Individual ideas yet Genuinely Global!

In Global Perspectives, we are developing a range of skills – such as research, collaboration, communication and reflection - and learning strategies through exploration of a number of challenges which encourage learners to engage with the society and environment around them and look to make a positive difference to the world we live in. Global Perspectives quite literally is as the name suggests – an opportunity to explore the ideas, beliefs and values of our fellow global citizens and explore how many of the pressing issues of today’s world affect us at different levels.

Positive minds … Transformative Projects & Outcomes!

Some of the more memorable project outcomes our learners have engaged themselves in producing include some insightful and far-reaching research into disease prevention and management, the importance of equity, tolerance and compassion when solving both conflicts and sharing resources and an exploration of what education means not only to ourselves as part of the Cambridge Learning Community but also our fellow students around the world through some exciting classroom collaborations with schools in India and Scotland. This is an area we hope to develop yet further so watch this space! Learners enjoy the fun and freedom that experiential project-based learning that Global Perspectives provides in contrast to the more rigid examination-based demands of our more traditional subjects and the skills, experiences and global exposure the subject offers will prove invaluable in preparing our learner to become the respectful, dynamic and confident global citizens they have the potential to be. It is with great anticipation and excitement that recently we announced our Global Perspectives & Art cross-curricular project which challenges learners to come up with an inventive and meaningful idea and outcome in showcasing the strained relationship we have with our natural environment through utilizing waste resources to make something positive and transformative in representing our environmental consciousness.

Empowering through experience…

An extension of Global Perspectives is our Model United Nations club which we run every Thursday evening after school. This provides an ideal post-lesson opportunity for learners and educators alike to discuss current affairs and the key issues and ideologies shaping the world of today and tomorrow. Participating in the Model UN club also affords the opportunity for learners to sharpen their skills of debate and prepare themselves for the world of public speaking and diplomacy. As yet we are still in the process of developing a network with our fellow international schools in Moscow with ISM and ourselves making foundations for future collaborations, whilst schools in the wider Eastern European region have also been contacted with a view to arranging an interactive Model UN simulator in the coming academic year. However arguably the highlight of the year so far from a Model UN club / Global Perspectives ‘perspective’ was our recent trip, in conjunction with the English department, to the residence of the British Ambassador to Russia, Sir Laurie Bristow. This was simply a wonderful and insightful excursion into the realm of diplomacy and international relations and our learners made the most of their opportunity by conducting themselves with decorum and maturity whilst offering some very insightful and probing questions for our British ambassador to respond to! Overall these are the sort of experiences which offer so much in terms of experience and fire the imagination and curiosity of our learners and ultimately we aim to embed more opportunities such as this within our learning community here at CIS Skolkovo.