• Middle School/Grades 6-8
• High School/Grades 9-12

IREX’s World Smarts Changemakers (WSC) joins middle school students in Guatemala and the United States for conversational language learning in online collaboration spaces. Students form binational teams to design solutions for real problems, facilitated by classroom teachers trained in WSC’s curriculum focused on UN Sustainable Development Goals, design thinking, and conversations. Throughout the project-based learning experience, participants develop skills such as digital literacy, cross-cultural communication, cooperation, and critical thinking. After each cohort, participants submit projects to the Changemakers Expo, with teams recognized for excellence in collaboration, cross-cultural communication, and innovation at the culminating event.

Activities

Facilitators guide learners through WSC’s curriculum modules, available in English and Spanish. Each module is aligned to learning standards and includes engaging activities with easy-to-follow instructions. Depending on the best fit for each school, WSC can be run in classrooms as a supplement to Spanish/English language, Civics, World Studies, or Social Change classes or outside of the classroom including language learning clubs and social change clubs before or after school. Students engage with the curriculum by working together on school-based teams, sharing ideas asynchronously through chats and videos, and connecting in real time over Zoom.

Program Details