Search Our Site

Become a Program Member!

THE AMERICAN FORUM FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION

Organization Directory Page

• Organization description

• Source of official student records

• Titles of all evaluated learning experiences

• Descriptions and credit recommendations

The American Forum for Global Education is a private, not-for-profit organization, founded in 1970, to promote the education of American youth for responsible citizenship in an increasingly interdependent and rapidly changing world.
For almost thirty years, the American Forum has been nationally recognized for providing leadership and assistance to school systems, state departments of education, and colleges and universities by initiating hundreds of programs for both students and teachers, while developing educational materials and publications to guide and implement these programs.

These hundreds of programs, delivered through thousands of educators nationwide are focused on giving young Americans a global perspective as an accepted part of their educational background. It is the goal of the
American Forum that the young people of the United States will achieve an understanding of global issues, of cultural differences and similarities, and of the connections which exist in their daily lives between their actions - and those of their country - and others taking place in all parts of the globe, from East to West and North to South.

Source of official student records: Registrar, The American Forum for Global Education, 120 Wall Street, 26th Floor, New York, New York 10005.

Titles of all evaluated learning experiences

New York And The World
World History Institute

Descriptions and credit recommendations

New York And The World
Location: Approved locations throughout the New York metropolitan area.
Length: 45 hours (several sessions across academic year).
Dates: August 2000 - October 2005.*
Objectives: Identify common phenomena in world history; analyze those concepts cross-culturally; develop sound comparisons through time and space; link resources of the local community to the global concepts discussed; test historical hypotheses from multiple points of view; participate in systematic peer reviews of teaching and scholarship.
Instruction: This course provides secondary school teachers with the opportunity to explore global history from the context of an overall theme. Course objectives remain the same for each administration, although specific case studies and instruction will vary depending upon the theme. In one version of this course addressing classical traditions and giant empires, participants explore how multi-ethnic empires became larger and royal bureaucracies more effective at organizing and taxing ordinary people in the interest of the state. Participants also explore how classical civilizations established institutions and defined values and styles that endured and continue to influence our lives today. Also explored is how each formative era presents us with fundamental institutions and ideas in world history, such as universalist religion, monotheism, the bureaucratic empire, the city-state, and the relation of technology to social change. Participants compare empires, religions, social systems, art styles, and other aspects of the past, sharpening understanding and appreciation of the varieties of human experience. Topics covered in this version included: The rise and fall of African civilizations; the Greek civilization; the Roman empire; Mesoamerican empires; the Byzantine empire; the Indian empires; the age of Mongol dominance; the Ottoman empire. Participants select three books from a selected list and prepare reaction papers relating their reflections to specific issues in teaching global history. Participants visit one cultural institution to examine how the resources of that institution can be used to enrich student understanding and design a lesson around a specific student project related to the cultural institution. A final project involves a three lesson summary unit on the course theme. The lessons are comparative, include appropriate primary sources, and employ innovative classroom strategies.
Credit recommendation: In the graduate degree category, 3 semester hours as a Special Topics course in History, Geography, or Education (10/00). *NOTE: It is anticipated that the credit recommendation for this course will be revalidated in April 2005. Please contact National PONSI for further information.

World History Institute
Location: Approved locations throughout the New York metropolitan area.
Length: 45 hours (2 weeks or several sessions across the academic year).
Dates: August 2000 - October 2005.*
Objectives: Assess different paradigms for teaching world history; Identify common phenomena in world history; analyze those concepts cross-culturally; develop sound comparisons through time and space; link resources of the local community to the global concepts discussed; test historical hypotheses from multiple points of view; participate in systematic peer reviews of teaching and scholarship.
Instruction: This course provides secondary school teachers the opportunity to explore ways to shape the teaching and scholarship of world history from a global perspective. The goal is to assist teachers in using this new approach in developing meaningful curriculum for their classrooms. Topics covered include: Defining world history from a global perspective; developing a global framework: time and place; the big picture: geography, climate, and the environment; peopling the Earth; expanding classical systems of society and culture, 300 C.E.-1000 C.E.; cross-cultural exchange through the post classical era, 300 C.E.-1000 C.E.; teaching world history from a global perspective; establishing a global market (1000-1750 C.E.); responses to industrialization; migrations in the modern world; diffusion of modernization, the Socialist model; cultural change in the modern world. Case studies are reviewed and discussed in a round table format. Participants prepare reaction papers to two books tying the principles, concepts, and issues from the course into their reflections. They then present their reactions in an oral discussion with the class. The final project involves a curriculum overview, which describes how the new world history paradigm can be integrated into their classroom.
Credit recommendation: In the graduate degree category, 3 semester hours in History, Geography, or Education (10/00). *NOTE: It is anticipated that the credit recommendation for this course will be revalidated in April 2005. Please contact National PONSI for further information.

Updated 10/18/05

Return to all CCR Online  listings