Amy Bivin
“Global connectivity is a key element of my teaching, broadening perspectives and fostering a sense of global citizenship.”
Amy has been teaching English, geography, science, technology and art in primary and middle schools around the world since 1991, including in Japan, Ecuador, and Italy, where she taught in a private international school for over a decade. Amy is a certified Microsoft Innovative Educator, trained in teaching the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and feels strongly about bringing the world into the classroom while taking her students around the globe.
Much of Amy’s teaching career has been spent abroad, teaching in international schools. She began her career teaching in middle schools in Japan with the JET Programm, after completing a dual degree in French and English with certification in teaching English as a second language (TESL). After a stint teaching French and English in a private language institute in Ecuador, Amy moved to Italy, where she worked in international elementary schools and institutions of higher learning in Rome for over a decade.
Amy has specialized training and expertise in climate education. She has been the Climate Action School Leader and Climate Action Project Ambassador for Italy since 2020. This work ties deeply to Amy’s focus on helping her students think of themselves as global citizens who are sensitive to world issues. Fostering intercultural relationships for global student exchange is fundamental to Amy’s practice as a teacher, which she implements with student-based activities and collaborative projects with students and schools around the world. Through this work, Amy tries to teach students to think for themselves and problem-solve so they can develop leadership skills and collaborate effectively in order to experience success in the classroom, and, importantly, in life.
For the past six years Amy has also worked one-on-one with middle and high school students as a private language instructor and as a translator for an online European newspaper.
In Amy’s words
I am a passionate advocate of climate education, emphasizing the urgency of addressing the climate crisis. My teaching approach centers on student-centered, project-based activities to create impactful learning experiences.
In my first year of teaching climate education, I facilitated a virtual exchange with a class in Africa, exposing privileged students to the challenges faced by their counterparts. This firsthand experience sparked empathy and a newfound appreciation for their privileges, motivating them to champion climate and social justice causes.
Global connectivity is a key element of my teaching. Through virtual connections with classrooms in various countries, my students explore diverse cultures and environmental issues. We've virtually visited places like El Salvador, Antarctica, and the Caribbean, broadening perspectives and fostering a sense of global citizenship. I continually strive to engage students, encouraging independent thinking, problem-solving, and leadership skills to prepare them for success in both the classroom and life.
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