Category Archives: edushare

Frohe Ostern! – Week 4 Reflection in Stuttgart

Although I am on my easter break this week, I still feel that it is necessary to write another weekly reflection, because I am still gaining a lot of learning in culture and language with my host family. Furthermore, this time has allowed me to explore the town of Kirchheim unter Teck more.

Frohe Ostern! – I got to participate in the host family’s easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday

On the Easter weekend, I got to enjoy many of the traditions that German people uphold in their celebration of Ostern (Easter). My host family had already decorated Easter trees around the house, had easter eggs all prepared and we even had an Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday in the garden! It was beautiful to see some of the German traditions come alive in a real life setting – it was interesting to finally see it all transpire in the flesh when comparing what we learned about German culture in school. I must say, however, I think that I have eaten far too many chocolate eggs! We spent Easter Sunday completing the egg hunt and then celebrated with a home cooked roast together, which was really lovely and it made me feel really part of their family unit.

Being off the school has allowed me to engross myself in the everyday usage of the language of German – going to the shops, buying things, interacting with the family and people in the town in the state of Baden-Württemberg. This has benefited the advancement of my skills in speaking and listening, particularly within everyday scenarios. Gone are the days where I am trying to remember specific vocabulary for a presentation in German, now I am actually having to use the language to communicate specific points in order to be understood. I was even preparing shopping lists in German so that I knew I was getting the right things! As small as these milestones are, it really shows that I have had to really go back to basics to really utilise the skills that I established in studying the language of German in both school and the University of Dundee. I may know abstract vocabulary for global issues that we learned about, however, simple conversations have been a lot more trickier but also a lot more fulfilling when I have successfully communicated my point across.

Tuesday brought about some amazing sunny weather, with a nice warm heat of 21 degrees, that we were able to enjoy (what made it even better was getting updates back home that the weather has not been good in Scotland). I got to travel around the town I am staying in and enjoy some of the architecture and the lovely scenery that is evident in the area – much of the town is mountainous and rural very much like Scotland (Kirchheim unter Teck’s name translates to the town of Kirchheim that is under the mountain Teck). I also got to enjoy a nice meal at a traditional German restaurant (supposedly it was the location where the state of Baden-Württemberg was discussed as being formed into one state, as it was historically smaller states that were formally combined in the 1950s). This also led to the family introducing me to some of their friends. What was particularly interesting about these friends was that their German was somewhat different from the German that I am used to hearing from school listenings and news clips. They had a specific dialect of German known as Hochdeutsch (literally high German). I was able to understand main parts of their speech, however, much like when us Scots speak very fast in our dialect, it became quite tricky to understand everything that was being said. This showed me that, very much like English, there are various different dialects to German besides the traditional version we are always exposed to in school and in movies. I think that this interesting variation in dialects and language would be an interesting area to explore in a Scottish curriculum setting, as it would engage students in relating to the differences in their own dialects and language when exploring the styles and variations of another.

An example of Maultaschen (sourced: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Schwäbische_Maultaschen_2.JPG)

I have also been able to dabble in some cooking of German food whilst with my host family. A particular dish that has intrigued me the most is Maultaschen (singular – Maultasche). It literally translates as a feed bag (Maul – mouth + tasche – bag) and it is a unique dish that is at the heart of Baden-Würtemberg and was recognised as a regional speciality in 2009 by the European Union, which protects the dish as being produced only in the area that invented them as it is a Swabian speciality. The closest thing I can relate it to is ravioli, however, it is packed more fully with a minced meat and herbs substance in the middle. They are very savoury and tasty and are a core element to the culture of the Swabian heritage that is evident within the area of Baden-Würtemberg.

However, I have also been able to share some of my Scottish heritage with the host family. On Wednesday night it was my responsibility to cook dinner so I thought I would prepare something Scottish – stovies. Although it did not require gourmet cooking, I found it a great achievement for me to be able to cook a meal completely from scratch for the family. They loved the meal and found it very filling. It was also good to be able to taste something that is very reminiscent to a meal at home. I’m lucky that my grandmother showed me how to make the tastiest stovies! This means that I have not only been able to learn about a new culture, I have also been able to share my own with others, which interlinks with the core purpose of ISS (and also one of the many goals that I wanted to achieve whilst being in Stuttgart). Not only did I cook a Scottish meal, I also baked some Scottish shortbread on Thursday evening. This placement has not only advanced my professional outlook on education, my understanding of German language and German culture, but it has even allowed me to improve my culinary skills – something that is necessary for independence in life (something that I aimed to achieve through this placement). I really am “Learning from Life” because through everyday interaction, I have been able to make big leaps in my own self-concept. Formerly, I would have just bought shortbread from a store, however, being in a different country where that isn’t so easily possible, I had to use my initiative to create my own (and, it is actually an easy biscuit to bake. In future, I think I might bake my own shortbread instead of just going to a shop for some).

The shortbread that I baked for my host family – the sharing of cultures and traditions is proof in itself that differences can bring people together – the core ethos of ISS.

I have also seen a great development in the English of the son of the host family with them having me here. His volume of speech has expanded a great amount with coherence becoming stronger with every conversation he has with me. It is also evident that he has began to imitate much of the vocabulary that I have specifically used to spark new words and terms that he may have not heard before. His homework for English has also improved and he is not needing as much support from me to be able to complete his book reviews. It has amazed me what a young mind is capable of in terms of language acquisition. English is his third language and yet he uses it very well and I can only see improvements from here on out and I am glad to say that I was a part of that advancement. We have also been helping one another in the desired languages we both want to learn (German for me and English for him) by having conversations in both languages and assisting one another in gaining the required vocabulary we wish to learn, but we have also found it useful to watch movies and TV shows in the evenings in either German or English so that we can hear the languages even more through a multimedia platform. Its also been interesting to show him some of my favourite English movies that I enjoyed as a child and to see that interest be passed on. Its been even more interesting watching some of the most famous English movies in German and being able to correlate some of the phrases from English to their German counterparts (particularly, watching the Terminator movies has been interesting to hear it in German).

Now, to conclude this particular post I believe that I should have a check-in with what I have achieved so far, what I still hope to achieve, and what I think will be my future learning to take away from the entire placement when I return home in May.

Firstly, I feel that I have achieved much of what I have set out to do or I am heading in the right direction to achieving it. Particularly, I have advanced in the skills that I broke down in my audit of skills and I have utilised my prior knowledge of German and Germany to prepare me for interacting with the people in both Kirchheim unter Teck and Stuttgart. Key skills that I feel I have progressed in are sharing opinions confidently and taking risks because I have been able to share my professional feedback to other staff members to give them an outsiders perspective on what they do at ISS, but I have also shared my own personal opinions with people at the school and with my host family in order to show them my way of life and culture. I have taken risks in terms of having teaching points with groups of children and having some whole class interactions with some of the children from different grades as well as I’ve had to ensure that my approach towards teaching correlates with the IB’s guidelines. I’ve used my prior knowledge of last year’s placement to really find my footing at ISS and to be seen as one of the staff members at the school by my professional peers and the students. Furthermore I have investigated into the educational literature surrounding the practices of ISS (particularly the concept of inquiry-based learning and the overall ethos of the school in my other blog posts). Overall, I believe that I will come out of this experience a changed person. I have more confidence within myself and my capabilities as a person and as an educator. I think that the growth mindset ideology has taken shape in my own educational philosophy: everything that I have faced I have tackled with the mindset that I can achieve whatever it was that I set out to do and it has proved to be a great way to go into things.

