PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Global Encounter Project 

What social issue will your video conference address?

This video conference will address bullying. What is bullying and how can it be prevented? 

What subjects and grade levels would be appropriate for students to be involved? 

There will be two subjects involved, Social Studies & English. This can be done with many grade levels, which in fact would be very interesting to do across all grade levels to hear different stories and see all of their reactions. For the purpose of this session, it will be for 6^th-8^th graders (middle schoolers). According to research, bullying is at a high in middle school, but I also believe this would be a great session for younger students to do. 

Who would be your ideal guest speaker?

Megan Gallagher would be one of my ideal guest speakers. Ms. Gallagher is a TED talk speaker who fosters positivity. She believes schools are not setting teenagers up for real life and long-term success. She believes it is important for them to take care of themselves, which directly relates to emotions and feelings. She currently travels to different middle schools & high schools to complete her mission. Her mission is to change the public-school system to incorporate classes about mental health, self-care and mediation. My second ideal speaker would be Tom Thelen. Mr. Thelen is one of America’s top anti-bullying speakers. He is also the founder of No Bullying Schools. His message and story take’s students on a journey through his own life story. I believe with the help of these two guest speakers, the audience (the students) will be inspired to make a change. 

Would you seek to involve other schools from your community, across the country, or from particular countries or regions around the world to foster the ideal conversation?

Yes, I would seek other schools from our community and from all around the world because I think it is very important for other students around the world to be a part of this social issue. The goal would be so students all over the word to speak about their experience in and outside of school with bullying, to foster connections -- to speak about their emotions and discuss the situation. Students will begin to understand that bullying can be big or little, that there are many different forms, that any form of bullying is not okay. 

What type of activity would students complete before the video conference session that they could share during the conference? 

Before the video conference session, students would be asked to brainstorm a time when they were bullied or saw someone else being bullied. Then they would be asked to sketch a picture of the situation or they can write specific words that come to mind when thinking about the situation. This will help the students stimulate their feeling and this will prepare them to be a part of the discussion because whether we want to believe it or not, we have all been bullied or seen someone being bullied in some sort of way. The purpose of this brainstorming activity is to have the students feel those emotions and share them with one another. Students can use a pen and paper, or any technology tool like skecthnote. Students listening will be asked to come up with a solution-- what could have/should have taken place. Students can also share how they felt while listening to the story. 

Students will also be asked to watch Tom Thelen's speech: Be The Change. Students will be asked to think and reflect on his speech, and encouraged to share their thoughts/ ask him questions.

Will there be a follow-up action that students would take to deepen their learning?

Students will be asked to brainstorm an antibully campaign in groups. Perhaps they might make a video or a poster; it is simply up to their creativity. They will be asked to think about the following question while they brainstorm their antibullying campaign: how can we prevent bullying? 

How would you access their participation?

Students will be access on their contributions during the sharing time period of the session. All students will be asked to share their brainstorming activity sketch. Students will make connections, share ideas, thoughts, and feelings. Students will share which antibully campaign they enjoyed the best & why. The goal is for the students to learn, share and connect with each other.