Global Classroom Overview

Global Classroom: Integrated Approaches to Sustainable Development Practice is a web-based course that fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration and allows students and teachers from around the world to participate in collective assignments and learning experiences.

Global Classroom was initiated at the Earth Institute, Columbia University, in 2008 as part of the International Commission on Education for Sustainable Development Practice, which was supported by the MacArthur Foundation. The commission brought together 20 leading experts from around the world to consider new types of interdisciplinary educational programs to address the practical challenges of sustainable development. The first Global Classroom addressed a broad range of core issues, including health, economics, policy, agriculture, ethics, and education. Today, more than 17 universities from around the world have participated.

All course materials, including the syllabus, readings, videos, and assignment questions, are uploaded to a common course website. Students from around the world view taped lectures in advance of the course, and then join their classmates and professors for live weekly on-camera sessions.  The Global Classroom is "attended" for 14 weeks, beginning in September, and is available to interested organizations, including universities, corporations, and development agencies.