Next week when I make my return to the school, I plan to begin my work with the Early Years team at ISS and interact with the Kindergarten and Nest areas of the school in order to use the knowledge I have gained this year in lectures and research in a real life context. I also hope to gain new professional knowledge from the staff that will be experts in what it means to be a successful practitioner with younger children. From then on, I will use the rest of my time working with the grade 5s whilst they prepare for their grand event of showcasing their unique topics of inquiry – the Grade 5 Exhibition.

Taten sagen mehr als Worte – Week 3 in Stuttgart Reflection

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Third week in and it is that time again to sit down and critically reflect on what has transpired this week. Already I am feeling really at home working at ISS.

I started my work with the grade 1 classes on Monday (26^th of March 2018), as I have already worked with the grade 4s, 3s, and 2s, so I continued working my way down the grades right up until the beginning of the Easter holiday break (which is approaching very quickly!). Then, I will work with the Early Years team at ISS for the first week back and then I will work more in-depth for the rest of my placement with Grade 5s as they prepare for their Exhibitions (which I will no doubt blog more about nearer the time).

What is most insightful from working between grades is that I get to not only see the overall progression within an educational institution, but I also get to become a recognisable face to many more people around the school! This is one area that I’ve found has expanded a great deal as the weeks have progressed: my confidence to work with people at ISS, as I am becoming well acquainted with more staff members and children with every passing moment. This will stead me well in other educational settings (particularly the placements in MA3 and MA4) because I realise that as a teacher, you need to be both approachable and open for everyone that comes into contact with you, this shouldn’t be exclusive for just the kids in your practice. You should also go out of your way to welcome others in the school community; something that the staff members at ISS have done with me, which has greatly aided my confidence.

Now, although the school week was a little shorter this week for the Easter break, so much was packed into my time with the grade 1s.

From the get-go, I was working hands-on with practical work with the young children that are in their first year of primary school at ISS (I have found it was a lot more practical-based in comparison to the other grades). I first had to act out different scenario poses to help the students come up with “dialogue” for me as a character. This would feed into their work towards their writing activities that centred on introducing speech marks into text. Albeit giggly and giddy, this approach got the children really focused on really thinking about what their characters would be saying in their own stories and it also served as a great icebreaker for the kids to get introduced to me as one of their teachers for the week.

The dialogue options that the children came up for me as a character

Straight away I could see clear areas of progression that are crucial in getting children engaged with any form of writing. The classroom environment was surrounded by language in the format of posters, books and signs. The children also illustrated the stories that they were writing in order to fully experience their writing in a multi-sensory manner. These skills and knowledge in language through multi-platforms of media will serve them very well once they progress through their time in education. I can vouch for that from seeing that skills in writing only expand as we work up the grades (however, this can only happen effectively when children are within an enriched environment like the one established in the grade 1 classrooms).

Two of the examples of the different processes that can be used by the children when working with numbers – drawing pictures and writing number sentences are key skills needed in having fundamental knowledge within the skills of mathematics

Mathematics followed a similar theme as the grade 1s were working with numbers and number sense. Just like in grade 4 and 3, the students were tasked with looking at their mathematics problems in a deeper way than just as problems that simply need correct solutions. Instead, the practitioners made it clear to the children that they had to emphasise the methods they could use in solving problems. Number lines, tally marks, pictures and number sentences were some of the examples on the board that the children had to show in their working out for problems, which further emphasised my understanding that was established in both the Discovering Mathematics module and the STEM module which showed us that students need to be able to get a real fundamental understanding of the core areas of mathematics and be made aware of the interconnections between concepts (Ma, 2010) (which the International Baccalaureate heralds as a key area that teachers need to do across all areas of learning).

I also, on Monday, got to witness the children’s specialist music lesson, which was also very helpful to see areas of progression, as the older students are very capable in playing instruments. This is evidently because the grade 1s are, like in all the other inquiry-led learning situations, set off to investigate into their knowledge in music to expand on it and to form it into something new. A particular group I saw that really engaged with the inquiry-based approach within music were trying to play the full song of “twinkle twinkle little star” together with boomwhackers that were different sizes to correlate with the different pitches of noise they made when played. The children had already explored the notes that they could use in playing instruments prior with the teacher, however, they had to figure out the correct sequence to produce the song together. Through lots of practising and determination, they were able to achieve the full song together and I got to see the importance that it brings to the children to figure something out for themselves. The music teacher could have easily stepped in to show them how to play it correctly, however, the process into achieving the song was the core essence of the learning experience as a whole. They were working with interdisciplinary skills of sequencing (a skill evident in mathematics and science), knowledge of music notation, and their listening skills, to name a few, in order to problem solve their way to success! It really showed me that too much involvement from a practitioner could really spoil the overall learning experience for the children in certain circumstances. Time should be allowed for the children to come to their own conclusions in learning – something I think we can take for granted sometimes as practitioners.

Tuesday was a very busy day for me as there were a few staff members off due to sickness. I started my morning with interviewing the children in grade 1 individually or in pairs depending on their projects that they were working towards for the Erasmus visitors. Just like the grade 3s had their school of fish on their doors and the grade 2s had their movement in play artwork on theirs, the grade 1s were tasked with creating their dream playground that used many different forces with 3D shapes. Forces in the world is the main area of inquiry for the grade 1s and it, much like all the other aspects of learning in grade 1, is evident across the whole learning environment.

Examples of some of the books evident in the grade 1 class – emphasising the importance of research through different medias, particularly for their UOI topic in forces.

I had to make sure that the children could justify their creations, which interlinked with the core area of post-reflection that is a critical stage in the learning process for the International Baccalaureate – “Reflection can happen at any time in the lesson, and it is vital that it is given time, whether through the teacher, individuals or groups, written or verbal” (Bunting, 2015). Forces such as pushing, pulling, going forward and backwards, moving up and down and stretching and bouncing were evident across most of the designs that were so outlandish in the imaginations. It was great to see such a creative outlet being used for exploring a really scientific topic.

Science, however, was not missed out from the learning. To end the day on Monday, I read a book that was about the different types of forces and the concept of friction to the children. An interesting idea that I found in the book was the concept that friction can slow objects down – particularly if you roll a ball down a ramp that has a carpet on it. So, the teacher came to me and gave me the task of establishing a science experiment that could test out this discovery. During the UOI time this week, the teachers all set up their own station that the children would go around to see different: magnets, Lego, creating dances with force movements and so on. My station was centred around what we learned in the book on Monday: what happens when you roll a ball down a ramp with and without a carpet? I also added different factors like changing the type of ball used, increasing the slope of the ramp etc. The children were really engaged in this station, however, for some their youthfulness meant that they got a little carried away with building their ramps. This was beneficial for me, however, to see the difference in approaches needed with younger children. Upon reflection, I can see that I maybe should have had more tasks to keep the children focused on what it was I asked them to do – maybe included different types of carpets or limited the amount of blocks they were allowed to use when building their ramps or given them examples of what they could make. An area that I thought I tackled well was the big factor that many of the grade 1 children were on a vast spectrum of English communication. The sheet that they had to complete about what they had learned at my station could be completed either by writing or by illustrating the equipment that they used. Some even had a mixture of labelled diagrams, However, the overall learning was still there and the same children that could not write out their learning could easily explain the forces behind the experiments that we had conducted, which emphasised to me that the language barrier should not be the main hindrance for children to progress in their learning. Overall, it was great to lead groups of younger children through learning, as it has better prepared me for my Early Years placement and already started areas within me that I know I need to delve into deeper to understand the importance of early years teaching as a whole.

It was great to be back with the grade 2s to see how they were progressing with their models and overall understanding of castles! It was particularly interesting to see the kids painting the brickwork onto their castles.

