts and is still ongoing until September 2016, under supervision of Dr. Guido Caniglia, Beatrice John, and Leonie Bellina.
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The transfer

… is the last phase and started end 2015. Transferring means for the project to initiate, collaborate, and assist in other programs and universities with the development of a reformed curriculum.
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This vision, as well as the work of a group of scholars on curriculum reform led by Yehuda Elkana at the Berlin Institute for Advanced Study, inspired the Global Classroom project. The Global Classroom is a collaboration between Leuphana University Lüneburg and Arizona State University, funded by Stiftung Mercator. It is an experiment that has brought together students from different cultures in a collaborative, digitally facilitated, and transdisciplinary learning environment. Between 2012 and 2016, instructors, students, and researchers in the Global Classroom have developed a curriculum and a teachinglearning environment that enable students to address global sustainability challenges in local and global contexts.

Study Program

Learning in the Global Classroom curriculum revolves around several core competencies.
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Research and Approach

The Global Classroom project is accompanied by substantial qualitative research. The goal was substantial practical relevance for instructors and program designers.
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Student Projects

Global Classroom students developed research projects that connect the urban areas of Hamburg/Lüneburg (Germany) and Phoenix/Tempe (USA) in a shared global research context.
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Publications

Research and Transfer in the Global Classroom project is still ongoing.
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Contact

Global Classroom
Universitätsallee 1, 21335 Lüneburg
globalclassroom@leuphana.de