Global Perspectives - active learning

Second chapter

GLOBAL 2AS The Magazine PERSPECTIVES

Miriam Antonaci, Elisa Chinelli, Sofia Ditella, Agnese Fella, Lucrezia Gippone, Giuliano Milan, Luca Maselli, Mitia Lazzarin, Gabriele Parasiliti, Sofia Cavallo, Benedetta Pontin, Giulia Sciarra, Stefano Squarcio, Giaele Vallini, Carola vay, Melani Hristovska, Elisa Pazienza, Enrico Moretti, Matilde La Ferrara, Sofia Avitabile, Rachele Damiani

1. MEMORY AND SKILLS

2. NEW KEY WORDS

3. TOPICS AND ISSUES

4. ERASMUS+ PROJECT

5. OUR WEEK IN CAMBRIDGE

6. WORD CLOUD

MEMORY AND LEARNING SKILLS

-how our brain works

Our brain helps us remember important things for later. It acts like a filter, storing important stuff in our memory while ignoring less important things. Sometimes this happens without us realizing. First, everything goes into our short-term memory, then the brain filters what's important. This helps us focus on important things, like listening to one person in a crowd. But sudden loud noises can distract us. Our brain also helps us notice things crucial for survival. To remember stuff, we need to make sure the brain stores it. Learning the alphabet or multiplication tables is an example. Our long-term memory builds on past learning, making it easier to learn new things. We can use different strategies to help remember information better. Learning more improves our ability to learn, similar to how exercise improves fitness. This section on memory is about changing how we learn to improve memory

-making connections

Learning is like building a spider's web in our minds When we learn something new, it's easier if we can connect it to what we already know Making these connections helps us remember and use the information later. It's like practicing a sport – the more we practice, the better we get. Mind-maps are great for organizing our thoughts visually and linking ideas together They use words and images, making it easier to understand complex information Spider diagrams are a type of mind-map that helps organize information into different topics They start with a central idea and branch out, allowing us to add details and examples. These tools are helpful for planning writing and making sure our ideas make sense and have enough supporting details

-organising information

Being organized helps you remember more. Our brains prefer order and can connect information faster when it's organized. Planning is important for the Cambridge

IGCSE and O Level Global Perspectives course. For example, textbooks with chapters, sections, and headings help you follow information easily, making it easier for your brain to understand and remember

-keeping focused

When learning, it's important to focus on one thing at a time so your brain can move what you're learning from short-term to long-term memory. Multitasking can make this harder. Even adults can only concentrate for about 15 to 20 minutes, so taking breaks is essential Doing something different for a couple of minutes helps you refocus The Pomodoro technique helps you stay focused by using a timer You work on one task for about 20 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. It was invented by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, using a tomato-shaped kitchen timer Now, you can use mechanical timers, electronic timers, or apps on your phone or computer for this technique

THE SKILL OF REFLECTION (giaele)

-reflection for learning

Reflection is really important for learning It's all about thinking deeply about things that have happened or things you're going to do In school, it helps with tasks like answering questions, writing reports, and working in teams

If you're already good at reflecting, that's great! But if not, don't worry. There are ways to get better at it Reflecting on what you've learned in class can help you figure out what you need to improve and plan for what's next And sharing your thoughts with others can make your learning even better.

Tools like mind-maps and timelines can also help organize your thoughts and remember what you've learned

SHARING IDEAS AND WORKING AS A TEAM (benedetta)

Sharing ideas is essential for better understanding and smoother collaboration in both work and play. It enables us to uncover diverse perspectives and find optimal solutions. Discussing ideas enhances our comprehension, while fair sharing of information and tasks in a team ensures collective success.

From this text, we have learned that sharing our ideas is crucial for effective communication and the success of teamwork. Sharing ideas allows others to understand what we are thinking, facilitating cooperation and the search for optimal solutions. Additionally, discussing our ideas with others can help us clarify them better in our own minds. Working in a team also requires fairness and inclusion, ensuring that each member has a role and feels valued for their contribution.

-listening attentively

We often learn from teachers, parents, and friends by listening to them Sometimes we forget what we hear right away, which is called 'in one ear and out the other.' This section encourages practicing attentive listening in group activities When working in teams or groups, it's beneficial to establish ground rules to ensure everyone feels included and comfortable, regardless of whether they're talkative or quiet It's crucial for everyone to participate in discussions and stay informed to collaborate effectively. The text prompts groups to discuss methods for ensuring everyone is heard and listens to each other, using memory skills to recall who said what

To foster collaboration, it's essential to ensure everyone participates in discussions and is aware of what's happening From this text, we learn the significance of establishing ground rules for group interactions, ensuring everyone's voice is heard, and practicing active listening skills In everyday life, these principles are crucial in various scenarios, such as family discussions, workplace meetings, and classroom activities.