Tuesday afternoon was a prime example of the changes that can happen within a school on a daily basis. One of the grade 2 teachers explained at lunchtime that day that her support assistant was sick and she could not complete an as in-depth lesson as she hoped. It luckily worked in time when the grade 1s had a specialist lesson so I thought it was best for me to return to grade 2 to assist in the lesson. The children were excited to see me again as they had enjoyed my lesson about Scottish castles the week before. I remained with the main class to assist and guide them through their writing activity that was around a castle book that they had read as the teacher took groups out to start the painting of their model castles. It was a great feeling to be in charge of a class again and the techniques of management that I had learned last year served me well for maintaining order in a lively afternoon class (especially when they so desperately wanted to go out and paint their castles). The lesson was a success and the children were then all brought out to paint the rest of their castles.

Thursday saw the day ending early for teachers to embark on another professional development day. I got to continue my science experiment station for the kids that did not get around to trying it out the other day and I also got to witness the children’s specialist art time. The day ended with a circle time talk about the children’s plans for their Easter break and it was extraordinary to hear the all the different places that the children would be visiting in the world!

Overall, this week has been a shorter week in the school however it has been packed with so many learning points. I have made great progress in my professional development and have been using the information I have gained from my investigations into the International Baccalaureate system when working with the different grade levels. I have also worked more heavily in teaching points this week and hope to continue this when I come back after the Easter break, particularly when I work more intensively with the grade 5s. However, now I hope to truly experience the Easter celebrations of my host family and come back refreshed and ready for more learning!

Reference:

Buting, N. (2015) Approaches to Reflection [Online] Available at: http://blogs.ibo.org/blog/2015/10/31/approaches-to-reflection/ (Accessed: 30 March 2018)

Ma, L. (2010) Knowing and Teaching elementary mathematics: teachers’ understanding of fundamental mathematics in China and the United States Anniversary Edition. New York: Routledge.

Picking Apart Inquiry-Based Learning

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Prior to coming to ISS, I had only heard about the implementation of inquiry-based learning within the primary school classroom. Inquiry itself, to me, is to go forth into learning with an aim to prove something or to investigate a topic for yourself; it is a key method of study at university as independent adult learners, we need to be able to independently investigate our topics whilst also searching through lots of different sources to find what we are looking for. We may not think it, but this takes skill to decode what is needed, what is useful and what is not needed and that can be discarded.

I originally thought that using this method, within a primary school setting with children, would not only create a loud and chaotic learning environment that would most likely lead students off-task but it would also mean that, as an educator, you are taking a step back from being a teacher by leaving the children to their own devices.

However, I was very wrong in my original assumptions through further investigation in academic reading and being witness to the amazing work of inquiry-based learning at ISS.

Kuhlthau, Maniotes & Caspari (2007) find that guided inquiry has been researched extensively to a point that, when used effectively, it has been found to produce the best, deepest learning experiences for students, as they are constantly and consistently forming new ideas and learning on top of pre-existing skills. The role of the teacher is not to simply provide the resources for learning and then leave them to investigate; children need to first be established in their “pre-existing skills” with sound knowledge that is provided by the aid of the practitioner in questioning sources, using search engines properly, and having prompts to be brought back onto task throughout the process. After all, it is called guided inquiry. Inquiry needs a purpose which must first be provided by the teacher before children can be sent on their inquiries. Jo Fahey (2012) also believes that inquiry is best utilised when investigation has been thought out by a practitioner but is still allowed freedom for the children to interpret through their own analysis.

Its been very beneficial for my role as a teacher to really be questioned during this placement – something that I didn’t think would happen as much as it has in such a short space of time – as Scottish education has seen a retainment of much of the traditional didactic formats of teaching, with the teacher at the front of the classroom leading much of the learning. At ISS, I have only seen this used a handful of times to introduce new learning. Much of the learning is then sourced by the children whilst being aided by an adult. Teachers should be facilitators of learning instead of thinking that children come to school purely to gain knowledge in their empty minds that are there to be filled with information from a teacher. Students come to class with their own experiences of the world that are entirely unique to them, and with them comes areas of knowledge and skills that a teacher can be missing. Units of Inquiry allow these experiences to be both recognised and flourished in an educational setting whilst still retaining a core purpose for a teacher.

I have witnessed this myself at ISS.

At the very beginning of my placement, I was amazed at the independence of the grade 4s in their unit of inquiry centred around the exploration of media. They knew their groups that they were working in and they knew exactly what goals they were striving towards within them and they were on the right path to be able to work towards completing their goals. However, what I did not see was the prior learning that clearly went into facilitating the children with the sound knowledge of what they actually had to investigate. It was this establishment that then allowed for independence to spur in the children’s learning. The teacher also needs to be very focused on the learning that is occurring during inquiry as I also witnessed and aided in steering a group that was going off task in their inquiry, as this is an issue that can occur in inquiry-based learning. This, I felt was harder than getting children who have been assigned a task back on track because they had already began much of their research towards the project they were making for their grade year assembly. However, there was learning within the corrections, also. The children realised they needed to use their self-evaluation skills and critically see what areas they needed to adjust in order to get themselves back on track with the assistance from us as the teachers.

Therefore, I see great method behind allowing children to inquire into their own learning, whilst still giving them a field of view in which they must remain (which is the central idea in IB). Not only has reading about the concept of inquiry-based learning been useful for my overall understanding of the practice, but I have also been able to see it in action for myself and really got to grips with adjusting what it means to be a successful practitioner.

A wider question I have however is, what would this format of teaching look like in a Scottish educational system? I question if the culture towards education would be able to facilitate the practice in such a successful manner as the International School of Stuttgart does. It will have taken many years of work, then years of structured reflection and analysis towards practice before ISS was as confident in the practice and I think similar initiatives would need to be examined if the curriculum for Scotland was to adopt a inquiry-based approach in a full-time manner.

The 5 Essential Elements of the Primary Years Program – All areas correlate to supporting the production of international-mindedness within students that exhibit the Learner Profile.

I’m so glad that I chose the setting of an international school as I have been able to get to grips with a system for education that is quite abstract from the one I am used to in Scotland, thus sparking massive areas for critical reflection towards what it truly means to be a successful primary school teacher.

Reference:

Fahey, J. (2012) Ways to Learn Through Inquiry: Guiding Children to Deeper Understanding. Cardiff: International Baccalaureate Organization.

Kuhlthau, C.C., Maniotes, L.K. and Caspari, A.K. (2007) Guided Inquiry: Learning in the 21st Century. Westport: Libraries Unlimited, Inc.

Reflecting on Grade 2 German – Seeing the Progression of Language Learning

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As I’ve mentioned before in previous posts, I am in a unique position at ISS: not only am I working with children across the grade levels, but I also get to observe the varying practices of the staff at ISS, which gives me multiple areas to draw upon to shape my overall professional practice.

An area that I really wanted to see if there was a difference in practice was with the German classes. Within my earlier blog post, I found that the grade 4s were equipped with exceptional skills in the German language, and their teacher and classroom environment pushed these skills further with a full encompassment approach to fully engage the children in using German. However, I wondered if this was always the case for the students, were they always able to be so flexible in their understanding of language?

Whilst with the grade 2s, I took it upon myself to also observe their lesson with their specialist teacher to see the difference between the age groups.

At 9:45, I went with my grade 2s to observe and partake within their German lesson. It was very helpful to see the differences between the grade 2s and the grade 4s lessons.

