Global Thinking Measurement and Development Marina P. Bonser, PhD.

Why think Global? Contemporary World is looking for solutions to overcome Global problems and establish Sustainable Development for the Humanity. Overpopulation and pollution of the planet, poverty in Third World, energy crises, and many other problems concerning our whole Planet need approaches and strategies for solutions. Traditional methods of problem-solving are not effective on a Planetary scale. Concept of Global Education and Global Thinking became one of the solutions.

Global Thinking was defined as the ability to think using the categories of whole planet, and to perceive the World as a System of Systems and a System of multilevel interdependencies. It includes but not limited to a Systems Thinking. A Systems Thinking is getting popular for developing sustainable strategies and making sustainable solutions for different systems in the world. Systems Thinking focuses on connections between parts in system, or connections of that system with other systems. It is much more to consider about "systems of systems" on global scale. Global Thinking focuses on impacts of patterns of systems to the whole planet. Global Thinking is a World Systems Thinking.

Connections between Global Competency, Global Awareness, and Global Thinking.. Gaining Global Competency leads to a Global Worldview and a Global Awareness, a new quality of understanding of our World. Operating with a “puzzle” of a Global Worldview, placing and replacing information, students train their thinking structures (habits) until they turn into a new quality of Thinking. Thinking becomes Global. When Global Thinking is developed, students are able to operate successfully with Global Systems and Processes, and develop strategies for sustainable solutions of global problems.

In I explored the nature of Global Thinking and discovered its new content. I found that Global Thinking is a type of a Creative Thinking which develops into a SystemsThinking via operating with Global-Scale Systems and Categories, concepts which might be applied to the entire World as a Whole System, for instance global weather patterns, forest growth around the globe, whole automobile industry around the globe, history of society development applied to the whole world. This understanding helped me to develop the Scale for measuring Global Thinking levels.

Educational Programs for Global Thinking Development Programs with the content of Global Awareness and Global Competency help students to develop a motivation for maintaining a peaceful sustainable planet, but it is not enough for solving global problems. We need to develop thinking structures (habits) to be able to reach this goal. Educational programs for multiple thinking abilities development (critical, creative, systems, etc.) are about 2,5 times more effective for Global Thinking development than programs just for gaining Global Competency.

THE SCALE FOR GLOBAL THINKING EVALUATION A tool for the measurement and development of Global Thinking Each solution for global or large scale problem can be placed on the Global Thinking Scale on one of five levels for each parameter, a variable component Of Global Thinking. Each level represents a certain type of worldview. Transitioning from one level to the next means transforming accumulation of information quantity into a new quality of understanding.

PARAMETERS (VARIABLE COMPONENTS) OF GLOBAL THINKING Integrity: interconnectedness of all the parts of the System; and also connections between this System to other Systems (and eventually, multilevel interconnectedness to the entire World). Dynamics: movements, changes, and a continuous advance in the System's development via its inner potential of development, and it's interaction with other Systems, including the entire World. Alternativity: existence of choices of System's development at each Bifurcation Point in the inner and outer context of its’ development. A Bifurcation Point is the point of instability in a System's development when a System may change the direction of its development, often spontaneously and unpredictably, for instance the point when intense clouds can turn into rain or can be taken apart by a strong wind. Integrity helps us see the World as a whole three-dimensional system. Dynamics helps us to see the World as a system in a process, a process of moving this three- dimensional system in the dimension of time; now we have the World as four-dimensional system. Alternativety helps us to see the whole net of possible changes in routes of it’s development, just like in a computer program, a program for system in a process. It is basically a dimension of cause, a field of choices of development of our four-dimensional World.

I - INTEGRITY (interconnectedness in space) 0 Different things and systems in the World are mostly not connected 1 Strong interconnections between different things are recognized and taken into account; 2 Lateral interconnections between different things are recognized and taken into account; 3 Multilevel interconnections between different things and systems are recognized and taken into account; 4 The model of the Word becomes a whole System where all different things, events, concepts have a definite place. Ability to see the design of the interconnections between any systems and things.

