Week 12 - Professional

This week I was able to look into different teaching styles that I was able to compare to other classes or groups that are within my placement school. For the first time this week I was able to

enter into a group 4 classroom and see what way they learn. Here my main purpose was to teach some more basic English for instance to say my name is, I am fine etc. From what I observed however was a little bit different from what our primary 4’s would be taught. Already I have seen groups 1 and 2 and the teaching style was quite similar to that of back home – keeping things basic, structured play etc. but they did get to spend more time during the day playing rather than actual academic work with pen or paper (like they do back home). It was evident in group 1 that they were more relaxed about everything but just that they focussed more on play as a learning tool.

“Play enhances every aspect of children’s development and learning. It is children’s window to the world.” Early Childhood Early Learning Centre

As I have been in group 8 the most I have seen a teaching style again that relates more with home, as the children are older they have to learn in a more formal matter. This in my opinion is so that the children can get used to this way before they enter into high school and this way they will learn. Yes there are times they learn through a different way maybe by sitting in a circle and discussing the topic or maybe through outdoors on class trips. This works along with the Northern Ireland Curriculum that states “Well planned and well-resourced outdoor play experiences allow for progression in a child’s thinking and understanding. These can provide the context in which these principles become the reality for all our children”. Many theorists also agree with the idea of outdoor play such as McMillian (1925) who says:

“The best kept classroom and the richest cupboard are roofed only by the sky.”

Then when in the group 4 classroom the teaching style was a lot different. It was a lot of ‘song and dance’ and the children did seem to enjoy it. They were actively learning and so the kinaesthetic learners were going to benefit well out of this however, the children who learned most through auditory and visual in my opinion were not going to benefit at all. In my opinion an equal balance does not seem to be carried out in each of the classrooms but again it is up to the teacher who knows their class and children the best. So maybe this way of learning that they practise is the best? All I know is that I can take a lot away with me from seeing each of these age groups as there are some differences here compared to back home with our teaching approach; however this is most likely due to the lack of a secure curriculum in The Netherlands.

The remainder of my week consisted of class which did seem to cause a little problem due to a class turning out to be something that we did not expect. This was due to the explanation of it when choosing our modules being completely different to what it actually was, including ways of assessment. However, due to our good friend Magda things have been sorted out!

This week mainly was focussed on school but we did have a leaving party as Beth left for two weeks for America and our good friend Djo is leaving soon for good back to France. However, we are already planning a trip to France to see her again before we all leave… and even better she lives in Bordeaux where there is lots of sun!

P.s. top tip for this week no matter how much a goodbye can be hard or seem difficult to say, remember that with a goodbye to someone, a hello will soon be followed as you will see that person once again very soon.

References:

Early Childhood Learning Knowledge Centre (2006). Let the Children Play: Nature’s Answer to Early Learning. Available:  http://www.changelearning.ca/get-informed/understanding-human-learning/born-learn/early-years/importance-play. Last Accessed: 29/04/13.

Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007) CCEA. Learning Outdoors in Early Years. Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/foundation_stage/learning_outdoors.pdf. Last Accessed: 29/04/13.

Week 11 - Personal

Okay, so this week was filled to the straps with class! We had our two days of teaching as per usual and I taught my English lesson to the children. Again it went well and I am now seeing their English improve as I am able to hold a conversation with some of the children which is helping the ‘teacher-pupil’ bond; this really was a highlight of the week for me as I miss teaching at home sometimes just as the language barrier can be so aggravating at times…

Anyway, the week continued on as we had guest lecturers from different countries this week for class. I had signed up for Educational Disadvantages in Ireland and Bullying. The Irish lecturer was great as it was nice to hear a voice that sounded similar to home. Bar that, the fact the lectures were interesting as it made us think about how we could integrate the arts into our daily

routine at school and how the Arts made more children come to school more as it was interesting for them. This also let us focus in on how art mentoring schemes could be used in schools by focussing in on a certain theme or topic that the children would be interested in and then the teacher would use music, drama and art if possible to run through the topic. An example would be using The Titanic building in Belfast and bringing your kids to the museum and letting them see the different artefacts and then at school the children could look into old clothes or objects that would have been used during that time period. Then the class could look at the type of music at that time and then act out through drama a scene or play made by the children.  We also then had to look into designing a school of the future. This in my opinion was the best! I got to focus on the outside of my group and I designed with everyone’s ideas to design a forest at the back that contained animal pens, ponds, outdoor classrooms, mazes, gymnasiums etc. The lecturers were impressed by all our ideas including the indoors of the school as it was focussed on social skills, the ethos, learning and light!

