The course and live sessions are optimal for young people aged 14 and up, i.e. students in secondary education. The AoG course will launch via a beta-release with a smaller group of schools in September 2024. The course will become available to all interested schools, educators and learners in 2025. For the AoG course: Schools/teachers from secondary education keen on participating with their students in the beta-release are invited to register interest to participate here. For the UN at Your Doorstep live sessions: Everyone is welcome to register participation here. The live sessions are ideal for secondary-school classrooms and assemblies, extra-curricular activities, Model UN clubs, and community NGOs working with young people 14 years and up, but older students and life-long learners are also welcome to join!

Since the beginning of time societies have faced existential challenges and have conjured bold ideas designed to ensure their survival. In the Ages of Globalization, we will traverse the globe and tell the story of humanity: its history, culture, economies, art, food, philosophies, and music. We will reflect on how we can implement positive and constructive change through a deeper knowledge of the past, a clearer awareness of the present, and a more vivid and ethical imagination of the future. Visits to UNESCO world heritage sites and dialogues with experts from all world regions will facilitate remote exploration as well as detailed analysis and historical reconstruction that transcends geographical boundaries. From the Fertile Crescent to the River Jordan, the Acropolis to the Forbidden City, mankind has etched humanity's history on the earth's terrain. Ancient remnants of roads, aqueducts, imperial cities, citizen squares, massive mausoleums, amphitheaters, places of worship - all these monuments mark a specific space in time, creating a learning laboratory for understanding the different ages of globalization and the challenges of our own generation. Join us on this journey to better understand our shared history and to lead us to bold solutions, creative technological innovations, and new ideas for building a more peaceful, inclusive and sustainable future. The Ages of Globalization will enable students to Understand sustainability challenges and their complex interlinkages; Build core values and attitudes for sustainability, cultivate empathy and compassion for other people and the planet, inspiring students to lead the change; Take practical action for sustainable transformations in the personal, societal and civic sphere Participating teachers will have the opportunity to Enhance their students’ learning experience Collaborate with peers at the international level, and Develop their Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) competencies

The course’s 28 “Classes” correspond to the 28 themes of the course, starting with an introduction to the 7 ages of globalization. Each Class has 4-5 “Chapters” with topics illustrating the themes. See the Course Outline for more information. The Classes and their Chapters will be released in batches between September 2024 and June 2025 and for schools to ideally follow the course in sequence. Teachers can expect each Class to contain a lesson plan with expected learning outcomes and suggested class activities to support integrating the materials into their classroom curriculum. The live sessions with world leaders will start in October 2024 and take place once per month, focusing on a different global challenge each time. Related pedagogical materials will be shared with participants via email before and after each session.

Yes! This is a global course and we understand each country / school system follows different calendars. Starting in 2025, you will be able to begin and end the course according to your school calendars.

Yes! In 2025, we will be opening the course to all interested schools, teachers and young people around the world and we would love to have you join the AoG learning community. In the meantime, you can join the live sessions and sign up to be kept informed of all updates here.

Teachers can share the following essential information with their school leadership and/or draw arguments on why a school, students and teachers can benefit from participating, including: A letter by Prof. Sachs to schools and education policy makers worldwide inviting them to take part in this new and innovative course The Ages of Globalization website, including the Course trailer, Hosting organizations & Partners, Course Overview, Live Sessions, and Infos about the Instructor A comprehensive presentation of the course (downloadable as pdf) As the Ages of Globalization course moves from beta to alpha-release, we will have more comprehensive information and guides on how specific lessons and lectures can be integrated into various national curriculums available.

We understand connectivity may be an issue for your school. While we still require that you register on the course using its online platform, our learning materials will be available for lower bandwidth settings: this includes hosting the lecture videos on our YouTube channel and providing the full lesson plans for teachers in downloadable and printer-friendly PDF file formats. The live sessions will be hosted on zoom and live streamed via YouTube, requiring around 1.5Mbps bandwidth.

The course offers a wide variety of rich contents across the 28 Classes, which teachers can choose from: Learning Outcomes which you can match to your country / school’s curricula and learning standards Lecture Videos centered on 28 themes with rich examples from around the world, across time and place through 70,000 years of human history Key terminology with definitions which you can use for learning activities and assessment Quizzes including “Review Questions” and “Fill-in-the-Blank” based on the lecture videos and book summaries to check facts and student understanding Chapter Summaries of the Ages of Globalization book and corresponding era Activities ranging from journal prompts, interactive maps with data sets, data or research questions for students to apply their knowledge to their specific contexts and countries/regions/locales Capstone Project linked to the activities, which encourage students to make linkages of their learning via action-oriented and/or community-based engagement Additional Readings linked to each Class that can be additional reference for broadening knowledge on the topics. These are original articles/book references to some of the most seminal topics that have shaped the field. Students also get a chance to search for original text and materials. The book, Ages of Globalization, on which this course is based, gives a great additional reference to the key takeaways from each Age of the Course. The book will be provided free of charge to all course participants.

