Steve Shapiro

Steve Shapiro

Asia, Philippines, Primary and Secondary Education, 2013

Steve Shapiro is both a teacher in and the director of a high school humanities program called Mosaic. The program provides project-based, integrated, community-based learning experiences to intellectually curious and creative high school juniors and seniors from the sixteen districts of Franklin County in Columbus, Ohio. Steve earned a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of Michigan and a Master's degree in Global Education from The Ohio State University, where he has also worked training social studies teachers for the since the 1990s. His greatest professional passions are secondary school reform and global education. Steve’s enthusiasm for TGC allowed him to make new professional friends, learn more about the world, and discover ideas to improve his students' learning.

Steve has adopted global education because he believes that educators need to help students develop the essential competencies to succeed in a global environment. In his Global Education Guide, Steve provides a unit plan on Global Perspectives. Students study the political, economic, social, historic and geographic components of different topics such as: global connections, civic participation, civil and human rights, and contemporary world issues like gender inequality, immigration, and the war on drugs. Students learn about different people’s perspectives by engaging in project-based activities, hearing from guest speakers, going on trips, and speaking with students from another country. They take action by engaging in a service-learning project. Steve traveled to the Philippines on his International Field Experience and includes many more resources on his travel blog.