Most international schools make it part of their mission to nurture global citizens who are in service to their community. Like all big, worthy goals, this needs lots of planning, implementation support, and accountability to determine if the school is on track.

The usual questions come into play: who, what, why, etc. -- with the "how" being most prominent in our interview with LeeAnne Lavender, who helps schools with their service learning and global citizenship development efforts.

LeeAnne is a consultant, coach and facilitator for international educators. She partners with schools and teachers to create learning experiences that have impact and lead to deep learning and service as action. LeeAnne is also the Service Learning Program Coordinator for the Association of International Schools in Africa. You can learn more on her website.

Our Guiding Questions were, “What is service learning? What is global citizenship? What are some ways to integrate both into the culture of a school?”

Here are a few of the topics covered in this episode:

• Digital storytelling: a powerful tool for student agency and creativity
• Using the design cycle for integration
• Leveraging Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and differentiation
• Service learning as experiential learning to support life skill development
• Deep listening: connect with community members
• The intersectionality of service learning, global citizenship, and other initiatives

Resources mentioned in the episode:

LeeAnne’s Website
LeeAnne on LinkedIn
LeeAnnes’ Blog Post on students advocating for wildlife conservation

Thoughtbox Education
The Disengaged Teen
Future Learning Design Podcast - episode about The Disengaged Teen
Zoe Weil Book & Webinar entitled “The World Becomes What We Teach”

The show was recorded on January 13, 2025.
Categories: School Life | Curriculum | School Missions

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Music: YouTube. (2022). Acoustic Guitar | Folk | No copyright | 2022❤️. YouTube. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOEmg_6i7jA.