The next lecture we had was on bullying focussing on bullying issues in America and it turned out to be the best lecture by far! It told us horrifying stories from some American schools about prostitution outside Primary Schools and how schools really do not know how to get over this problem. Another issue was bullying and how to respond as teachers to the problem. So, thankfully for our future career, we found out about all the different options that we could take and proceed with if or should I say when bullying occurs in the classroom. Some examples were talking to the parents, in school suspension e.g. time out unit or even just introducing a buddy system. We also got many useful websites to look at for information and numerous twitter accounts to follow when needing advice. All in all, bulling this week was beneficial and let us gain sight into the bully and the victim and what to do.

Finally the week finished off with a pre celebration of Eimear’s 21^st Birthday on Saturday night. As her birthday is on Tuesday we will be having a proper party then but on Saturday it was good to get everyone together for a good time. Especially as the weather is getting much better now! I even got to cycle in my T-shirt... I was very shocked! Hopefully the good weather continues as it lets us have many more outdoor activities as well as the 'boys' nights that we had this week too!

P.s. Top tip for this week, no matter how boring something might seem to be, attend the class as it will be more enjoyable than what you originally thought! (Yes I am telling you to attend class… I am as shocked as you are reading this now!)

Week 10 - Professional

As week 10 loomed towards us we knew that we would have a very busy week as we had teaching at the beginning  and then our trip through The Netherlands – Tour to the West. 

Teaching this week went very well, as I found out from our teacher that she had heard good

Teaching Time

reports from the other class teacher in Groups 1 and 2 about our day spent there! This made me extremely happy as I had fully enjoyed my time there and really wanted to gain more insight into the different processes of our Dutch school. Furthermore, we also are on the school website as important news... Brilliant! Nevertheless, I continued with my teaching of English to my Group 8 pupils as we ventured into teaching Time… This I knew from the start was going to be difficult. So I began to look at days of the week, months of the year to make sure they knew the basic names of them in English and then I continued on into looking at “O’Clock, quarter past, quarter to and half past”. This relates to the Northern Ireland Curriculum as it states:

“…Sequence everyday events; know the days of the week, months of the year and seasons; explore calendar patterns;” CCEA Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007).

View from the Church Spire in Delft

The week continued on with preparation for us all going on our class trip on Friday. We left Nijmegen on Friday morning and made our way to Delft. Here we were instantly met with the famous blue and white ceramics that you could see all over the city. We also were met with the historical knowledge of the city about the different Kings of Orange, murders and the Royal burial ceremonies.  From our guide, we then were given the task of splitting into groups and carrying out a photo scavaging hunt all around the city, making sure we copied the photo on the page to what it was today, ensuring the angle was correct for extra points. The activity was full of fun and adventure as we managed our own way around the beautiful city that reminded me in structure to that of Amsterdam. My favourite part of Delft was going up the church spire and being able to stand outside on a small balcony around the spire, gazing upon the view of the city. Here we could look at the Geography of the city of how it too had many canals, a main square to where it’s city hall stood and also the injection of culture through tulip and cheese (kaas) shops. It then appealed to me as many groups of children walked by, that a class activity like this would be brilliant to carry out back home for pupils to be able to see the city for themselves and with them having lots of fun.  

“Memories of school Educational trips are among the most prominent of the formative years, largely because they are a welcome break in the routine for both students and teachers. While their purpose is essentially to educate, they can also be a fun bonding experience for everyone involved.” Educational Tourism (2011)

The inside of the beautiful City Hall in Den Haag

We then moved onto that evening to the wonderful city of Den Haag. Here we were instantly met with the impression of a main city full of skyscrapers, wealth and class. It was not until the next day we got to experience this more as another task was set to us in groups; a treasure hunt. Through this though we got to see more perks of the city and gain more knowledge, for instance, seeing their city hall, China Town and of course their Queen’s working palace. This also made me remember the advantages that are always being promoted back home about outdoor learning and that how the child is continually being benefited when educated outside the classroom. As a report by the Magilligan Field Centre , linked through the N.I. Curriculum states:

“Students are given opportunities to work together, to take responsibility, to assess, understand and manage risk, to apply their knowledge to what they see in the field, to identify and classify, to understand cause and effect and to face problem solving opportunities.” Cross, M (MFC 2008)

One of many picturesque scenes in
Den Haag

Our stay in Den Haag really and truly was my highlight of the trip as it really appealed to me as I myself am a city lover. Continually my memory of being told how Den Haag was meant to be the capital of The Netherlands kept going around in my head and I could understand why it would be through its beauty and magnificence.

