Tokyo Tutor Presents an SDGs workshop at TW International School
As many of our most active tutors are Environmental Science majors naturally TokyoTutor has become a proud advocate of the values championed by the United Nations in their Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). The SDGs are a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice. In total there are 17 specified areas.
Recently we began receiving invitations to host workshops and Saturday classes at the elementary and high school level. Needless to say the main content of these workshops which included an emphasis on interactivity and English was the Sustainable Development Goals. Hence, Tokyotutor’s SDGs initiative “Pioneer workshop” was born.
By the end of the first meeting where the team had gathered for a brainstorming session, it was clear that we wished to approach the development of those Saturday classes and workshops from the bottom-up. This meant we would have the opportunity to choose and lay bare our teaching philosophy and delivery methods. We deliberated and decided on modeling our lessons around the 21st Century Skills (Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication and Creativity). In addition, we inculcated active learning as opposed to passive learning, a collaborative frame over a competitive frame as well as divergent and convergent thinking. Our mission in a few short sessions was boldly to: develop socially adept,critical thinking, global citizens.
A typical session begins with a friendly ice breaker to establish rapport between the tutors and the student group. Immediately, we segway into a mini-lecture based on the theme of the day (a selected SDG). Thereafter, students enjoy interactive games, quizzes, and competitions which almost always result in fits of laughter. These activities serve as the core learning material for each session. In closing a mini-debate fueled by the promise of prizes to the winning team is held to consolidate the content of the class. Throughout each session, students are encouraged to voice their opinions which continues to produce insightful discussions between students and tutors alike. This form of instruction is very much in line with our teaching philosophy here at TokyoTutor whereby tutors pass on knowledge in the subjects they are personally passionate about and inspire a long-term, self-starting curiosity in their students.
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Japanese