In the online course platform, before you delve into Class 1, there will be a downloadable PDF lesson plan user guide that goes over the sections of the lesson plan. Each lesson plan has a similar structure containing the following sections: Learning Goals, Concepts & Definitions, Chapter Summaries, Chapter Videos, Review Questions (Check-your-facts & Fill-in-the-blank), Learning Activities (Data/Maps & Community Engagement), Student Capstone Project Pointers, and Additional Readings. Take a look at the lesson plan for Class 1 to see an example.

Yes. With the author Professor Jeffrey Sachs and the Columbia University Press, we are able to offer the book, free of charge, in a digital file format to the educators and students taking the online course. Ideally, teachers and students will read the book but we understand the sharing of digital files may be a challenge for certain classrooms. In such a case, please reference the chapter summaries provided in the course materials on the learning platform under each Class. Please note that the book chapter summaries give a sense for the specific era and age being discussed in that Class’ time period. In addition to this general information, the lecture videos will offer a lot of dynamic and detailed information, history, stories, case studies and engagement to what is discussed in the book.

No. We welcome all educators who teach students aged 14+ years, up to the end of high school / secondary school. The teaching and learning materials will provide lesson plans featuring a lesson plan guide, learning outcomes, lecture videos, activities and assessment suggestions and ideas that you can customize for the needs of your class. We are also exploring ways to connect the teachers through discussion boards, teacher meetings and training to further support teachers adopting this course.

The course has been crafted following a backward design framework. The critical issues of the contemporary world discussed in the course calls for learners to understand critical and complex issues, take multiple perspectives, and consider specificities of their part of the world. Hence, there was foremost emphasis given to articulating specific learning goals as a first step, that the learners should treat as main takeaways from the course. Based on these established learning goals, all elements of the curriculum (lectures, pedagogical tools, key terms, activities, community engagement and student exchanges, suggested assessment activities, activities giving consideration to local contexts and history) were designed. The learning goals are stated in each lesson plan for each Class of the course in the supporting pedagogical materials. The learning goals are further specified into competencies in cognitive, social-emotional and behavioral domains.

“The book is about the complexities of globalization, including the powerful capacity of globalization to improve the human condition while bringing undoubted threats as well. The interconnections of humanity across the globe enable the sharing of ideas, the enjoyment of diverse cultures, and the exchanges of diverse and distinctive goods across vast geographies. […] Human kindness, our aspirations for our children, and our enjoyments of life are common to all humanity, no matter how diverse our backgrounds and our material conditions. […] Globalization enables one part of the world to learn from others” (Jeffrey Sachs in Ages of Globalization, p.iv & xiii). Aligning to the nature of the book, the primary pedagogical approaches of AOG are integrative and constructivist in that the course makes connections across the entirety of the curriculum, across subjects, topics, historical events, times, and locations of the world, to illustrate the true connected nature of the world and the global issues being investigated. The course also prompts students to reflect on their own experiences, surroundings, environment and observations, incorporating both their prior knowledge in understanding and exploring issues, as well as to encourage the application of finding new information about their surroundings to create their own understanding of the world around them.

Teachers and students can customize the course to their needs. While we encourage you to use as much Class content with your students as feasible for the comprehensive and interconnected themes of the course to fully unfold, we understand students and teachers’ busy schedules. For this reason, you can select and customize the learning materials and activities provided in the lesson plans to best suit your existing class contents and extra-curricular activities and program. For the live sessions, you can participate in all or choose which world leader or topic may be most relevant. MAKE IT YOUR COURSE, YOUR JOURNEY! The following table provides an overview of estimated time investments for students and teachers, who participate in the course and live sessions and to provide ideas for making it modulable. Approximate monthly commitment for each session, however teachers can choose which monthly live sessions are most appropriate and relevant for their class content Teacher: 3-5 hours per month (in and/or out of the classroom) Student: 3-5 hours per month (in and/or outside of the classroom)

Yes. With each page of the online course, there is a “complete & continue” button you can press to proceed to the next page. As you click this button, your course progress will be saved.

Each teacher will have access to the students of their class on the online course platform. In the platform, the teachers can see the progress of the students, such as which activities and quizzes the students have engaged in and which videos the students have watched (if watching the videos on the platform and not on YouTube).

Not yet. We are exploring options for you to connect with students on the online course platform directly, but in-class engagement is the best way to share announcements and notifications to students currently.

The course is hosted on an online Learning Management Platform (LMS), which includes all course contents and which teachers and students will be able to access by creating an account. After teachers register and enroll, they can share an enrollment link with their students and the LMS will group the students together based on the enrollment information they enter (school name, teacher name, etc.). The LMS is built on Thinkific and the data is hosted in the United States on Amazon's secure data centers, using Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) technology.

Yes. There is a Capstone Community Project of the course. Each Class has a prompt that contributes to building this Capstone Community Project. You will see this noted in each lesson plan. While each student should complete a Capstone Community Project, not every single class prompt is mandatory. It is up to the teacher and school to decide which Capstone Community Project prompt to require of the students.

