This course is based on the YEL – Young European Leaders Erasmus+ project and its content. The course aims to develop leadership skills and prepare students for participation in leadership simulations – e.g. a MUN conference.
Schildtin lukio will offer this high school course as one of the school's optional courses in the school year 2018-2019. The Finnish high school system is based on 38 lessons (one lesson taking 45 minutes) system. In each term, students choose in average 5 courses as their personal study plan.
Although this course is designed for the Finnish high school system, it can be realized as an extra-curriculum/ afternoon or evening club and can be easily modified to any needs of a particular school or other educational institution.
In Schildtin lukio we want to involve international team working in this course: in previous years we have been preparing for MUN conferences with McFarland High School in the USA and multiculturally mixed preparation groups have been very fruitful. The aim is to offer our students a valuable experience on intercultural networking – which has also been a big aim of the whole YEL project.
The important point is also that students should be involved in course planning. They are active participants instead of passive recipients. In Finnish system we plan to organize a pre-session for students to tell them about this special course and to hear their wishes: they can comment on the visits and visitors planned. The group is shown the websites of MUN conferences and given a pre-task: What is the MUN conference you would like to participate in the end of the course? During the course, students also have an active role in the course management.
Introduction to the course. The structure of the course: how much homework is to be expected, the introduction of the program of the course.
The decision about which MUN conference will be attended at the end of the course warming up: getting to know each other, creating a basis for good team working during the course. Talking about roles in the group, encouraging students to take different roles than they are naturally used to.
Teambuilding: get to know each other, base for good teamwork during the course.
Explanation of the roles in the group and what is expected from them. Discussion about the active role of the students during the course. Encouraging students to take different roles than they are naturally used to during standard classes.
Students will be introduced to basic topics: What is leadership and why is it so important? Why are communication skills vital for leadership? What is multiculturalism and how does it affects the leadership? What is diplomacy and what forms does it have? Why do we need diplomacy to solve international issues?
Students will find and discuss concrete examples of good and bad leaders. Based on their input, they will discuss what makes leaders good or bad. What is their character like? How do they speak? What are their outcomes? Why were they appointed and how do they organise their work?
The group will create together a list of features of a good leader. Each student will reflect on their own leadership skills and write an essay as homework: Which are my own strong and weak points? What should I develop in myself to become a good future leader?
The group will organise a meeting with a person in a leading position and a discuss the challenges of leadership. This meeting can also have a form of a visit to a representative institution/organization. The students themselves should propose, plan and organise the activity, the teacher should act as adviser and supporter of the group. The group will train the project management – organisational skills, the stress is put on the real leadership experience of the students.
The meeting organised in the previous lesson – meeting an interesting leader. Apart of the leadership experience, the focus is also put on motivation. The discussion with a leader about the secrets of how to motivate and inspire people. How to bring up the best in people and in yourself? Further focus on public speaking. How to develop one's own personal communication skills?
The students will be presented the topic of argumentation – What is an argument? How is it formed? What are the basic types of arguments? What is a fallacy? Practical examples and analysis of the good and bad arguments. An exercise – evaluation of arguments.
After the theoretical base, the group will start to analyse basic examples and discuss them as a group.
The group will practically work on the quality of argumentation. They will debate a particular topic, trying to evaluate the arguments they used. They can use a video recording of the debate to evaluate the arguments.
Students will discuss the different debate formats and try to identify different communication styles in them, based on cultural or structural differences.
The group will watch short examples of good and bad discussion and analyse the YEL material about communication issues.
Practical exercises in communication skills. Short spontaneous and prepared speeches. Group discussion and its dynamics: Half of the group discussing, half observing. Changing the roles. Learning the importance of constructive feedback. Understanding the difference between personality and communication skills.
The students in the group will practice the official debate structure. Firstly, they will study the specific roles in a debate team. Then they will analyse one debate from a video and perform one debate, where they will analyse every speaker and their position.
Students will together decide on 2 topics for the debates. Then they are given 15 minutes to research the chosen topics. They will split in teams and debate in the structure of an academic debate. The rest of the group will watch and evaluate the debates.
Final analysis of the debate skills.
The basic information about international relations. What are states? How do they communicate and cooperate? What are the major international organisations?
United Nations – the basic information about the function and structure of the UN. What are committees? What goals do they represent? Why is UN important for every state and citizen? Videos from Security Council and General Assembly.
Students will be presented the basics of diplomacy – what is it, what are the basic rules and why do we need them.
RULES OF PROCEDURE – specific diplomatic vocabulary, policy statements, roll call, positions in a committee, addressing delegates, points, motions, moderated and unmoderated caucus, the basic structure of resolution formation. The group will then watch an example of a committee procedure.
The group will be presented examples of reliable and misleading information. They will discuss why proper information is vital for any debate.
Preparation for MUN – how to find and analyse reliable information about represented countries and topic. How to form a solid Policy Statement? Practical exercise.
Students will analyse the basic structure of a project management, especially the planning phase (based on YEL materials).
Then they will as a team plan the organisation of the mini-MUN in their school – basic roles (Secretary General, Director General, Chairs, Pages, Staff), rules of procedure, committees and their topics, country matrix, delegates allocation, materials needed for the conference, time schedules.
All the students should work as a team, sharing their skills and responsibilities.
Organisation of the school mini-MUN. Working in committees, creation of the resolutions based on rules of procedure and diplomatic agenda.
After the conference, the whole team will analyse the whole course and mini-MUN, trying to set the strong and weak points of the whole project. Final team meeting.