Week 16 - Professional

History Quote

As this week approached I was very excited about the class trip on Friday to Brussels, to go and see the European Parliament! This really was because I was getting to travel and see a part of Belgium and therefore broadening my horizons and seeing more. Before this however, we still had our usual class and one class really stood out for me which was classroom of diversity when the lecturer was placing stereotypes based on our countries to try and get us to tell him our own narrative. This made me then think of how history of something will never be forgotten, especially when it is about a country. As Winstin Churchill said:

“Study history, study history. In history lies all the secrets of statecraft.”

The class also got me to think about how questions asked by someone really is the cornerstone of a discussion as the lecturer’s questions always got a good response and the discussion itself never fell silent but only from the instruction of the lecturer himself. This then reminded me again about the numerous times we are told at Stranmillis about open ended questions. As stated, open ended questions result in children who “are able to relate something of meaning and respond to the person/people with whom they are communicating. In this way, open-ended questions are used to positively build and deepen relationships.” This shows that the method worked well on me as I now relate well with this lecturer as he interested me and helped me discuss through the use of good questioning. This again proves what many theorists say:

“Questioning. Thinking. Understanding. These three processes interact in a dynamic fashion to advance student learning, performance, and achievement.”

EU Parliament, Brussels 

As the week moved on Friday came and here I got to take my first steps into Belgium by visiting the EU parliament in Brussels. The day consisted of going inside the museum where we got to read different facts and figures all about each country that was in the EU and of course I was very eager to read about the UK. We also got to meet a politician representing The Netherlands and here eager questions again were asked… and I also put my structuring effective question skills to good use as I asked a question about the Euro.

We then also got to take part in a role-play as we pretended to be politicians for the EU and we had different roles to take and participate in. Here I fully enjoyed being a politician as I am a nerd at times when it comes to politics (don’t tell haha) but also I got to step up my game and be the person in control of what my party did. This was loads of fun as I love taking on the role of being a leader! The day was full of fun and we did all fully enjoy ourselves.

We then got to finish of the day by travelling around Brussels on foot admiring the numerous chocolate shops

Belguim Chocolates

and waffle stands… as we all know this is what Belgium is famous for! To say the least the chocolate was incredible and after we had got dinner I didn’t get to try out the waffles but this gives me a good reason to come back some day! All in all, this week kind of went past me without me realising. The week was full of me being studious, social and of course continuing to build and grow closer in friendships! I just hope that my remaining weeks continue to be brilliant and full of fun with my friends here that I know I will never forget.

P.s. Top tip for this week… Never wish your life away because someday you will realise that your life time adventure will nearly be over (you won’t understand this until you are in a similar situation.)

References

Appalachia Educational Laboratory. (1994). Questioning and Understanding to Improve Learning and Thinking (QUILT): The evaluation results. A proposal to the National Diffusion Network (NDN) documenting the effectiveness of the QUILT professional development program. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED403230) Available: http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/6605_walsh_ch_1.pdf. Last Accessed: 29/05/13

Churchill, W. Brainy Quote. Available: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/w/winstonchu111304.html#TRPfw0dzK5xqWiHE.99. Last Accessed: 29/05/13

Open Ended Questions (2013). Available: http://storiesandchildren.com/open-ended-questions/. Last Accessed: 29/05/13