Yes. The course lesson plans present a list of various activities that can be assigned as homework or assignments. However, it is ultimately up to the teacher and schools which activity you want to assign to your students and collect responses. On the course online platform, all the activities will have a function where students can directly upload their assignments, but you are welcome to use your own in-class submission of assignments.

No. There are formative assessment tools you can use (quizzes for each Class, activities and Capstone Community Project) as a means to check for student understanding and application of knowledge throughout the course. There is no final or summative assessment. However, students are encouraged to share the final outcome of their Capstone Community Project with their learning community. On the learning platform, there is also a place where students can submit their work.

Here are some suggestions on assessment evidence that can be used throughout the course to check for student understanding: Use the “Assessment Evidence” section of the lesson plan. This includes review questions including vocabulary, fill-in-the-blanks, and checking facts. We offer some suggested activities for each Class that are meant for application of concepts. This includes: journal prompts, data and map activities or community engagement/ “Capstone Community Project” activities. Please further tailor the activities and assignments per the need of your class. The recommended Capstone Community Project for the course is another great way to assess student understanding, application of knowledge as well as reflection and self-assessment of their own learning. The pedagogical tools for this course have been framed by focusing on what the key takeaways are for learners, using the following 8 essential questions as a guide. We encourage teachers to consider the same in following in adopting and adding necessary assessments: ​1. What are the main drivers of global-scale change? 2. How do geography, technology, and institutions interact? 3. How do changes in one region affect other regions? 4.​ How has global interdependence changed throughout history? 5. What lessons can we glean from each age of globalization to help us meet our challenges today? 6. How can the world in the 21st century achieve prosperity, social inclusion and environmental sustainability in this 7th age of globalization? 7. How should our global governance be reorganized to achieve sustainable development in our multipolar world? 8. How can we secure global peace possible, and how can global ethics help to secure peace?

Currently, the live engagement in your classrooms is the best way to engage students on their comments, questions and thoughts after using the lesson materials. We are exploring ways to incorporate a discussion board format into the online course / learning management platform in the near future. Students are able to submit their thoughts related to the activities directly in the online course platform.

Conducting a debrief in your classroom on the activities, Capstone Community Project components that you assign (using the lesson plan as suggestions) will be the best way to gauge student learning and development. Since you will be selecting and implementing the various lesson components, the specific follow-up may be very specific to how you normally conduct follow-ups in your classroom. We encourage the use of a debrief on the lesson plan activities as a way to follow up with your students.

The value and richness of this course comes from students applying their knowledge of the 7 Ages of Globalization to understanding potential solutions for the challenges of our current world – more specifically, understanding their immediate surroundings (the local, national and regional history and changes over time). As such, the parents/guardians sharing the history, culture, contexts of the local settings will be valuable for the students. Parents and guardians are encouraged to review the topics of the course, and there are activities in the lesson plans that prompt students to speak to their families and community members about their local history, culture and contexts. Please share as much as you know with the students!

A live session is scheduled to take place every month. The dates will be announced at least 1 month ahead of the event to everyone who registered here. The live session will always take place at 8am EST / 2pm CET to allow participants from all world regions and time zones to join. More information on logistics can be found under the FAQ on time investments.

No. Teachers and students can choose which live session they wish to attend. The calendar of topics, speakers and event dates will be shared several months ahead and to allow teachers to plan ahead for each session. Depending on your local time zone, you can choose to connect with your entire classroom during school hours or ask your students to join the live session from home.

Yes. Each live event will be recorded and shared online for everyone interested.

Special Travel with Globe from Home will be fully released in the 2025 launch of the course. There will be two special sessions for the cohort launching in September, organized on November 4, 2024 and April 14, 2025. Besides virtually visiting exciting destinations around the planet with live experts in different countries, students will engage in quests and challenges that will help them consolidate their learnings from the course. Students will be able to chat live with local experts, meet new cultures, and engage in challenges with other global students. Students can participate in the sessions collectively from a classroom (using an internet enabled computer, or a computer connected to a projector) or individually, if they wish to access the session from separate internet enabled devices.

Teachers and students will receive a completion certificate, signed by Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), directly from the online course platform upon the completion of the course, if you have completed all Classes 1 - 28.

No. The primary way to engage with this course and the live sessions is through students’ existing school classes and teachers. The teachers and schools will vet, select and implement the contents of this online course in a way that best suits the students’ classes. The student access to the online course platform will be directly linked to the teachers, and teachers can monitor the student activity on the online course platform. The live sessions will be conducted via Zoom and publicly live streamed. It is the responsibility of each school and individual participant to decide if they wish to share their image or voice during the session. Teachers must ensure that they have obtained parental consent for any participating students who are minors, as their appearance and voice may be broadcasted.

Please email agesofglobalization@gmail.com for the course and unatyourdoorstep@unsdsn.org for the live sessions.