Now, the classroom environment was still the same, however, students were allowed to speak in English to explain more complex ideas if they did not know the German for something, showing that some of them are still new to the language. However, the teacher always emphasised to the children to always try in German. Furthermore, whatever response she got from a student in English, she would then repeat it in German so that they would gain the vocabulary and learn the grammatical structuring required to produce a particular answer. An example of this was during the introductory discussion amongst the class. The students were casually asked by the teacher what their morning assembly was about. A student formed their sentence in German correctly, however they did not know the German for computer security (Computersicherheit), as the assembly in the morning centred around the grade 4s teaching us about our media-rich world (which I saw come to fruition during my first week at the school with the grade 4s). The teacher used this as her first teaching point and emphasised the connectedness German has in terms of technology vocabulary (Computer, iPhone, Laptop etc.) with English.

This, was very crucial for the students as it then opened a wider avenue of vocabulary they could utilise within their understanding of German, making it more relevant for them (also, I believe that a modern topic like technology sparks more interest with the kids).

I believe that this open environment to experiment with language is crucial for the advancement of skills. At one time, the grade 4s, that are now very capable in their German, were probably where the grade 2s are in understanding when they were younger. ISS clearly has a correct approach towards the advancement of language: the children are in a language-rich environment and are getting to hear it from a native speaker, they themselves are enthused to try as much as possible to participate in discussions and they work with their peers to progress in their skills. The teacher also highlighted that she will jump back to English whenever she feels it is necessary so that the children do not feel pressured when being questioned.

Another difference was the expressive nature of teaching. The practitioner was far more animated with the grade 2s in order to engage with their youthful eagerness. Also, she got the children to perform songs with her in German with actions which they thoroughly enjoyed (something I think the grade 4s might have begrudged about!). This approach has been emphasised by lecturers during our Languages input last semester, using rhymes and songs have been shown to be very beneficial to the encouragement of language learning.

With the level of German being a little easier for me to understand, I also spoke to the class to ask them questions (the lesson progressed into the exploration of fairytales in German – another topic easy to understand as fairytales are universal). This not only got me to practice my German, but also got the children to hear a different dialect of German being spoken.

So, we can see that through dedication and handwork, the acquisition of additional language can flourish when the correct tools are used to aid the children, something that Scotland could work far more effectively on. To interlink this with reading, Kirsch (2008) believes that the best approaches towards foreign language learning in the primary school setting are the ones that make it relevant and engaging for the child, otherwise, they disengage towards the abstractness that language learning could produce when children do not understand or see the real importance of why they are learning another form of communication from their mother tongue.

Overall, I believe that I am using my time at ISS effectively well, which is improving my time management skills also, as I have been making sure I maintain a nice balance between witnessing specialist classes and also attending homeroom teacher meetings. To progress further in my understanding of language learning, I will try to also observe a grade 1 German lesson to see the differences and similarities. I will also try and participate more in aiding the lesson as much as my German will allow!

Reference:

Kirsch, C. (2008) Teaching Foreign Languages in the Primary School London: Continuum.

Aller Anfang ist Schwer – Week 2 in Stuttgart Reflection

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This was taken during the markets in Kirchheim at the weekend.

Second week down and it has been a very busy one.

At the start of the week, I began descending down the grades as I moved from the grade 4 classes down to grade 3 from Monday to Wednesday (19^th – 21^st of March 2018) and then to the grade 2 classes for Thursday and Friday (22^nd and the 23^rd of March). This allowed me to see the progression that occurs through the stages and to examine the sort of skills that are being developed across the years.

So, as I stated earlier, I began working at the start of the week between the two grade 3 classes at ISS; grade 3a and grade 3b. Similarities in approaches from grade 4 could be seen in terms of behaviour management with regards to systems in class points, table points and counting down to gain attention. However, an interesting method utilised by the 3b teacher was the usage of the dollar system. Because she was from America, the teacher introduced the dollar system within her class that saw good behaviour being praised with an amount of dollars and a misconduct requiring a student to owe the teacher a dollar. This worked well because the teacher would open a store at the end of the week for the children to spend their earnings, which also taught the students the importance of budgeting and saving. The teacher emphasised to me that this particular class was different from her previous as they really cherished their dollars and saved them up to get better items from the class store, instead of spending the dollars all at once. This approach had a lot of merit for the kids and it kept them on task because they knew that they were working towards earning something as well as progressing in their studies. I think it would be useful to see a practice like this used in a Scottish primary setting, as it would also interlink with the mathematic outcome centred around the importance of money management and budgeting (Education Scotland, 2016, pg. 94).

Also, whilst with grade 3, I attended the planning meetings that the teachers hosted between the grade levels. This structure in planning enables consistency across the teaching of the grades to occur, as the teachers plan in unison with one another. What was particularly evident was the breadth in planning: the teachers were not only looking at the lessons they were doing for that week, they were also very much looking into the future, thus emphasising the importance of mid-term and long-term planning in the profession of teaching, which I have discussed in my comparison of planning post in greater detail.

I worked with a particular group of 3^rd graders when they went to either German/EAL, as I believed experiencing the work of specialists would also be beneficial for my practice. Within the EAL class, I saw an almost perfect practical example of the mixed-ability grouping working towards the benefit of learning for all students included. The teacher encouraged the exploration of English (as it is not the students first language). They do this by assigned roles that work towards creating a media product that demonstrates their findings in the language of English. This particular group had already made a 10-minute clip that included various scenes that explored what they had discovered about ancient civilisations (a topic that was also explored by the rest of grade 3 during Unit of Inquiry time): costumes of traditional wear, differing roles of characters (such as slaves, peasants and rulers) and lines of dialogue that linked with the periods they were exploring – ancient Egypt, ancient Greece and ancient Rome – which all culminated towards a product that represented the rich-learning experience of the children. The teacher even emphasised that this method pushed one of the boys, that had hardly any English at the start of the year, had came on leaps and bounds in the acquisition of language. Not only of the acquisition of the English language itself, but also the tone and expressions that came with the acting in the clip.

Now, the group is working through a unit of inquiry that is centred around the importance of endangered animals and the human impact on the environment. I worked with a group of boys that had a wide range of language capabilities, however, they were able to support one another effectively. We produced a soundclip presentation with photographs in an almost timeline fashion on animals that are extinct, to endangered then to vulnerable, whilst also involving the importance of understanding pollution and what we can do to help the planet. The boys took turns in creating their lines in English and aided one another in terms of what they were saying but also how they were expressing their lines. Not only this, but the group also brought forward the very current news story about Sudan, the ‘last man standing’ male of the white rhino population who died (Vitale, 2018). Not only did this evoke a passion within the group, but it also boosted my confidence to take a leap into constructing lessons that centre on the usage of technology to explore a modern topic within a group, especially with students that do not speak fluent English. I can say that the students I had in my class last year that were ESL students would have benefitted greatly from a practice like this because of the open environment created for the exploration of English. The boys were really chuffed with the product that they made, whilst the teacher was also impressed that they explored skills such as writing (for their lines), speaking, listening and reading whilst also working with technology. These skills normally need many separate lessons in other settings however this practitioner has found the perfect balance to ensure the kids in their practice are not only progressing in their language learning, but also having fun doing so.

To unpick this further with imagery proposed by the practitioner within the class itself, I believe the philosophies of Socrates interlinks with this approach well: Socrates’ mother was a midwife and he always saw this profession as an important form of imagery. The midwife is not there to handle the birth alone or to even give birth to the child itself; instead, they are there to guide the soon-to-be mother through the process, making sure they are on the right track. Teaching, in the eyes of the professional within this class, should follow the same method. ISS, as a whole follows this pedagogy also. Gone are the days of the overruling didactic approach to learning. The guide at the side approach is far more effective in the eyes of many of the professionals at ISS, as it spurs students to be far more autonomous within their learning, thus heading towards a clearer definition of what it means to be internationally minded. Midwives also are far more concerned about the on-goings of the labour suite itself and keep complex biological understanding further back in importance. Teachers are the same: students have to first be suitable for learning to occur in the first place before complex learning can be applied. Even then, the child in unison must make more groundwork with their teacher.

