A typical day of student teaching at Convitto Maria Luigia
Parma runs from 8 am to 10:40 am on Thursdays. I attend three English classes,
all of which are students in their third year of middle school, equivalent to
American 8th grade. The first two classrooms belong to my CT and the
third classroom belongs to another English teacher.
I am expected to present for the duration of the class time in
every period. I am not expected to write a lesson objective or plan; rather, I
am given a topic and asked to present about it. So far my topics have been: me
and where I come from, Mount Rushmore, and Proms. Before I come, I make a
presentation (usually a PowerPoint) at home. I’ve chosen PowerPoint because it
is appropriate for teaching English; I want to provide the written word, a
picture, and the spoken word to the classroom.
At first, these expectations were a challenge because I felt
I was given little instruction or direction. By now, I appreciate this format
because it is a wonderful learning experience. The vague instructions I receive
allow me to be creative, organized, independent, and cognizant. I appreciate
the trust my CT places in me. My role is to stand in the front of the classroom
and initiate a conversation between the students and myself. Therefore, my
experience teaching in Italy is less structured yet more interactive than my
past student teaching experiences. I am constantly in conversation with the
Italian students, asking many questions and doing my best to keep them engaged.
In the first two classrooms, I teach the topic my CT has
given me. This format works well with my CT. Then, I move to the third
classroom with the other teacher. Transitioning to this classroom has been the
greatest challenge I have faced, perhaps because the teacher’s classroom
management practices are very different from my CT’s. She yells a lot and the
students constantly talk. There is a lack of respect between her and her
students. Yet she expects me to teach the same topic that I am teaching in my
CT’s classroom. We have no communication before class; I simply walk in and
begin my lesson. I feel less connected with this classroom and this teacher
because we do not communicate outside of class. Overall, my experience in this
classroom is not as positive as my experience in my CT’s classrooms.
Nevertheless, its great practice in classroom management. I’m still learning
how to capture the attention and respect of this talkative class. I made an
exciting step last week when the CT and I asked them to take notes.
This is what my Thursdays at Maria Luigia look like. I
genuinely enjoy the experience so far; it is simultaneously fun and challenging
to engage Italian middle school students in English conversation.
It's interesting to see the format of your school in Parma as it is so different from mine in Florence. I am in the classroom for the same amount of time, but I stay in one singular classroom with the same cooperating teacher. I, too, am asked to prepare activities for the children, without a lesson plan, but similar to the manner in which I would execute a lesson in an American classroom. For example, I was asked to prepare a lesson on the alphabet in which I used flashcards and standard teaching methods using the blackboard. I think it's worthwhile to do PowerPoint presentations to deliver instruction for the word-image recognition and the listening factor. I also like what you said about feeling connected to the students and the cooperating teacher because I think that is so important when teaching in a foreign school.
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