2017 IIME REPORTCountry/Region [United States ]School[ Scales Mound Junior High School] Teacher [Karen Kelly] Grade ( 8 ) Member ( )JP school [Hyogo Prefectural Ashiya International Secondary School 3B] Teacher [Ota Ryohei andShinkai Miyuki]# Subjects, Activities and Hours of the lessons
Subject

Conception of the lesson

Hours

Social Studies

Physical geography of Japan

5

Social Studies

Cultural understanding of Japan

4

Social Studies

History of Japan

6# Theme and Message of the mural
Theme
Message
United thoughts to share with the world# Effects and the Problems
Effects your students have gained
The students understand teenagers from othercountries also have many things in their lives thatcause them stress. Students from both countries
share many of the same stresses and things thatcreate joy in their lives.

Harmony (culture, our world, peace, life as ateenager)
Our message was things that cause teenagers stressin their daily lives and the things that bring them joy

Points for further improvement
It would be nice if the students could contact eachother directly, instead of the teachers writing theposts on the forum. I think it would be a greatinteraction for students to freely communicate witheach other.

# How has your impression toward your partner’s country/region and the world changed?
Changes in the students
Changes in the teachers
The students have a better understanding of being a Teachers around the world work very hard to bringteenager outside of the United States. They also the best educational experiences to their students.
have learned many things about the country of Japanand the people.

# Flow of the Activity
ContentMonthMEET
Selfintroduction

SHARE
Research onthe theme

UNITE
United message/AugSept.

Oct.
Nov.

Nov.

Mural design

CREATE
Mural paintingAPPRECIATE
Reflection/
Appreciation

Jan.
Feb.

Feb.

What you did
Sent introductions andcreated videos about ourschool and community
We did a video conference totalk about what things cause
us stress and brought us joy
We messaged through theforum talking about theme
and mural ideas
We messaged through theforum sharing design ideas
and finalizing the design plan
Working in groups, students
designed each area of themural, selecting pictures ordrawing pictures. Students
drew the mural ideas andthen painted the images
We hung the mural in theschool hallway for students
and community to enjoyYour students attitude/reflection
The students enjoyed the videos fromour partner school, they learned so muchabout the country and people.
They very much enjoyed the videoconference
The students were nervous they would
not create a beautiful piece of art
Students started analyzing what things in
our lives cause us stress and bring us joy
and how can we use pictures to describe
our feelings
Students were very stressed during thedrawing of mural, they were afraid they
did not have good artistic skills. Allstudents in the group had to help withthe painting. Some of the students foundout they can be artistic.
They students realized they do haveartistic abilities and are very proud of
their partner mural

Subject
SocialStudies

SocialStudies
SocialStudies

SocialStudies

SocialStudies# Effect and evaluation gained through the collaborative learning
Evaluation: Rank 5 to 1 (5: very effective / 4: effective / 3: so- so / 2: not so effective / 1: not effective at all)

Expected effectEvaluation

Understanding yourown cultures

5

Understanding yourpartner's cultures

5

Information literacy(research, share)

Communication ability(interactive exchange)

Critical thinking(objective, critical views)

Active learningand action
Collaboration(in the class, with partners)

Expression ability(in words, in pictures)

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Appreciation ability(the mural, the wholecollaborative learning)

5Scenes / points teachers felt the effects
Students selecting symbols to represent our country, such as the flag oreagle, also identifying stress and joy in our lives
The videos created by our partners were very helpful to understandculture and their lives, also the video conference was a wonderfulexperience
Students were able to ask questions through the forum to learn more
about the students
We shared very well through the forum, email and during the videoconferenceStudents did a lot of critical thinking about what brings us stress andmakes us feel joy. Then they decided on how to symbolize theseconcepts on the muralStudents were actively learning about their own lives and the lives ofteenagers in Japan, Talking about the things that bring them stress madethem realize they needed to work to reduce these things in their lives
Students did a great job collaborating in class with fellow students tomake final decisions, also the collaboration with our partners through theforum and video conference were very successful
The pictures on the mural very much express their ideas of what brings
stress and creates joy. The students did a great job selecting images toconvey their ideas.
The students discussed their final impressions, they were proud of thefinished mural and sad to send it back to Japan.