Wednesday was a much shorter day, due to the school closing earlier to host a data protection seminar on campus for teachers to learn more about the safeties of keeping information about themselves and their children safe and secure. A particular point that was very thought provoking was the emphasis that sharing information online is not the only main danger of information leaking. The example of a teacher losing the medical records of students whilst on a field trip was one that was very crucial, as within these documents are medical records, contact details, addresses and much more that could be dangerous within the wrong hands. Furthermore, the example of a report card being left in a printer could also prompt the likes of other staff members, parents and students to come across it and see what has been said about particular students. It is all well and good knowing how to be confidential online, but one must conduct themselves in real life in a confidential manner also.

The various books that are centred around the Grade 2s UOI

Working with the grade 2s Thursday and Friday was also very beneficial for my overall practice, as I have predominately only worked with children that are further up in the primary school. However, I guessed that, before coming to ISS, that grade 2 would be aged similar to the UK as being around six years old. Instead, I was greeted by seven year olds, which made me realise that schooling in Germany does not begin until age six, which contrasts with the UK’s system where children must sit in a classroom environment from as early as four and a half.

I got to teach them about my Scottish heritage as their Unit of Inquiry has been the Middle Ages with a focus around castles. I was able to show the kids some of the famous castles that are across Scotland (with my local castles Broughty Ferry Castle and Claypotts Castle being two I knew a great deal about). Due to it being a grade 2 class, I also assisted in the building of the class’ own models of castles. It was so interesting to see this historical topic really explore and enhance the young children’s fine motor skills as they had to use tools such as scissors, Sellotape, glue, cardboard cutters and their hands. I liked to see a practical task link well with a topic that is also very knowledge-based.

The children’s models are coming along really well!

Overall, this week has been packed with so many interesting events that have sparked areas of professional reflection within me. Even within the This week has also been particularly useful for my development as a practitioner as I have a unique position (which the staff at ISS have agreed and emphasised that I should take as much of the experience in as possible) where I am getting to see across the grade levels, interact with them and make reflections around the practices that I have witnessed, which will no doubt shape my own understanding of what it means to be a successful teacher.

Reference:

Education Scotland (2016) National Numeracy and Mathematics Progression Framework. [pdf] Available at: https://education.gov.scot/improvement/documents/numeracy/num1_nnpf/nnmpf_2016.pdf (Accessed 8th February 2018).

Vitale, A. (2018) ‘I Returned to Say Goodbye.’ A Photographer Shares the Final Moments of the Last Male Northern White Rhino [Online] Times Available at: http://time.com/5209390/sudan-rhino-rhinoceros-northern-white/ (Accessed 22^nd March 2018)

The Importance of Encompassment in Language-Learning

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On Wednesday (14th of March), I attended my first class of the children’s original mother tongue, as ISS aims to offer lessons that both encourage the development of English, but also maintain and improve their home language. A boy that is in the homeroom class that I am working with this week invited me to come along to his German lesson in order to see the difference in the teaching.

The class was completely in German, emphasising the need for consistent exposure to a language to fully grasp the skills needed to communicate appropriately and effectively.

As soon as I entered the room, I was transported to a world that was entirely in German. The classroom layout emphasised the learning of the language in a fully encompassing manner. Every phrase on the board, every poster and every activity was in German. This, I feel, allowed for the students to become completely tuned into utilising the language for themselves. Although this level was of a mother tongue standard, I believe that we can take the types of approaches towards language-learning as a whole to evaluate the practice in Scottish education.

The specialist teacher spoke to the class entirely in German and expected responses in the language. Furthermore, their capabilities in the language were very strong and they had great confidence in their delivery. Now, although the teacher was German themselves, we can see that the teaching of another language is best established when the practitioner has a great profound understanding of their subject knowledge and how best to explore that knowledge with the children.

Also, the students within the grade I am working with, are getting prepared to start their bicycle training course, which will ensure they are safe when cycling on the roads in Germany. So, the teacher incorporated this topic into her lesson and focused the theme of the vocabulary on road signs, laws of the road and the dangers of cycling. The teacher introduced the topic to the class through and introductory video that was in German, which had humour intertwined with a strong message of the dangers that can occur when cycling. Then, she engaged the class in a discussion about the video itself, which tested their understanding of questioning and competence to respond. The abilities of such young children, that I had only a lesson ago heard them speak in perfect English, were now talking fully and clearly in German. Something that I find both incredible and envious. It also emphasises a point that I began exploring in my school first placement where I had a student that had English as an additional language. Their capability to grasp the language so quickly was astonishing to me, however, ISS has only further emphasised this point for me: children are at a unique position in terms of gaining new language. Furthermore, Hood & Tobutt (2009) have found that this is predominately the case due to children being at a unique advantage in terms of having the capability to grasp the correct pronunciation of another language much quicker than their adult counterparts (however, the age at which a person begins their second language-learning does not determine their entire capabilities within the language).

Kahoot! is a game-based learning platform that the teacher used to test the knowledge of the students in the laws of the road that they needed for bicycle training but it was completely in German.

An interesting approach that was undertaken by the teacher was in the usage of technology:

They used a platform known as Kahoot! to test the children’s knowledge of particular vocabulary and sentence structures with the topic of road safety. However, she had given the responsibility of the game to one of the students in the class to prepare prior to the lesson. This, for me, showed a great emphasis on ownership of learning, not only for themselves but also their peers in the class. The children were each given an iPad and they had to complete the quiz that the student had made and try and score the most points in order to win. The task was both engaging and stimulating as the students took great joy in seeing their names on the leaderboard. However, the teacher also used the wrong answers well as she then explored it in detail with the students to clarify any misconceptions – one example being with the Stop sign. One cannot simply just stop to a complete halt, they had to take into consideration their surroundings and look around them to make sure it is safe to stop, but also they need to put their foot on the pavement as cyclists when they stop.

Overall, I have taken away great points for reflection from observing and aiding in this lesson (as much as my German would allow me to!) and it has further emphasised my educational philosophy upon the importance of language-learning as a whole. A practitioner needs to be well equipped in order to get their students fully engaged with another language from the one they are so used to, even if they have had lots of prior knowledge within the language. I hope to take these points, on top of the new vocabulary about road safety, when I am teaching modern languages within the Scottish primary school setting.

Reference:

Hood, P. and Tobutt, K. (2009) Modern languages in the primary school London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

Niemand hat gesagt, dass Leben leicht ist – Week 1 in Stuttgart Reflection

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In such a short space of time, so much has happened.

My first week in Stuttgart has come to an end, and I foresee that the rest of my time here will be just as insightful as this week has been; brimming with multiple points for reflection and development.

Even before I started my work at ISS, I was expanding my knowledge of both the culture of Germany and the language of German, with great assistance from the host family who have welcomed me with open arms. During my stay, I will be working with the family’s youngest son in order to improve his English skills, which will both improve his language skills, due to the exposure to a mother tongue speaker, but also enhance my teaching practice as I will need to work one-to-one with the child to respond to his particular needs in terms of enhancing his English as an additional language skills. Even just day-to-day conversations will no doubt have great impact on the progress of his English knowledge. These skills will no doubt be beneficial when I return to Scottish education, as there will be students that do not speak perfect English at some point in my professional career (which I had last year during 1PP1). This experience will allow me to utilise various professional skills, with setting professional goals being a core area, as I will need to set out goals for both the child and me to progress cohesively.