This chapter’s keywords

Brainstorming

Metacognition

Globalisation

Active Learning

Reflection

Pomodoro technique

LOGICAL

In philosophy it is the study of the laws and functions that characterize the structure of thought itself, called formal logic, which studied the relationship between thought and its contents.

Today logic is understood as a mathematical discipline that studies the forms of reasoning, through the analysis of their validity, that Is, as arguments in which the truth of the conclusions follows from that of the premises independently of the content of the propositions involved.

SMART PLAN

First of all, the term smart is an acronym that indicates the 5 fundamental qualities that an objective must possess: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-based.

Having a smart plan is essential to carry out projects and obtain results in any type of business and in any context: in the short and long term, in stable situations and in uncertainty, before starting but also during the execution of the work.

Metacognition refers to the awareness and understanding of our own thought processes. It involves the ability to reflect and regulate cognitive activities such as problem-solving, decision-making, memory and learning. Basically it's thinking about thinking. Metacognition enables us to monitor their mental processes, and adapt strategies to improve our learning and problem-solving skills.

Globalisation is the development of close economical, political and cultural connections between almost all of the countries in the world.This phenomenon has been happening in the past years because of how travel and communication are fast.

Pomodoro technique is

a time management method that enables students and workers to stay focused on a task.

Here’s how it usually works:

1. Choose a task

2. Set a 25 minutes timer

3. Work on the task until the timer rings

4. Take a 5 minute break

5. Repeat the process (after 4 sessions of 25 minutes, take a longer brake)

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a creative process of generating ideas, typically done in a group setting, where participants freely propose a wide range of thoughts and concepts on a specific topic without immediately judging or analyzing them.

Reflection

Reflection is the act

of thinking deeply or carefully about an idea, experience of the past, or situation, often to gain insight or understanding.

Reflection is helpful in learning because it helps us to remember and learn from our experience or our studies. Sometimes we need to reflect on things to understand them better.

Active learning:

Active learning is a process that has student learning at its centre. It focuses on how students learn, not just on what they learn. It is understanding how your brain works when remembering informations by using effective strategies.

Evaluation:

In order to be more effective in learning we need to evaluate it. It’s important to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of our learning so that we can use strategies that are right for us and become more efficient.

Antonaci, Gippone, Milan

Topics and Issues

Employment:

We saw that getting paid for a job is the best way to get out of poverty In fact, having a job makes the person part of the community and makes him important for the family and the economy

However, unemployment is rising around the world and people who don’t have a job or can’t find one usually break the law This happens because people moved from the countryside to the city but there aren’t enough jobs for everyone This is the reason why cities are overpopulated.

Pollution and globalisation

The image on the right perfectly represents the most discussed and concerning issue nowadays It is in fact a polluted city skyline, where smog dampens the buildings and the blue sky with white cotton clouds through a thick grey layer of carbon dioxide The consequences of intensive production and shipping are soon to be faced.

Air pollution is endangering life on planet Earth, slowly but inexorably ripping a hole in the ozone layer, leading to temperatures rising along with urban air getting more and more unhealthy to breathe The rising of the average planet temperature by just a few degrees celsius is melting the ice at the poles and will bring the sea level to submerge part of the mainland Factories constantly burn fossil fuels, houses release thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to keep families warm during the cold season, millions of cars, trucks and planes pollute the air taking people to work or travelling long distances with tons of goods, all this to fulfil human needs On the one hand, globalisation has brought about many benefits to humans over the last decades, such as close connections and efficient shipping and travelling, but on the other hand, this has brought an unimaginable amount of toxic gas released into the

atmosphere Everything the last generation has created will bring the latest one to perish, if action is not taken.

However, there are still many deniers who are stubborn on their idea supporting the fact that any concern on our environment is fake and unfounded, that everything is fine and there are no plastic islands in the oceans or holes in the protective layer of our atmosphere The problem is ignored by those who are in the right place to do something about it, and it is preached by young men and women who will soon face the consequences

Fortunately, the pollution problem is at the centre of every international council discussion, with ambitious initiatives brought forward by governments Nevertheless, with just mere words the world won’t change: we need action, and we need it now.

Political Action

We have worked in teams to prepare a short presentation on different school problems Everyone had the opportunity to explain what they thought about some issues that we analysed such as those of structures For example we talked about bathroom’s doors that most of the time couldn’t be closed or broken sinks or lack of toilet paper But also about school furniture such as broken desks or chairs. Another problem that we found was that the school timetable was too hard to follow for a lot of teenagers However, to solve these problems we could only show them to specialised personnel but in the meantime we should commit ourselves to taking care of the spaces in which we live and above all shared places such as school.

SKILLS

Moretti Enrico, Maselli Luca, Chinelli Elisa, Squarcio Stefano

Since we started studying Global Perspectives we have learnt skills that will help us in the future such as memory and learning skills, how to stay focused and so on.

