Planning and Delivering Instruction

In many classrooms across the United States there is a push for student focused education. That is, student’s work in groups, in partners, individually, on projects, by playing games and other educational activities. Based on my experience at Colegio Maristas, classrooms in Spain (or at least in my CT’s classroom) use the more traditional approach of teacher lead education. I observed this through Math, Grammar, Reading, English and Social Studies lessons. Most lessons are out of the students textbooks; for example the typical math lesson involves the students working individually to solve a page of word problems and then reviewing the three or four problems as a class, with my CT at the chalkboard recording the students’ solutions and different strategies. In Reading or Social Studies the class usually reads through the text book as a whole, taking turns reading as the teacher calls out different students names. Students then complete workbook pages individually and the teacher and class correct them aloud. All these lessons and the lessons in other subject areas are heavily based on the curriculum used by Maristas.

Like most schools, Maristas uses a curriculum across the different subject areas. In her planning and delivering of instruction, my CT seems to draw heavily and primarily from the curriculum, as is evidenced by the students’ constant use of workbooks and textbooks. This type of classroom compares differently to each of the classrooms I have taught at in previous pre-pracs. I have had a CT who used the curriculum but also a large mix of her own ideas and planning, and CT who frequently used the curriculum and only used some additional resources. And I have also had a CT who, like my current CT, taught primarily and almost exclusively from the curriculum and textbooks. That is not to say my CT refuses to waiver from the curriculum if it is not in the best interest of her students. For example, my CT told me how this year’s class has excelled in Reading, so much in fact that the curriculum books no longer provided her students with enough challenge. So along with the other two teachers of Segundo, my CT arranged to order more chapter books for the students and designed a unit around that book. I felt that this was the sign of a good teacher; although her method of teaching is usually to work from the curriculum, she was able to adapt her lessons to better meet the needs of her students.

All in all, I have been reminded in Granada that there are many different ways a student can be educated, and no one is necessarily better. The students in my CT’s classroom experience less interaction in their lessons than many US students, they work primarily out of text books and workbooks, and they don’t play educational “games” or activities. Nonetheless, the students do their work and they all seem to enjoy school in one way or another.

A Typical Day at Riverview

Every time Kelly and I went to Riverview she and I would first check in with the headmaster of the school who would tell us our plan for the day. We would then sit in on one or two classes before morning tea. In these classes we would either sit in the back of the classroom and observe, or work with small groups of students as they completed a task assigned by the teacher. My favorite classes to sit in on were drama and music, where the students had the opportunity to display their talent and creativity – both of which they loved Kelly and I to pay special attention to. During morning tea Kelly and I would head to the teacher’s room where we had a bite to eat with the staff. This was a great opportunity for us to ask questions about anything that came to mind, allowing us to expand our knowledge about Riverview, the students, and teaching and learning in general. After morning tea we would sit in on another class before lunch and recess. We would again return to the teacher’s lounge for lunch before going outside to play with the boys. The boys were always active at recess, playing all different games – both Australian and American. This was a great time for Kelly and I to talk individually with the students, a time generally consumed by boys coming up to us and sharing every thing they knew about America or asking of us if we knew certain people from America. I always loved recess because I felt like it was one of the only times I could make personal relationships with students and learn from both talking with them and watching them play.

After recess, we moved to the auditorium for Friday assembly. Assembly was a time during which the entire fifth and sixth grade students and teachers got together to discuss pertinent things to the Riverview community. These could range from an issue of littering on the playground to a current natural disaster to an upcoming sporting event. It was also a time to pray and to recognize student accomplishments in either academics or athletics. After assembly we would attend one more class and then be dismissed for the day and head home after saying goodbye to the students and staff.

Comparing my typical day at Riverview to my previous practicum experiences, I notice very few similarities and quite a few differences. Unlike my American practicum experiences, at Riverview I did not have one single class and was always rotating around to different classrooms with different students. Although I love having my own classroom and getting to know the students in that class very well, I think that rotating through the Riverview classes was perfect for an abroad practicum. This way I got to see countless different teaching techniques, lessons and management skills and was able to learn a lot about the Australian curriculum. I also observed a lot more than I taught or worked with small groups, mainly because I did not have a set classroom but also because the boys are older than the students I usually work with and therefore did not require quite as much attention and guidance at every step in the day. Finally, I feel as though I got to spend a lot more time with the staff at Riverview than I have in previous placements which allowed me to make valuable and lasting relationships that will help me further develop my teaching skills. Although very different, I truly loved my time at Riverview and will never forget the lessons I learned or the students and staff I worked with in such a unique and welcoming community.

Promoting Equity & Social Justice at Riverview

One of the last times Kelly and I student taught at Riverview was on Reconciliation Day. Reconciliation Day is a day dedicated to recognizing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia. It is a day that is meant to teach about their struggles in hopes of promoting equity and deepening understanding of their history and how their past affects their present day lives.