The view of the garden from where I will be writing most of my blog posts.

My first introduction to Stuttgart was with the family that provided a massive culture shock. My first full day consisted of portfolio planning that was surrounded by the on-goings of George Michael’s “Older” album playing over speakers, to then change into the likes of Debussy and Bach, as the German news was playing in the next room. Alongside this during the first evening meal, the family was communicating across the dinner table in French, German and English, with conversations flowing with ease across the triad of linguistic frameworks that somehow worked seamlessly, as if it was meant for the languages to be experienced together. Opening oneself to different languages and cultures can bring great benefits in my opinion, as this family is proof of it: their children are well above their expected grade levels for their ages and they have gained the necessary skills to examine more languages. The freedom to be able to express oneself in any given language is something that I envy, I wish that much of the UK’s culture and societal view upon language as a whole would be more open to going beyond relying on English as their go-to language (even in countries that do not speak English as a first language). Particularly, when we view it in an educational lens, as the 1+2 scheme in Scotland hopes to fix this issue. However, I believe we need to unpick the societal problem that has a bigger lasting impact on our perception of language as a whole.

However, I must examine my work that I conducted during the first full week at ISS, the International School of Stuttgart, also. For this week, I worked with a grade 4 class, whose teacher has a rich background in working within International schools. This served as a great basis for me to get to understand the IB PYP (International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program). In short, the predominant feature of PYP is that the children are heavily involved in their own inquiry-based learning. A key feature in the timetable is a specific slot time for the children’s unit of inquiry, which is a core area within IB.

Furthermore, The teachers plan collaboratively for their whole year of teaching in terms of the specific areas within a subject through an application called Rubicon Atlas, with the example of mathematics being shown here:

The whole grade’s plan for the teaching of mathematics depending on the time frame

They also use a portal known as Veracross to take attendance, track students progress in learning, and make themselves aware of any allergies or health points that a teacher needs to know. This is to coincide with the platform of Atlas.

“Central to the philosophy of the PYP is the principle that purposeful, structured inquiry is a powerful vehicle for learning that promotes meaning and understanding, and challenges students to engage with significant ideas.” (ISS, 2017, pg.5).

Much of the learning within ISS is facilitated through a constructivist approach towards learning, wherein that students will focus on building their learning themselves alongside support from practitioners that will guide them towards the correct avenues of learning, thus the inquiry-based approach is utilised. Within this, topics such as stereotypes, Internet safety, and societal issues coincide with the learning required in research skills – how do I go about making this project? How do I find appropriate sources? How will I know they are appropriate? Why is this important? These are but a few questions that arise with students within their inquiry that is focused towards a particular interest within the child.

The paperwork that I will be familiarising myself with over the 8 week placement.

Within my specific class for this week, we worked through their unity of inquiry through collaborative groups, which were constructed across the entire grade. This meant that teachers were facilitating learning aids and prompts across various classrooms at one time with students working with different mediums within their group, an approach I have never seen in practice until now. What I really gained from this work was that I was able to see that students really had a passion towards the learning that they were doing, it was learning for the joy of learning. I also witnessed some groups following the trends of Tuckman’s group theory of forming, storming, norming and performing (1965), which believed that people working within small groups that need to work towards similar goals, go through different stages of coming together, having conflict, working through conflicts and then going on to meet the aims of their tasks. This is particularly challenging for teachers. I had to work with a particular group that were disputing over the assigned roles within the team (which were required to bring their ideas together to create a presentation) and it was tricky to try and diffuse the situation somewhat, however, it was also even harder to not try and solve the problems myself, as the group dynamics were learning points for the students as well, which IB outlines is a core aspect of learning. This is a massive area for forming internationally-minded students, as people need to understand they will experience challenging group situations within life, and IB is preparing students for them. Furthermore, the types of collaborative projects have been very thought-provoking.

An example of the work I was doing with my class in mathematics – an emphasis on the actual “hows” and “whys” of mathematics rather than just knowing the answer is emphasised in the IB curriculum.

This particular unit of inquiry (UOI) was centred around the whole grade level being sectioned into groups to conduct tasks that interlink with the outcomes required in the IB curriculum around the topic of our lives being so heavily influenced by media in the global world. The central idea is concerned about our understanding that we are both producers and consumers in media-rich societies. Issues like phishing, cyber bullying, photoshop editing, continuing stereotypes through advertisement, social media’s impact on body image and self-esteem issues were split amongst the groups who were assigned different media outlets to express their findings and opinions on the topic. Skits, presentations, animations and news reports all have been created to highlight the precautions needed with media in the global world; we are all consumers of a consumerist world and must be forever mindful of that. Not only that, but we need to be safe online. These groups will come together to form a whole grade project of inquiry that has been predominately student-led. The grade 4s hope to bring together their findings as one informative assembly presentation that will showcase the inquiry they have done.

Also, due to the business being a school, I knew to expect the unexpected in terms of what can happen within a school day and week. However, I ended up being able to go on a school field trip on only my second day of being at ISS. The field trip was to the the Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart (the giant library in the centre of Stuttgart), which allowed me to see the centre of Stuttgart for a short while, also. This field trip was different from the ones I have experienced in Scotland where most of the transport is planned out, timings are crucial and the whole day is set out, with children having little freedom in the sense that they are always accounted for within a teacher’s schedule. Instead, we used public transport with the kids, we planned what we did with the children according to the plans of the tour (for example, we originally hoped to have a picnic lunch outside, however, were able to have lunch at the library itself instead due to it being cold). The kids even got some free play time outside the library before having to get the train back to school, which showed a more relaxed approach to trips with a large group of children, which gave me areas to reflect upon in terms of the health and safety obsessed approaches the majority of the UK maintains.

An example of one of the classrooms in ISS

I have also been able, in my time with the class, to work within small group lessons and conduct one short whole class lesson within mathematics (which, by following the Atlas, you can see that we are focusing on multiplication and division). I was tasked with exploring worded problems that emphasised the exploration of the hows and whys of mathematics. I took great confidence in leading this topic as there was one particular boy in the class that struggled with working with division, however, using the skills that I have gained in the STEM subject at the university from the likes of Eddie Valentine, I was able to break down particular areas that were tricky for the child (especially their understanding of place value) in a far more effective manner than I would have this time last year, which proves to me that I am already boosting in my confidence, particularly within mathematics.

I have also met with the Head teacher and we have mapped out my plans and aims for the placement: I will work my way down the grades, helping and aiding in classes and teaching in some, to experience the differences in the years across a school (4, 3, 2, 1, kindergarden). Then, when it is time for the huge project of the grade 5 exhibitions, I will assist in teaching and aiding the grade 5 students and teachers (something I will blog about more closer to the time!). Thus, concluding my placement with a wider scope of the whole process of learning that goes on in the primary stages of an IB school, but also get to know the school and staff members more whilst gaining experience teaching in an international school environment.

Beyond the school, I’ve been learning more about the culture of Germany and the German language. I’ve also been driving on the Autobahn to get to and from the school!

Looking ahead to the rest of placement, I hope to be able to take more control in terms of teaching points within the school, but also reach out more to the other staff members, as I have already received such a warm welcome from everyone at the school.

Reference:

ISS (2017) ISS PYP Handbook Degerloch: International School of Stuttgart

Tuckman, B. W. (1965). Developmental sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63(6), 384-399.

Multi-Cultural Assembly – Understanding the Background of Our Peers at ISS

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On Friday, the lower school of the International School of Stuttgart held an assembly that aimed to showcase and celebrate the various heritages and backgrounds that are evident within ISS.

The children at ISS all come from different backgrounds and ISS believe that it is their mission to not only celebrate their development in the languages of English and German, but also enthuse and develop the home language that a child brings to the school.