In order to remember things, we have to know how our brain works: it filters the most important things in our long term memory and puts the less important things in our short term memory.

There are methods that can help us store what we want to remember in our long term memory: the first one is mind maps, you start by putting the topic in the center and then you make connections that link with the main topic.

Another method is spidergrams, just like mind maps the main topic is put in the center and then ideas are linked around it, and around ideas you put sub ideas that rely on the main idea.

We also learnt how to stay focused and be efficient for many hours, the main strategy to use in this case is the Pomodoro technique. This technique helps you stay focused by taking many little breaks when you need to: if you have to study for 3 hours and you take every 45 minutes a 5- minute break, you would study in an efficient way for almost 2 hours and a half.

Erasmus Project

Introduction

On the 23rd of February, during the English hour, we met some of the third-year students who took part in the ERASMUS+ project, which included a trip to Spain. In general their experience was positive, but there were also some inconveniences! How was the trip? Was the food good? In this text we are going to tell you about their discoveries and their overall judgment. So read on, it might be useful one day!

Erasmus Project

InTorrevieja, Spain

The project consisted in a school-vacation with a duration of 7 days during the month of October, in the Spanish town of Torrevieja. The participants were third grade students from Liceo Regina Margherita. During that week they did various activities at a local school and even at the seaside.

The local school they attended was very different from the Italian one. In that school the subjects were practical (such as gardening) and less boring than the ones we have here, as the participants reported. During the pauses between every lesson it’s easy to make friends since the school is very big. Overall, the school is less stressful and more enjoyable than in Italy.

The food in Spain is often based on fish. Usually, the price at the restaurant in Spain is similar to the price that we have in Italy. There are few typical dishes, such as paella and various kinds of tapas. The students at the residence would often eat Italian food even if in Spain.

The weather was hot even if in October, therefore the students were able to participate in many outdoor activities at the seaside, such as canoa, dragon boat and even sail boat. For the students it was possible to go to the mall for some souvenir shopping. At school the programme included a podcast activity, in which some students had to talk about the things done during the day.

Podcast activity

The project came up as very amusing and, most importantly, it was a useful experience. Most of them stated that, if they could, they would go back in time and do it again. Moreover, it was possible to know Spanish culture, learn Spanish by talking to locals and even make new friends!

Dragon boat

Erasmus Project

Conclusion

We enjoyed taking part in this project a lot because it allowed us to find out about their experiences. We talked with older students who gave us advice not only about school but also about this experience and how to get into this type of project. This is very useful to know what we should expect in future if we decide to go for an exchange programme. In fact, being told about trips to foreign countries is fundamental as not to be unprepared when your opportunity comes. So buckle up and get ready to take flight!

WEEK IN CAMBRIDGE

NEW SKILLS

The class started at 9 am and ended at 14:15. We had the first period from 9 to 10:30 then a little break of 15 minutes and lesson again from 10:45 to 12:15, after that we had lunch at the church and we would go back to school to have the last lesson from 13:15 to 14:15.

The first day we were divided into two classes based on the level test we had before we got to Cambridge. The lessons were very engaging and we talked about a lot of really interesting topics, like the environment, criminality, travels and many more. These lessons were really useful for us because we were able to practice our speaking abilities thanks to the fact that we were less in each class.

TOPICS

- how to make a robbery: we had to work in group and decide how to make a perfect robbery and make a plan and then presented it to the class

- the school-system in Italy and in other countries: we made a presentation on a project which could sensibilize the students about global warming and about the school we would like.

- holidays and trip: we made an itinerary for our trip where we had to put what we would do, how much it would cost ecc

- crime: we talked about the type of crimes that can make a person go to jail

- and we had to complete a worksheet where we were asked some questions about crime in our country

- Climate change: we talked about animals a risk of extinction, what are the most important problems about climate change and how we can change what is happening, then we were asked some questions about our everyday life.

- sport and health: we had to prepare a diet and an exercise-itinerary, and then we had to expose it to the class in a presentation

WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED

➙ During this holiday we had the opportunity to see how our culture is different from the British. Such as the time when they dine, which is markedly different from ours as they dine at 18:00.

➙ another thing that we practiced and learned better obviously was English, thanks to very interactive and fun lessons

➙ in our stay at Cambridge we visited the King's college one of the most expensive and famous universities in the world

Our guide explained how it works to enroll and take the various courses it offers

They also told us that if you are from another country you must pay a lot Inside the university there was a chapel with details that made it look different from a Catholic church, as instead of religious representations there were more neutral decorations that showed the Anglican religious culture.

➙ In this vacation we also saw many things Cambridge features like the characteristic boats of the city named punts. The peculiar characteristic of these boats was the method by which they were moved: in fact, the rower was equipped with a pole that he used to stir the boat and to make it go forward.

➙ In the end we went to the botanical garden where we had the opportunity to see a large amount of flora of England and not only