The Clogs or Klompen in Dutch

We continued on to finish our tour on Sunday to Zaanse Schans where we got to see once again more stereotypical dutch houses, businesses etc. The highlight here was to see the making of the clogs and that the wood used to make them is so wet you could blow the water out! This was a resounding astonishment as all our class gave an “Ohhhh” when the water gushed out.

My week was full of enjoyment and travel and again meeting new friends. The weeks to come are about to be more difficult as works starts to pile up and more classes begin. No matter, it still cannot take the enjoyment out of my Erasmus experience.

Cheese! (Kaas!)

P.s. Top tip for this week, If you see a cheese (kass) shop in any Dutch city, make sure you go inside and try as many free samples as possible! They are delicious!

References:

CCEA Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007). Cross, M (2008). Outdoor Education and the Revised Curriculum.  Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/pmb/0906/outdoor_education_and_the_revised_curriculum.asp. Last Accessed: 16/04/13.

CCEA Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007). Mathematics and Numeracy KS1 Requirements. Available: http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/key_stages_1_and_2/statutory_requirements/ks1_mathematics_numeracy.pdf. Last Accessed: 16/04/1.

Educational Tourism (2011). Available: http://www.educationaltourism.org/why-us.html. Last Accessed: 16/04/13.

Week 9 - Cultural

My new best friends and I!

Teaching this week was again brilliant, more so because I got to spend the day with Groups 1 and 2. The kids were so cute and made me remember the main reason of why I wanted to teach because of creating fun in the classroom, where all the children felt they belong and somewhere they would thrive. Throughout the day we had to try and speak more Dutch and understand what the children were saying to us, as they obviously did not know English. This however, turned out to be a good thing as in my opinion it let me see what Dutch phrases I could remember and say! They obviously must have worked as I had two walking shadows all day and a picture to bring home with me from one of the pupils… I was a happy guy coming home on Tuesday to say the least!

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."

Albert Einstein.

Inside an early Dutch house of a poor family

When talking about culture this week we really got to see an in depth look into how the Dutch lived in the

early days and then progressed to what they are now and this was because of our trip this week to the open air museum. To be honest, it wasn’t a day I was excited for mainly due to us having to get up early and be ready for the bus at 9.15am. However, I was pleasantly surprised as our day was full of history, culture and of course more laughs!

Making of the paper!

The museum started by looking at the Netherlands in the early days, when making the comparisons between rich houses and poor houses. The differences were clearly evident as the poor people lived in a barn like house with their animals; imagine the smell... Yuck! The rich however, had a proper roof, table and chairs and the house was animal free! We also got to see how they made paper before people started to cut down trees! They used old bits of cloth and soaked them in water and the particles then all stuck together and when lifted by a frame like tray, the particles formed a soggy piece of paper. Now as they always say they leave the best to last, in this case they really did! As in The Netherlands they are famous for their beer, we got to taste some of the beer that was on offer. It was home-made and in my opinion, it was no Coors or Fosters Gold but the beer still tasted very good!

Windmill at the Open Air Museum

All in all, this week I got to see that the culture of the Dutch really is like our country when looking at the early ages. However, getting to see the usage of the Windmills and the other typical Dutch items like beer or tulips, let us see that The Netherlands has a strong culture with a history that many people don’t know about and I now feel privileged that I know another country’s culture/history apart from my own. The main reason for this being that I can now be open minded about different things when I return home and see that all people may not be the same but this does not mean we judge them, we however should praise them for their difference as it lets us gain more knowledge and become overall better people.

“Cultural differences should not separate us from each other, but rather cultural diversity brings a collective strength that can benefit all of humanity.”

Alan, R

(Ps top tip for this week when getting free samples of beer in small shot glass like containers, quickly down the beer and re-join the queue and get more, to truly ensure that you get to savour all the different flavours of the beverage… haha)

References:

Alan, R (1922-1978). 20 Quotes Praising Cultural Diversity. Available on: http://www.ufic.ufl.edu/documents/20%20quotes%20praising%20cultural%20diversity.pdf. Last Accessed: 08/04/13.