D - DYNAMICS (interconnectedness in time, interdependence) 0 Only physical movements and changes in the World are recognized and taken into account; 1 Natural development of different systems is recognized and taken into account; 2 Development of a system by material, energetic, and informational interaction between Systems is recognized and taken into account; 3 Multilevel interdependences are recognized and taken into account; 4 The model of the Word becomes a whole process of multiple levels and multiple speeds of development of all systems. Ability to see the evolving design of interdependences between any systems and things.

A - ALTERNATIVITY ( interconnectedness in cause; various visions of problems) 0 Only one function of a multifunctional system, one solution of a complicated problem is recognized and taken into account, without considering the causes and effects of this solution; 1 There are several options of solutions (can be considered with the most obvious causes and effects); 2 There are different types of options of solutions (can be considered with systems of causes and effects); 3 Ability to find all alternative points in a solution which are important in the context of the situation; Ability to develop routes of possible solutions; 4 Alternativity as a principle of development of everything in the World, and World development itself. Ability to discover the spectrum of options of solutions for any alternative point of a problem, and design a reasonable path to the solution.

The unification level for all tree parameters The higher level is, the more Integrity, Dynamics, and Alternativity are becoming interdependent. On the 5 th level they become inseparable, and there is no need to separate them. LEVEL 5, INTEGRITY-DYNAMICS-ALTERNATIVITY : Perception of the world as a Holistic System, an alternative process with multilevel interdependences of all subjects, facts and processes; a clear vision of the pattern of strong and lateral interconnectedness of possible causes and effects of problems; spectrums of its possible solutions and their interdependence are recognized and taken into account. Global Thinking can be measured as an arithmetic mean of rates for all three parameters. The lowest rate when it is formed is 3, when thinking begins to operate with systems, becomes Systems Thinking.

PARAMETERS (VARIABLE COMPONENTS) OF GLOBAL THINKING Integrity: interconnectedness of all the parts of the System; and also connections between this System to other Systems (and eventually, multilevel interconnectedness to the entire World). Dynamics: movements, changes, and a continuous advance in the System's development via its inner potential of development, and it's interaction with other Systems, including the entire World. Alternativity: existence of choices of System's development at each Bifurcation Point in the inner and outer context of its’ development. A Bifurcation Point is the point of instability in a System's development when a System may change the direction of its development, often spontaneously and unpredictably, for instance the point when intense clouds can turn into rain or can be taken apart by a strong wind. Integrity helps us see the World as a whole three-dimensional system. Dynamics helps us to see the World as a system in a process, a process of moving this three- dimensional system in the dimension of time; now we have the World as four-dimensional system. Alternativety helps us to see the whole net of possible changes in routes of it’s development, just like in a computer program, a program for system in a process. It is basically a dimension of cause, a field of choices of development of our four-dimensional World.

THE SCALE FOR GLOBAL THINKING EVALUATION A tool for the measurement and development of Global Thinking Each solution for global or large scale problem can be placed on the Global Thinking Scale on one of five levels for each parameter, a variable component Of Global Thinking. Each level represents a certain type of worldview. Transitioning from one level to the next means transforming accumulation of information quantity into a new quality of understanding.

Educational Technology for the development of Global Thinking Understanding of Global Problems and Global Thinking Scale, is not enough for GT development. Students need practice of solving large-scale and global problems as training tasks. Examples of case studies: * Environmental : waste products solution at a factory at a certain location; * Social : helping poverty in Africa; * Personal : preventing and treating stress in urban settings. During my Global Thinking Workshops students solve large-scale and global problems as training tasks within Ecological, Social, and Personal contexts. They build a Model with a System of causes and effects with strong and lateral connections in their minds; then develop efficient strategies for finding sustainable solutions. Teachers analyze their solutions, and interpret them by the GT Scale after each completed task. Their choice of each next step in a series of tasks is always based upon their evaluation of student’s results, and eventually leads to GT development.

Before and after Global Thinking Workshop Global Thinking (GT) scores of students in St.Petersburg high schools in Russia

More information at: Questions or suggestions? Contact Marina: (530) Thank you!