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Terrific TED Talks

Come be inspired and inspire others as we analyze and debate some of the best TED talks around!
Kirsten Bowman JD
Average rating:
4.9
Number of reviews:
(767)
Popular
Class

What's included

1 live meeting
40 mins in-class hours per week
Homework
1 hour per week. Additional assignments may be offered at times to extend the classroom learning.
Assessment
If requested, grades and assessments are available. All assignments must be completed in order to receive grade or assessment.
Grading
If requested, grades and assessments are available. All assignments must be completed in order to receive grade or assessment.

Class Experience

*TED is a nonprofit devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less).  TED began in 1984 as a conference where Technology, Entertainment and Design converged, and today covers almost all topics — from science to business to global issues — in more than 100 languages.

In this class we will discuss, analyze and debate various topics that are presented in each week's amazing Ted Talk.  Combining psychology, social sciences, writing, current events, and more,  this discussion-based class will work all our critical thinking skills to understand the substance of the talks, while also analyzing the argumentation style, presentation style, and logical reasoning of the speaker.  The TED talk with be watched at the beginning of each class.  There will be no outside 'homework' required in the class.  I will give optional extension activities if your learner wants to extend the learning for the week, but no outside work will be necessary in order to benefit from this class.  

Week 1 (Feb 4):  The Danger of the Single Story - Chimamanda Adichie
Week 2 (Feb 11): How to Speak so that People Want to Listen - Julian Treasure
Week 3 (Feb 18): Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator - Tim Urban
Week 4 (Feb 25):  How Great Leaders Inspire Action - Simon Sinek
Week 5 (March 4): Grit, the Power and Passion of Perseverance - Angela Lee Duckworth
Week 6 (March 11): The Leaders who Ruined Africa and the Generation who can Fix it - Fred Swaniker
Week 7 (March 18): How I Stopped the Taliban from Shutting Down my School - Sakena Yacoobi
Week 8 (March 25): We Need to Talk About an Injustice - Bryan Stevenson
Week 9 ( April 1): Using Your Voice is a Political Choice - Amanda Gorman
Week 10 (April 8): The Danger of Silence - Clint Smith
Week 11 (April 15): Lessons of Cultural Intimacy - Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo

This is an interactive class where we will be actively discussing, debating, writing and analyzing each of these TED talks together, using critical analysis.  

***This class can last anywhere from 40 to 55 minutes depending on the discussion and number of people joining class each week.
Learning Goals
Combining psychology, social sciences, writing, current events, and more,  this discussion-based class will work all our critical thinking skills to understand the substance of the talks, while also analyzing the argumentation style, presentation style, and logical reasoning of the speaker.
learning goal

Other Details

Parental Guidance
Some of the language in the TED TALKS might not be the “normal classroom language” that we will use during class. There might be some “foul language” and/or “inappropriate language”. The TED TALKS are other people’s words.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Joined May, 2018
4.9
767reviews
Popular
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
I am a human rights lawyer by profession and a university professor and mom by passion. I have my JD with a specialization in international law and completed my PhD in international law in 2023. 

I have travelled the world working for the UN as a human rights attorney and now travel the world with my two children while I consult for the UN and teach at universities around the globe. My home base is in San Francisco, and my University employer is in Sweden. I am passionate about teaching human rights and global issues to everyone from children to adults. No one is too young to understand the importance of human rights and it is never too early to learn about our world, our differences and our shared values as humans on this planet. I love sharing this passion. My children also learn on Outschool and I love sharing my knowledge and passion on Outschool as well. 

My teaching style includes discussion and project style learning. I love interaction, but if you want to sit and soak it all in quietly, that’s ok by me too. 

An important note about inclusiveness:  One of the most important elements of my classes is inclusiveness.  ALL are welcome, accepted and included in my courses.  Part of learning in my classroom includes learning to make space for everyone.  This may mean allowing extra time for learners who need to type answers for example.  It also means allowing for all learning styles and having patience when learners might make mistakes and try again with encouragement and compassion from the whole class.  This tolerance for diversity is provided, respected and expected in my classroom.  

Some important administrative notes:
1) I am rarely able to accommodate schedule requests. Please leave them as when making up future schedules I will try to look at past requests and do my best. However, I work full time for a University, publish and travel to conferences often and usually live in three different time zones a year. On top of that, I homeschool my children and consult for the United Nations. I love teaching on Outschool so much, but am forced to limit my hours during the week in order to fit everything in. I am sorry! 
2) due to the busyness of my schedule and the large number of messages I receive it can take me time to respond. I will likely not respond to schedule requests.  My priority in response times will always be my students. I will try very hard to respond right away to them. My second priority will be parents of current students as they likely have an issue that needs immediate attention. After that I will do my best to respond. However, know that I travel a lot, so it may take some days for me to return your email, I sincerely apologize for this, I am just trying to make it all work, just like we all are. (Too many balls in the air....this juggling act of life is rough, right?)  Thank you for your patience and understanding. It is priceless. 

My Class Offerings:

UPPER ELEMENTARY - these classes are designed to engage upper elementary and middle schoolers in critical thinking skills and civic involvement. They are active in nature and involve project based learning.

LIVE COURSES - these are classes which meet weekly at a specific time.  They are ongoing in nature and can be joined at any time.  They will cycle through and begin again, and you can always check ahead to see where we are in the cycle.

1) Great or Terrible Leaders: You Decide! - an ongoing course which studies global  historical leaders throughout time, this class aims to engage students to think about what leadership means and what traits or characteristics are needed to truly be a great leader.

2)  Micro Nation: Create Your Own Country! - In this class learners get the chance to create their own unique realm while learning about what makes a country a country - from law to government, language to culture, learners explore what it takes to build a nation.  At the end, each learner will have the chance to present their very own Micro-Nation at our 'World's Fair'. 

FLEX COURSES - these are asynchrosus and taught by video and online written interaction.  They include one office hour per class section where you can show up on a flexible or as-needed basis to tough base and have facetime connection if needed.

1) It's All Perspective: History Depends on Who Is Telling It - This 4-week class is designed to help students to analyze historical information and consider the perspective from which it has been reported.  Concepts such as bias, perspective, primary and secondary sources, corroboration and more are explored.

2)  Micro Nation: Create Your Own Country! - In this 8 week class learners get the chance to create their own unique realm while learning about what makes a country a country - from law to government, language to culture, learners explore what it takes to build a nation.  At the end, each learner will have the chance to present their very own Micro-Nation at our 'World's Fair'.  

3) Great or Terrible Leaders: You Decide! - a 10 week course which studies global  historical leaders throughout time, this class aims to engage students to think about what leadership means and what traits or characteristics are needed to truly be a great leader.

MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL OFFERINGS:

1) Water School: The Ways Water and Humankind Affect Each Other - This 7-week course is designed to teach learners to ultimately respect and understand the importance of water.  It will encourage critical thinking from all aspects - how water effects learners individually, their homes, their families, their communities.  The course comes at the topic of water in an interdisciplinary way, learning about water scientifically, sociologically, economically and culturally in order to ultimately allow learners to critically analyze the importance of water and how our treatment of it impacts themselves and the world they live in.

Reviews

Live Group Class
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$18

weekly
1x per week
40 min

Completed by 8 learners
Live video meetings
Ages: 13-18
4-12 learners per class

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