FFGC Week 5

Program Logistics and Next Steps
📌 The session covered unpacking the final lesson plan, logistics for program completion, and accessing the lesson plan template.
🧑‍🏫 Facilitators available for support include Hope Kennedy, Scott Kennedy, Dr. Jennifer Williams, Dr. Riley Justice, and the speaker, covering backgrounds from climate science to education and administration.
🗓️ Small group sessions focused on participant-driven topics are scheduled for the following week, with facilitators available via email for support.

Focus on Civic Engagement
🌍 The cultural exchange target for the week was civic engagement, defined as using knowledge, skills, and voice to address community needs and improve society.
❤️ Examples of civic engagement ranged from formal actions like voting to personal community support, such as neighbors tying orange ribbons after a loss to show solidarity.
🤝 Participants shared global examples, including Moroccan solidarity during floods, community fundraising for students with health issues in Bulgaria, and student efforts in maintaining order during a political transition in Bangladesh.
💡 Nurturing civic awareness helps students develop critical skills like critical thinking, collaboration, and empathy, positioning them as active change makers now, not just in adulthood.

Review of Expert Sessions and Final Project
🤖 Feedback on past expert webinars showed high appreciation for Dr. Monica Burns' session on using AI and data and Michael Dreszi's session on leveraging esports and student passions for teaching.
📝 The final project requires creating a lesson plan incorporating future-forward methodologies (like place-based education) and technology tools, focusing on a topic authentic and relevant to the participants' students.
🛠️ Key components required for the lesson plan include an overview, objectives (with measures of success), materials list, step-by-step outline with timing, and references.
📣 Draft lesson plans must be posted on a shared Padlet for cohort feedback, and optionally, submitted to an Open Educational Resource (OER) platform for licensing.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Prioritize flexibility with the lesson plan template; use it as a framework or modify it entirely, ensuring all required components are present for assessment.
➡️ Civic engagement can be demonstrated through everyday actions and acts of solidarity, reinforcing community strength and connection, as seen in examples from Morocco, Mali, and Chile.
➡️ Previous expert insights on AI tools and esports integration are practical and easily implementable, with participants already testing AI image creation in conversation classes.
➡️ The final step for the project is posting the lesson plan to the Padlet for peer and facilitator review, which will be assessed based on activity development, innovation, and professionalism.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Feb 20, 2026, 04:49 UTC