Week Fourteen - A Stone Age Woman - 23rd May 2014

In three countries at once!

Summer is here in Switzerland and Germany with temperatures reaching 30 degrees Celsius!  And with these temperatures the time has come to spot the Irish girls with the milky white legs who become sun burned easily as the winter coats get pushed to one side and the shorts make an appearance! 

Now that placement is over it is time to get back to our travelling, and, with only a few more weeks left we’ll have to make an effort to tick destinations off the long list we have.  This weekend we felt lucky enough to try to get to Basel again and this time we made it without any trees blocking the train track!  Basel is a beautiful city in Switzerland which lies on the border with Germany and France.  It also gives a girl a chance to be in three places at once as we visited Dreiländereck (Three Countries Corner) - this is a point is where the borders of Switzerland, France and Germany meet. 

With our Snake Bread

On Sunday our study buddy Tracy invited us to her home for a traditional Swiss barbeque.  We were welcomed into her home with open arms and had a brilliant evening where we were even given the chance to make our own traditional Swiss bread ‘Schlangenbrot’  or ‘Snake Bread’ over the barbeque. 

As part of our Stone Age history module that we are studying in the university we had to complete a residential week in Germany in a museum named ‘Federseemuseum Bad Buchau’.  This week was designed to be a very practical and hands on as we got to experience life as a Stone Age woman to its full potential.  Throughout the week we learnt about jewellery and textiles and how they were made.  We were also given the opportunity to make some ourselves.  Making rings from wax and tin, bracelets and necklaces from straw and shells and even making linen from flax – we quickly began to realise how time consuming all these tasks were.  In order to make our necklaces pretty we put shells on to a carefully ‘twisted’ piece of straw by scratching them on a stone to create a hole – this was a very patience trying task and when a hole started to appear you actually felt like you achieved something!  With the week being so hands on I have gained a true insight into what the life of a Stone Age woman would have been like.  This experience has certainly helped me realise how beneficial and useful a hands-on trip like this would be for children.  It has, without doubt, made me realise that while reading about History is beneficial, being given the chance to ‘live it’ certainly compliments the learning experience.  Trips such as this for children, while an essential part of the learning curve, are also enjoyable and memories from these experiences can help to act as prompts for them when completing future topics in school.  As the Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007) states:

“…gain information about an aspect of the past, for example…make visits to a local museum or an interpretive centre.”

Scratching a hole in the shell

Having a trip in a Stone Age boat

My completed necklace

Our house

Threading a belt!

This week I received the good news that the cast can now come off my wrist and everything is looking good although my physiotherapy must continue for several more weeks! 

Until next week,                                                               

Stephanie

Week Thirteen - A Mass of Colour - 16th May 2014

After a busy two weeks of placement completed we decided it was time to have a little Erasmus fun at the weekend.  To begin with on Friday night Ashleigh and I met up with the teachers from our placement school for food after which we attended a gathering that our university had arranged.  Attending this gave us the opportunity to get together with our study buddy Tracy who we had not seen in a while due to Easter and placement. 

My invention to protect my cast from the paint

However, on Saturday this is when Ashleigh and I really let our hair down as we attended a festival of colour called ‘Holi Gaudy’.  The festival tours Europe and had arrived in our little town of Kreuzlingen so we thought it would be completely rude if we did not attend!  We went to the festival again with teachers from our placement school – I wasn’t joking last week when I said how welcoming they are. 

As it is a festival of colour this meant that paint was going to be involved to help create the mass of colour.  In order to get the most out of this it was advised that we should wear white clothes thereby in order to experience the full effect.  As you can see in our pictures we had a lot of fun and it would be fair to say that our white clothes were no longer white and our faces were no longer clean when we returned home!  Ashleigh and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and danced the day away.  This has easily become an event that is going to stand out in my memory from the Erasmus adventure.  It is not every day that you are given the opportunity to attend a paint party. 

Like something from Avatar

Monday brought the start of our last week on teaching placement here in Switzerland.  As I write this blog tomorrow will be my last day in what has been a very enjoyable experience and one from which I have learnt so much, not only from the teaching perspective, but on a personal note also.  Being in an international school has been a wonderful opportunity and one that is very rarely offered, so being to be able to gain this experience is something I have really appreciated.  Getting a different viewpoint on education away from the Northern Ireland Curriculum bubble that we seem to have at home has been refreshing and helped me gain a different view on the education we can offer our children. 