On this day, we were lucky enough to see an Aboriginal ceremony put on by the Riverview community. During this ceremony we first watched a slideshow outlining Aboriginal history leading up to Reconciliation day. After this, we heard from an elderly Aboriginal who told his family’s story of strife and struggle. During these parts of the ceremony, all of the Aboriginal students who board at Riverview’s high school sat in the front of the assembly wearing traditional Aboriginal clothing. They then each stood up to share their own personal stories, and then carried out a religious ritual followed by a series of Aboriginal dances. I thought that this was an incredible way for the Aboriginal student population to share their story with the rest of the Riverview community who responded to their performance with awe and respect.

Having the students talk about their culture and showcase it in this way reflected St. Ignatius Riverview’s mission to promote inclusion and openness. I think that the values Riverview instills upon its community promote equity and social justice and that celebrating Reconciliation Day by having their own community members perform helped to further emphasize these values. By working in such an environment, I learned the value of promoting equity and also picked up on a few ways to push for social justice in my own classroom. I think that one of the most essential ways to reach equity and social justice in a classroom setting is by ensuring the inclusion of everyone. I thereby aspire to teach all sides to every story, and to recognize all of the cultures represented not only by the students in my classroom but also by the school community in its entirety. Teaching at Riverview on Reconciliation Day was an especially valuable experience for me because I was able to learn a lot about the inequities present in Australian culture that I was previously unaware of. I thereby feel that I will be better able to teach about Australia or to Australians in a way that recognizes inequities and encourages pushing for social justice to replace them.

A Typical Day in Scoil Bhride

In my second grade class at Scoil Bhride, each day typically has a basic schedule that is followed, like many American schools. However, since my CT was very energetic, and obviously second graders are as well, things tended to get a little hectic, so the schedule was not always followed exactly. The teacher loved to jump around from subject to subject, which made sense because of how easily the students were distracted. However, sometimes it seemed that the students were so slow to transition from different activities that the teacher rarely got through all of the planned material. At first, I just assumed it was a crazy day, but by the end I realized that was just a typical day in our classroom.

The day usually began with morning work or independent reading, during which time the teacher, Emmy, and I would go around checking the homework from the night before. We then usually began guided reading with the entire class, and then would break off into three groups (each teacher leading one group) and do an activity with the reading. Then, we would begin Irish. Each week there was usually a theme for the Irish words that the children were learning. For example, one week it was vocabulary related to television shows, one week it was vocabulary related to shops, and one it was vocabulary related to music. It was interesting sitting in on a language I knew nothing about. Even though I had done it many times before with Spanish in other schools (since I never took Spanish), Irish was much more difficult to help the children with. At least with Spanish, I could typically figure out how to pronounce the words. With Irish, the spellings and pronunciations never seem to match up, so it was much more difficult to walk around and help students.

Then the students would go outside to play, and when they came back they would pull out their lunch boxes and begin to eat for about ten minutes. After that time was up, the teacher would have them put the food away and they would start with another subject. After their second recess, the kids would then have another fifteen minutes or so to finish their lunches. It seemed very odd and a bit of a time-waster for the students to have to eat their meals in chunks, rather than just give them a solid block of time to finish eating. However, after the kids were finished, math would begin, and would go for about an hour. This was often hard to get through, since they spent so much more time on math than during any other subject. By the end, the kids were usually ready to be done, and they typically spent the last twenty minutes doing independent reading or working on homework. The typical day in Scoil Bhride was often hectic, but still fun and exciting at the same time. Thanks for reading!

Kelsey

AUS vs USA: Comparing Education Systems

Apart from the obvious differences such as the flip-flop of seasons and the adorable accents my students have, Australian culture overall draws a lot of parallels to American culture.  The language is the same (aside from a more readily apparent British influence here), appearances are similar to those found in America, and the cultural values are similar to those emphasized in America as well. 

As far as education is concerned, the Australian system and the American system have a lot of similarities.  The day is structured in pretty much the same way in the both countries where students go through a series of subjects like English, Math, Reading, and Art, and concepts such as spelling are revisited at intervals throughout the week.  The dynamic between the students and their teachers is also very similar to that found in American primary schools.  Students see the teacher as the definite authority figure in the classroom and seem to respect whatever decisions their teacher makes.  At the same time, however, they are encouraged to share their views with the teacher and with one another so that each can learn from the other.

The main differences I have noticed between Australian schools and American schools is the attitude of the teachers and the independence of the students.  Students, even in year one, here lead themselves to activities, deliver messages to teachers, answer the telephones, and help each other out by taking other students to the nurse, etc.  Even on my first day here, two year one girls led me on a tour of the school.  In America, this task would have most likely been delegated to a teacher or other member of the administrative team.  Teachers here seem to be much more relaxed than teachers in America as reflected by their casual attire, delegation of tasks to students, and lack of any real lesson plans.  The lessons that I have taught in America have all had to be thoroughly planned out on paper whereas here the teachers rarely know what they are doing the next hour of their day.  They take each lesson as it comes and develop plans on the fly.  I’m sure there is some formal observation that needs to take place, but I have not seen any – even in classrooms where there is a student teacher.  I’ve really enjoyed this atmosphere as a student teacher because it makes everything seem so stress-free and relaxed, but I do not know how well I would do in a classroom without a little bit more planning ahead.  I admire these teachers’ ability to be so spontaneous and hopefully I can learn a little from them and bring that sort of atmosphere to my future classroom.