Stuttgart Airport – A fitting representation of what ISS must represent in terms of being internationally mindful of the different cultures that will walk through their doors on a daily basis, which also interlinks with the SPR (image sourced from wikimedia)

Particularly within the staffroom, one teacher believed that as an international school they must hold the same stance as airports do; be fully encompassing of all the various types of people that come through whilst still holding neutral ground. So many different beliefs will walk through their doors and they need to consider all of them and allow the cultures to be heard and showcased. This also, for the portfolio, relates well with the concept of being socially just in the guidelines for Scottish education:

“Embracing locally and globally the educational and social values of sustainability, equality and justice and recognising the rights and responsibilities of future as well as current generations.” (GTCS, 2012, pg. 5) – we need to be mindful of not only the local cultures but also the global cultures that exist around us as practitioners. Something that ISS is very strong at, I believe. Linking further with Scottish education, I think this also links with the outcome of social wellbeing, as the Scottish government (2009) Curriculum for Excellence document outlines that to reach a satisfactory level of social wellbeing, one will develop a young person’s awareness, understanding and experience of participation in consultation, citizenship and volunteering activities within the formal and informal curriculum. (pg.18)

Firstly, we were introduced to head, shoulders, knees and toes in Japanese. Students that were from Japan guided the audience through the body parts, emphasising the key sounds of the words that were needed to be able to sing the song. Then, the students got the audience to join in with the accompaniment of a YouTube clip.

After this, students that had Birthdays in the months of February and March were invited to come to the front to be sang “Happy Birthday” in various languages. Students that spoke Croatian, Chinese and Arabic were brought up to showcase their language and then engage the audience in a singalong, which was easy to pick up due to the song maintaining the same rhythm. Thus making it much easier for people to keep with the song.

Then, to finish off the assembly, students that from Indian descent came onto the stage to perform a Bollywood dance. This, for me, was the highlight of the assembly as the students had clearly rehearsed the dance for a long time and knew how to put on a show whilst being accompanied by modern Bollywood music. The group then invited a few students up to the stage to try out some of the moves themselves, which I thought was a great idea as it got the students to really be engrossed in the celebrations of varying backgrounds. This, can then allow for the students to not only consider the heritage of different students, but also sparks points of reflection upon their own background.

Furthermore, beyond the capabilities to actually perform a fast-paced dance, the students had great courage to be able to stand up on a stage and perform in front of the grades from 1 to 5 and the staff and parents that came along to watch.

Looking at this event with a critical lens, I can see that teachers have a great say on their students (and parents) perceptions on the world around them. This one assembly alone exposed people to different cultures, different languages and different backgrounds all through an equal platform. Returning to the teacher’s simile that international schools must carry themselves as if they were airports, I find that this holds strongly with this assembly and with me as a future practitioner as a whole:

As teachers, we do not know, at first, what factors our students bring to the classroom. It is our jobs to find out about our children and understand what world they have came from in order to, not only expose the rest of the students to differing ways of life, but also allow questioning and acceptance of traditions. Teachers at ISS clearly spent a great deal of time with the particular students that participated in the assembly to encourage their self-celebration to be showcased properly and to be proud of where they have come from in the world.

To facilitate the confidence within children to share where they have came from in the world has only positives as showcased by this assembly. The fact that ISS celebrates all the differences under one roof also establishes an educational philosophy that we can all co-exist even when we have different beliefs and values in the world.

Looking at the requirements of the portfolio, I can see that this covers section 3 very well, as ISS needs to understand their stakeholders values. Their stakeholders (the students in this case) are from all across the globe, therefore they will come with varying past experiences and customs that their families are used to. ISS needs to consider this when facilitating both the learning for the students but also when they are mapping out the entire school ethos.

Reference:

GTCS (2012) The General Teaching Council for Scotland: The Standards for Registration: mandatory requirements for Registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland [pdf] Available at: http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/the-standards/standards-for-registration-1212.pdf (Accessed 18th of March 2018)

Scottish government (2009) Curriculum for Excellence: all experiences and outcomes [pdf] Available at: https://www.education.gov.scot/Documents/all-experiences-and-outcomes.pdf (Accessed 18th of March 2018)

Image sourced from: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stuttgart_Flughafen_Terminal_1.jpg

Ich fahre mit dem Auto – Experiencing the Roads of Germany (LfL)

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A skill that I did not know that would come in handy when I thought about coming to Germany for my placement was my ability to drive a car…

The German family that I am living with during my time in Stuttgart stay some distance away from the school and the autobahn (highway) has to be taken in order to reach it in the morning. So, when the parents of the children that go to ISS told me they would be leaving for a few days for business, I was somewhat apprehensive at the thought of driving myself in a foreign country that I’m not used to.

This is the road I take everyday to get to ISS (image sourced from wikimedia)

A big difference between the roads in the UK and Germany is the difference in the sides in which cars travel down. In the UK, we drive on the left side of the road and on the right side within the car. In the rest of Europe, they travel on the right side and their steering wheels and mechanics for operation are on the left. This took a lot of getting used to when it was my time to get behind the wheel.

I was interested to find out why this difference came about, in order to establish a wider cultural understanding of the phenomenon, thus covering section 3 of the portfolio.

According to World Standards (2017), around 35% of the world’s inhabitants drives on the left side (with the UK being included). This is, historically, linked with medieval-principles wherein people needed to be able to attack on the right (due to people predominately being right-handed). However, it also linked with right-handed people finding that mounting a horse from the left is far easier than from the right, as they used their more dominant hand to pull themselves up. So, one would think to mount from the side of the road rather than from the middle of traffic, thus the passing of centuries enforced the premise of driving on the left side.

Countries that were former British colonies are found to follow this trend also, due to the transfer of beliefs and British traditions, as India still drives on the left.

Other countries changed this, however, with the 1920 Paris Convention within Europe starting a wave of change that favoured right-hand drive to harmonise the bordering countries within a continent that has many bordering countries.

It was actually, at one time, considered a possibility that the UK would follow suit and also change their roads to the right. However, the UK decided against a switch to right hand drive mainly because it would cost far too much and that many of the systems in place already were far too old to try and re-modernise to a state of total reinvention (Geoghegan, 2009).

A map showing the countries that travel on the right hand side (red) and the left hand side (blue). As you can see, that it is predominantly former British colonies that still drive on the left. (image sourced from wikimedia)

Now, I believe that this contrast in fundamental traffic flow serves as a perfect form of imagery for my learning from life placement. Working within an IB school, I will be using the skills I have already established through my previous professional practices from Scotland, but within a completely new context, just like I will be using my knowledge and skills within driving but on the opposite ends of the car and the roads. Both practices will allow for great learning and reflection opportunities for when I return back to Scotland (I hope that I do not try and drive on the right, however!)

Furthermore, I believe that I will have a similar reflective experience with the two.

I was, at first, wary of driving in an unknown situation as I was unsure of the changes that I was faced with. However, through time and practice I was able to get the hang of it and build up confidence with my pre-existing skills meshing with the new environment of the autobahn. Not only this, but the fact the car had automatic transmission instead of manual, the speed was being measured in km/h instead of mph and that the car was a completely different shape than my own also had huge implications for my adjustments.

I’m only in my first week at ISS, however, I can feel that I am learning so much about a new format of teaching through a different curriculum from the one I know in Scotland. It has been tricky for the first couple of days understanding the differences, but I know that I will come to know it through critical research and practical development with working with both the staff and the children. Whilst also using the materials about the IB pathway to guide my studies and practice as a whole.