Covered in paint!!

This week we had a meeting with the school director who introduced us to the programme that the school strictly follows.  Firstly, it is interesting to note something different from home, as not only is he seen as the ‘principal’ of ISKK but also of two other schools – at home being a director of one school is a challenge never mind three.  ISKK is a school within the International Baccalaureate (IB) programme that was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1968 as a non-profit educational foundation and is designed to teach children from aged three to nineteen.  The programme is now in place in 146 countries and teaching over one million students.  The statement for the IB programme (2014) is as follows:

“The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.  …to understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.” 

This statement in itself I feel is inspiring to the children who attend these schools as it demonstrates that while education is seen as an important factor in their lives the ability to respect others around them is equally important.  This is a quality that I personally feel is important for children to learn and I have now witnessed how it is emphasised within this school and how it is notably evident within the attitudes of the children.  The programme also has well thought and planned standards and practices in place for the teachers to follow and one element that I noticed to be similar to the five strands of the Northern Ireland Curriculum’s Thinking Skills and Personal Capabilities is the ‘IB Learner Profile’.  Within this teachers are encouraged to let the IB learners to strive to be: thinkers; communicators; reflective; inquirers; caring etc.  As Goethe said:

“Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and you help them become what they are capable of becoming.”

Tschüss

Week Twelve - Lesson Plans - 9th May 2014

Back to early mornings and early nights this week as the usual tiredness of placement weeks set in.  Every year when placement begins I forget how much the school day really takes its toll on you. The 6:30am alarm comes around so quickly and in order to survive and be at my best during a school day bed time is 10:30pm every night. 

This week I began to teach some lessons to the children in my class.  This is the first time that I have taught this age group and I would be lying if I said it was easy!  With children so young I have found that it is really important that every lesson is busy and entertaining as they very easily become either distracted or bored.  Maybe this is why 10:30pm bedtime has become necessary!  Every year getting back into the swing and routine of placement is difficult at the beginning and this year has been no exception but as the days go in I again get used to it I begin to really enjoy it and get into that ‘teacher mode’. 

One of the GTCNI Teacher Competences (2011) is to gain an understanding…

‘…of the need to take account of the significant features of pupils’ cultures, languages and faiths and to address the implications for learning arising from these’

This is something that I have begun to do as having children in my class with many different backgrounds and faiths means it is important that I embrace this and really let the children embrace it as they interact with each other. 

It has been really interesting getting to know how schools operate here and getting used to their daily routines.  Every year group in my school have what is titled a ‘Unit of Inquiry’.  Within this they will have a chosen topic that will be studied over a period of six weeks.  My class have just finished their unit of inquiry on the topic of ‘Light’.  In this the children have learnt about different types of light source and the difference between man-made and natural light.

Next week we begin the new topic of ‘Our Lake’ where the children will look closely at Lake Konstanz and begin to understand its features.  If I compare this to schools at home and our curriculum – it would not be unusual to have a topic that is studied in depth in class.  At home when we would choose a topic we would within it try to link as many subjects into the topic as possible.  As the Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007) states:

            “Pupils should be provided with a range of learning opportunities to acquire and develop the cross-curricular skills in a variety of contexts”

Here I have noticed this is something that is not done as they just focus on the actual topic and do not worry about cross-curricular links. 

The teachers in our placement school have been very welcoming and even inviting us out for drinks and food.  This has made Ashleigh and I feel very welcomed into the school and becoming part of the team – which is really nice. 

In other news my wrist is slowly getting better and daily routine and tasks have become more manageable.  I have also begun physiotherapy here in Switzerland.  While the majority of clinics are private they all accept routine referrals from hospitals as well so getting appointments hasn’t been a problem.  Once again all is covered by my European Health Card so I am glad this was one of the documents I had with me! 

