This past February the Area Studies Centers at the Ohio State University concluded their fourth year of organizing the K-12 Global Fellowship Program. The Global Fellowship Program first started during the 2017-18 academic year with the goal of connecting teachers from across the state of Ohio in a series of discussion group sessions that focus on contemporary issues from a global perspective. The theme for the 2020-21 program was the “Intersection of Coffee and Tea Around the World: History, Culture, and Global Impact.”

This was the first time in the program’s history that it was held completely online, but the participating teachers were still able to take part in engaging discussions, learn more about the history, culture, and politics surrounding coffee and tea consumption, and build connections with one another despite the distance. The program included regional sessions led by guest experts that focused on multi-disciplinary approaches to tea culture in East Asia, the impact of the coffee industry on the Brazilian economy, society, and politics, and Central Asian culinary practices and traditions. In addition to attending the three regional sessions, the cohort was also given materials to read and prepare in advance of each session. Most excitingly, even a tea tasting kit for the teachers to experiment with the flavors and culture surrounding different varieties of tea! To finish this year’s Global Fellowship program, the cohort ended with a pedagogy session, during which they brain stormed about how to integrate the topic into their own curriculum, teach difficult topics in the classroom, and how to help students find reliable sources so that they can build strong, fact-based arguments.

A total of 15 K-12 educators participated in this year’s program and all came from across the state of Ohio. Their teaching covered a wide range of grade levels and disciplines including mathematics, agriculture, animal science, history, ESL, language arts, Spanish, Chinese, and more. For successfully completing the program, the participating teachers were given text, videos, and other resources and 1.3 Continuing Education Units (CEUs). We look forward to hosting next year’s Global Fellowship Program, to stay updated, please visit the Global Fellowship Program page on our website.