Teacher Carla Sousa, in the subject Citizenship and Development and in coordination with the project topic from subject Geography C, challenged her 12th-grade students to explore the topic of Globalization!

Over the course of five lessons, students worked through a project-based learning approach inspired by STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). They developed critical thinking, AI and digital literacy, and global citizenship awareness.

Each student created an e-portfolio and contributed to a collaborative website, using generative AI as a creative ally – but always with a critical mindset!

The teacher began the lesson by introducing the project work students would develop over the coming classes: deepening their understanding of global themes and creating individual e-portfolios to reflect on their learning.

The class started with an introductory video about the Cold War, followed by a whole-group discussion guided by the textbook.

Students reflected on how global tensions shaped both the Western and Eastern world systems, discussed different historical perspectives, and analyzed the political and social transformations of the period.

Next, the teacher introduced the concept of an e-portfolio as a digital space for collecting, reflecting on, and sharing their learning.

In this class, students began structuring their individual e-portfolios in the Padlet, tool, where they integrated learning through personal reflections on Globalization and the world system.

With the teacher’s guidance, they reflected on the importance of thinking in an informed and critical way, and on how the intersection between history, science, and art enriches the understanding of global phenomena.

Thinking in an informed and critical way is a key idea for future work in which students will work with generative AI, because the usefulness of AI depends on human knowledge, the clarity of the instructions given, and the critical ability to analyze the results generated.

The teacher expanded on the eTwinning project as an example of international collaboration between European schools. She challenged the class to create a collective website where they could publish their work and reflections, sharing them with partner schools in the network.

Two students took the lead in creating the class website on Google Sites, which became a collaborative space for integrating reflections, digital productions, and images. Check out a short video of the website below:

The students watched the movie Good Bye, Lenin! and completed a guided worksheet with key questions.

The teacher led a discussion on the different perspectives of the Western and Eastern worlds and the political and social changes portrayed in the film, reinforcing the historical and geographical knowledge needed for the following lesson.

The teacher introduced the concept of the “anatomy of a prompt,” explaining that an effective prompt combines:

• context
• detail
• intention

She emphasized that the clarity of the instructions directly influences the outcome generated by the AI.

Using this structure, students wrote their own prompts to guide generative AI tools in creating images that represented the “before and after” of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

They used Canva’s DreamLab tool to generate the images and later published them on the class website, along with a brief reflection on historical accuracy, symbolism, and the construction of their prompts.

Conclusion

Over the course of five lessons, students deepened their understanding and critical thinking about globalization while developing digital and AI literacy through the use of collaborative tools.

This process strengthened their ethical awareness of generative AI and helped them understand the importance of clear human instructions in producing reliable and meaningful outcomes. Working collaboratively and with autonomy, students became purposeful creators of digital content, combining critical thinking, creativity, and responsible technology use.

Teacher Carla Sousa teaches Geography at Paços de Ferreira Secondary School in Portugal. She is the Project (Erasmus and School) and Training Coordinator. She is part of the School Library team.

Participates in e-Twinning since 2017, and became a mentor of the community in 2024. She is an ambassador at SCIENTIX since 2021.

Academic Training:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Geography, Educational Branch.
• Integrated Postgraduate Course in Natural Risk Management.
• Master’s Degree in Natural Risk Management.
• Specialized Training Course in School Administration and Organization in the Area of Educational Administration.
• Trainer accredited by the Scientific-Pedagogical Council for continuing education since 2020 (in the areas and fields of Geography, Specific Didactics, and Educational Technologies in the area of Computer Applications).