My weekly appointments have really helped me to slowly gain the strength back into my wrist and hand and I am now beginning to really admire the lovely scar on my inner wrist – a result of the operation to fit the plate - and a memory forever of my time in Switzerland.  Although physio is going really well I have been strongly advised that I am forbidden to ride my bicycle until a certain standard of recovery has been attained.  As I had said in previous blogs bikes are the main mode of transport here so this is something I have really struggled with.  Back to walking everywhere has not been much fun as it easily turns a 5 minute cycle to Germany into a 30 minute walk.  Poor Sarah and Ashleigh have to suffer the consequences of this when we decide to go anywhere together!  This Sunday it will be five weeks since my operation (wow) and hopefully in the next week or two my wrist should be fully in motion again and back to normal.  Here is hoping that is the last drama of my Erasmus adventure!

At the beginning of this week it was miserable here with constant rain and dark, windy days – just like being at home in Fermanagh!  However, to end on a bright note we were informed this week that a heat wave is due to join us towards the end of May - we are really hoping that this is true! 

Tschüss

Stephanie

Week Eleven - Teacher Time - 2nd May 2014

This week consisted of saying goodbye to my parents again as I embark on my last 10 weeks on the Erasmus programme now knowing that I am now over half way and the countdown starts until I am home again in Northern Ireland. 

Also this week our three week placement block began.  Ashleigh and I are in the same school – The International School of Kreuzlingen, Konstanz - which is a private school.  The differences between this school and schools at home are endless and their structure of a school day in some ways is completely different. 

Outside my school for three weeks

This school is not only a primary school but also a middle school.  It consists of a small number of pupils - approximately 40 in total - with the kindergarten/primary school having 25 pupils over three classes. When at home we would be used to this number in one whole class!  My class is PY1 it has only 7 pupils ranging for three years old to six.  It is somewhat strange getting used to ‘teaching’ three year olds, and trying to retain their attention for a short ten minutes is an achievement in its own.  Coming to school for this age group is more about learning social skills and getting used to the school environment.  The older children within the class all speak English but it is not their native language and it is fascinating witnessing them not only speak English fluently but also German and in some cases Arabic.  All this before reaching the age of six!  I can’t help feeling somewhat inadequate in the language field as I witness pupils switch from one language to another, however, the children are loving the opportunity to help me out with some German words and so are actually teaching their teacher! 

My classroom in the attic

The school structure is somewhat different to schools in the UK.  Firstly visually this school looks like a house – and that’s what it is - a renovated house…!   The school canteen is actually the house kitchen and this is where the children have their morning break and lunch. The living room of the house converted into the library and the classrooms are upstairs where you would expect the bedrooms to be.  My class is situated on the top floor of the house or should I say in the renovated attic. The school playground is the garden areas of the house and is equipped with a trampoline at the front and a slide at the back.  Another important point to note is that all schools in Germany and Switzerland do not have a school uniform although at my school they do have some strange ‘rules’ about school dress.  Upon arrival in the morning for classes – which begin at 8.30am – the children go to the basement of the house where they leave their school bags, take off their shoes and put on their slippers for the day.  Certainly different to school life and rules at home. 

Classroom from another view

At home classrooms are notably very structured with all desks in view of the Interactive White Board and with each pupil having their own seat and table.  This is not the case in this school with only one table which has seven chairs around it.  There is no interactive white board, no whiteboard/chalk board or even a teacher’s desk.  It really is viewed as a fun and relaxing place to learn with the teachers and the principal of the school on first name terms with the pupils.   The school’s motto is:

            “Passion for learning and success”

This emphasis in this school is not purely about driving the children to learn but about teaching them to become independent learners.  As they state:

“…a strong emphasis on the idea of lifelong learning…”

The teaching style in the school is more based on providing the children with resources and then allowing them to research the particular topic.  This is different from home where the teacher stands at the front of the classroom dictating what is going to be learnt.  This shows that in this particular school the emphasis is on the teacher becoming a facilitator.  Having a small number of pupils within the class means that each child’s individual learning needs are easily met and lessons are moulded to suit their needs more efficiently.

 

I have already seen so many different ways to teach and over the next couple of weeks I am certain there will be much more to take on board and so help me become a better teacher. 

Wish me luck -  Tschüss

Stephanie