Einstein, A. Albert Einstein Quotes on Education. Available on: http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/quotes/articles/80874/title/albert-einstein-quotes-on-education. Last Accessed: 08/04/13

Week 8 - Personal

Countries around the world...

This week went very quick in my opinion as it was filled with the excitement of our Easter holiday break to Berlin and I was super excited as I have always wanted to go! The week began with the usual teaching on Monday and Tuesday. Monday I continued with English and set up a shop scenario in the classroom so my Dutch pupils could come up practise their shop phrases and try and hold a conversation in English... it went brilliant! Phew! Then on Tuesday to my surprise, the day that was filled of religion and the Easter story was finished off by myself having to take a surprise English lesson that the teacher told me to prepare in 45 minutes. You can imagine the nerves and rush of that! However, everything went well through teaching the children countries in English and finishing it off with a game of find the country on the map and Pictionary; Even though the boys lost… damn!

Thursday then was the day we set off to Berlin on the bus trip… which took all day to travel. Never have I been so uncomfortable in all my life including my friends who were there too but we all managed to just about survive and arrive in Berlin. The terrible part of it was that the hotel was thirty minutes away from Berlin so we were unable to experience The Berlin night-life. However, we were all still excited to look at all the different historical elements within the city!

Me at the Brandenburg Gate

The Friday then was a day filled with walking, seeing and learning all about Berlin... and believe me we walked loads as our feet were aching by the end of the day! We started off by visiting the landmark of the Brandenburg Gate which was breath-taking! It was huge and absolutely beautiful! The amount of people at the gate was also mind - blowing showing us how popular the city of Berlin really was. 

 

Me at the Reichstag!

The Berlin Wall

We then picked up maps and continued on to look at the (my favourite) the Reichstag! The building was beautiful but to my disappointment we didn’t go inside – this is on my to do list the next time I visit! We then mapped out, over Berlin soup and beer, what museums we wanted to see… bit by bit our day was coming together. We then visited the Jewish holocaust memorial, the natural history museum, contemporary art museum and the best by far The Berlin Wall museum. The Berlin Wall let us go up to the wall and see how big and vast it was. The museum explained stories of the victims trying to get across the border; some who succeeded and the many that failed. All in all, the Jewish memorial and the Berlin Wall Museum were highlights of the day!

The Jewish Holocaust Memorial

Hitler's Desk from his office

The Saturday then consisted of finishing of the museums that we didn’t get to see on the previous day. We visited my favourite museum called the Berlin History Museum that contained over 800 years of the city’s history. I could have spent all day in it as I myself am a history nerd haha

However, inside the museum it took you through the medieval period, WW1, the Nazis, WW2, The Berlin Wall and then Germany as a free and prosperous nation. The museum really made my day as I got to see artefacts such as Napoleon's hat and sword and Hitler’s very own desk! We then went on to an visit an art gallery seeing various famous artists. Then we continued onward to Checkpoint Charlie which was excellent to see.

“Study the past if you want to define the future.” 

Confucius 

Jewish Museum.. The Garden of Exiles

Finally the day was finished off with the trip to the Jewish museum. Here we read stories about the victims of the holocaust from friends and neighbours. The museum really affected me when we went to the ‘holocaust tower’, where you entered and the door slammed and echoed behind you. You were then in a pitch black room, that was freezing and when you looked up you seen a little day light but not much. It was to represent the Jews going into the gas chambers… alone, scared and lost. It sent shivers down my spine. The museum was filled with Jewish history, with various art pieces and information. An inspiring quote that the designer of the Jewish museum said that really fits was:

“What is important is the experience you get from it. The interpretation is open.” Daniel Libeskind

My package from home from my family

All in all, this week has been one of the best weeks yet during my Erasmus trip. I have got to go somewhere I have always wanted to go and see and Berlin did not disappoint. To top it off I came back to Nijmegen I had received a package from home containing home comforts. Really I am one very happy man at the minute.

Top tip for this week, if you have any dreams of going somewhere or doing something… go and fulfil them. For when you do you will feel no greater sense of happiness and joy.

References:

Confucious.Available: http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/history. Last Accessed 01/04/13/

Libeskind, D. The Jewish Museum - Berlin.