Reference:

Geoghegan, T. (2009) Could the UK Drive on the Right? [Online] BBC. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8239048.stm (Accessed 15th of March 2018)

Word Standards (2017) Why do some countries drive on the left and others on the right? [Article] Available at: https://www.worldstandards.eu/cars/driving-on-the-left/ (Accessed 15th of March 2018)

Images sourced from wikimedia – allowed for re-usage purposes

LfL – Section 1

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This post contains the information needed in section 1 of the portfolio.

This section of the Learning from Life portfolio should be completed prior to going on placement, which will allow a strong basis for continual reflection points during the placement.

Audit of Skills

Rating of skills (1=Not very developed; 3= very developed)

Skills and Abilities	1	2	3
Flexibility		*
Confidence		*
Self Discipline			*
Working Under Pressure			*
Setting Professional Goals			*
Taking Risks		*
Sharing Opinions Confidently	*
Teamwork		*
Acting as a Leader			*

Personal Attributes

Recognition	Reflection	Action
Skills already developed	How will I use these	How do I know (evidence)**
Teamwork	Working within ISS, I will be in contact with various staff members and will have to work alongside them in a collaborative manner.	Forming strong bonds with the staff at the International school of Stuttgart. Also, being approachable to the children that will be from vast spectrums of backgrounds due to it being an international school will ensure that I can work collaboratively with the children in a successful manner.
Sharing Opinions Confidently	In order to gain the most from the placement, I will need to be able to contribute my own opinion, which will need to be backed up with factual understanding in order for my opinions to be taken into real consideration.	When my opinion has been put forward and been fully considered by my peers.
Working Under Pressure	Not only will I be working in a different country that speaks a different main language from my own, I will also be working within a school that follows a different curriculum. Therefore, I will need to push myself beyond my limits in order to surpass the various pressures so that I can be successful.	I will have gained self-resilience alongside working under pressure and will be able to have sustained the expectations and workloads of the internship within the school.
Setting Professional Goals	Making goals prior to the placement and whilst working within the school in order to succeed in my VIVA at the end of the placement.	My continuing assessment of on going goals will ensure that I will have a successful VIVA.
Confidence	Being confident to express thoughts and opinions, which will be needed in both English and German	I will increase my confidence in both English and German.
Flexibility	Being open to change and being adaptable to the varying factors that affect the day-to-day workings of a school	When I can think on my feet when adjustment is needed to be made to practice whilst in the International school

Knowledge

I will be basing much of my knowledge on my first year placement and my previous experiences within working in primary schools prior to university, however, due to this being an international school in a different country, I will need to look at the placement through a different lens. Furthermore, I have learned the language of German up to an advanced level (advanced higher in school and an advanced level as an elective last year at the university) however, I will be experiencing the language in its natural environment. Also, due to the school being part of the International Baccalaureate, I will need to increase my knowledge in the differences in curriculum between that of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence and that of ISS. Particularly as the International Baccalaureate strives for creating “internationally minded people” (International Baccalaureate, 2013, pg. 5)

Personal Attributes

I believe that I am a person that strives in challenging situations and I like to be pushed beyond my limits academically and within practice, and I believe that ISS is the perfect place for me to be able to, not only increase my professional development as a teacher, but also see beyond the teaching experience that I gained in Scotland. I want to also use my team working skills to form cohesive bonds with the staff and students at the school, as this will ensure that I will get the best results for my placement. Approachability, resilience and creativity are also attributes I hope to hone.

Professional Values and Personal Commitment (SPR 1) – Pre-Placement Reflections (General Teaching Council for Scotland, 2012)

1.1 Social Justice

I will need to embrace the different culture of the surrounding area of the school (Stuttgart, Germany) and take into consideration the various backgrounds of both the staff and the children that I will be working alongside in order to show a real dedication to aiming for social justice, particularly as the school will have people from across the globe under one cohort and student base.

1.2 Integrity

Criticality must be at the forefront of my practice, as this opportunity will allow me to see a completely different curriculum, which will allow for a real critical reflection upon my own educational philosophy.

1.3 Trust and Respect

Acting in a professional manner to be able to create an inclusive and accepting aura will ensure that both students and staff will feel respected and well encompassed from the get-go of my arrival. I want to be able to be seen in a similar fashion as the pre-existing staff members at ISS in that, I will be there to support all students and staff members.

1.4 Professional Commitment

Lifelong learning coinciding with continual collaborative practice will mean that I need to reach out as much as possible when opportunities arise for my services to be put to the test, for example, extra-curricular activities, staff meetings and CPD events, which will probably differ in comparison to those in Scotland, will be very beneficial for me so I should put myself forward for them when possible.

Identification of Skills and Knowledge

I have a strong understanding in terms of the environment of Scottish education due to placement and the multiple workshops during the 2 years of being in university, however, have limited knowledge in terms of the differing curriculum and philosophical approach towards education as a whole, thus making it an area that I will need to work on. This placement will play well into to the skills that I was able to develop during my first year placement in that I will be returning to the environment of a primary school. During the placement, i will be staying with a Germany family, which will require my skills in the German language being tested and explored within its naturally spoken environment. I will need to use my people skills in order to overcome the language barrier that will no doubt be a challenge at first, as it has been some time since I have utilised the language. Furthermore, I feel that much of my education in the language has been centred around the written format of language, which will be trickier to formulate into speech and to also be able to engage with spoken German that is being said to me, at first.

Reflection of Experience to Date

UK-German Connections Logo

Reflecting upon my experiences as a whole, I can utilise my pre-university experiences that I gained as a UK-German Youth Ambassador for the government-funded organisation that aimed to bring young people together to promote the learning of languages and my current university experiences to show my passion for both language and education. Dana and Yendol-Hoppey (2009) find that teachers need to be flexible to any given context they are put into, and that a welcoming attitude will serve any teacher well, thus meaning that I should be open to change, especially within a situation that is very abstract from my usual experiences.

What I hope to Achieve

I hope to improve both my understanding of the language of German and the culture of Germany, which will be best achieved through participation with my host family and any events at the school (Interlinks with Social Justice – SPR 1 as I will need to consider the local and global values that surround the school and my host family).
Gain a deeper understanding of the International Baccalaureate system, particularly the progression of the Primary Years Programme – I will be coming with a good knowledge in the Scottish education system, however, I feel it is necessary for me to learn as much as possible about the IB system, as it will give me more areas for reflection in terms of my educational philosophy when being faced with an entirely knew format to teach towards (Interlinks with Professional Commitment – SPR 1 as I need to be dedicated to continually learning new ways to hone my professional practice) – I also feel it would be beneficial to make contrasts and links between the two where possible.
Expand my professional knowledge in terms of strategies, teaching methods and approaches towards teaching through both observation and teaching of my own. I would also like to see more than one class levels to see a full scope in a child’s education within the International School of Stuttgart (and, in turn, understand the differing levels in education as a whole some more).

Reference:

Dana, N.F. and Yendol-Hoppey, D. (2009) The Reflective Educator’s guide to Classroom Research: learning to teach and teaching to learn through practitioner inquiry, California: Corwin Press.

General Teaching Council for Scotland (2012) The Standards for Registration: mandatory requirements for Registration with the General Teaching Council for Scotland [pdf] Available at: http://www.gtcs.org.uk/web/FILES/the-standards/standards-for-registration-1212.pdf (Accessed: 20 February 2018).

International Baccalaureate (2013) What is an IB Education? [pdf] Available at: http://www.ibo.org/globalassets/digital-tookit/brochures/what-is-an-ib-education-en.pdf (Accessed: 27 February 2018).

IB logo image sourced from wikimedia and UK-German Connection logo sourced from: http://www.ukgermanconnection.org/home