 |
| Example of the worksheet that we were doing in class |
Our first class this week was a Dutch language class. I now understand how other Erasmus students
feel when they have to sit and listen to a full lesson in a language that is
not their mother tongue. The idea of
having the complete lesson in Dutch was to ensure that everybody was starting
off at the same level. (The teacher thought that if the lesson was
all in English it would be unfair for those who could only speak a small amount
of English). At the start I thought
that this approach would end in disaster but at the end of the lesson I was
able to see the benefits of it. One
benefit was that it made sure that I paid attention throughout the lesson because
even a two-second day dream would have meant falling behind. From this experience I got to see how gestures,
facial expressions and body language are vital when trying to explain things in
class. It has made me think of how I
should work on these different aspects before I go to my placement school where
I will be working with children who may have little or no English at all.
Our second class this week was Dutch Culture and Society and it was in this class that we got to present our first piece of homework. Each student had to pick a picture that showed some aspect of their country and present it to the class. I thought this was a good idea as it made me thing about where I come from and what type of picture I would like to choose to represent my country to my fellow students. In this class I got to see a range of pictures from places all over the world including Finland, Austria, Belgium, France, Curacao, Switzerland and America. It was from this experience that I got to see the benefits of learning about different places and cultures. The Northern Ireland Curriculum (2007, pg. 83) states that “Children should have an awareness of themselves and their place in the world, as well as other places, cultures and the environment”. Even from the little bit of information that I have learned so far I can see how learning about other cultures can prepare children for many things in life including family holidays, new classmates and even heading on Erasmus.
 |
| My picture for Dutch Culture and Society |
Our final class this week was a tutoring class were we
received our teaching practice guide that explains what will be expected of us
when we go on school placement. We were
given a slight introduction into what our lesson plans would be like. They include aspects of a “learning goal” which
is like our “Learning intentions” and also a lesson structure of a beginning, a
core and a closure. One area that I was
interested in on the lesson plan was the ‘Personal goal’ section which allows
us to write down what teaching skills we are trying to improve in our lesson.
 |
| Part of the lesson plan |
This week of class has got me even more excited for heading
out on teaching practice. With two years
of teaching practice and the help of two different styles of lessons plans I am
counting down the days until I meet my new class.
References
CCEA (2007) Northern Ireland Curriculum, Belfast, CCEA.
