Wednesday, 27 April 2016

Day 4

Exploring Contexts, or
What does it mean to be an Icelander?

We leave early in the morning, heading towards the centre of Iceland's identity.
Independent People, is the title of the novel of the most famous and beloved of Icelandic writers, Halldo Laxness, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1955. An Independent People is what Icelanders proud themselves to be.
They have resisted centuries after centuries in this inhospitable rock in the Atlantic Ocean. They have recovered from economic crises, they have conquered independence from Denmark.
Today we want to discover the way a nation builds its own identity.

On the way we see Laxness's house. He built it with his own hands, in the middle of a barren lava field.

First stop, Thingvellir (in Icelandic it is spelt Þingvellir). The site of the first Icelandic parliament.

It's a wide plain around a lake, with snowcapped mountains looming large at the horizon.
It's cold and windy. More windy than cold, but difficult to bear nonetheless.
I had read about Thingvellir in the novels of Arnaldur Indridason, because it is the place where the most important national celebrations are held.
The place looks quite remote. Difficult to identify any specific feature that can make it ourtstanding or worth the nomination ad UNESCO heritage site.
It is more the shrine of an idea. Nation, freedom, independence.

Second stop. Geysir.
Not really the original one, which even though officially in activity does not erupt regularly.
The one that is in action is called Strokkur. It erupts every 5-8 minutes. The water gurgling, swelling, erupting, and flushing down in the pit is nice to look at, in spite of the cold wind that bends us.

All around there are hot springs and pools of boiling mud.

The wind is really strong. It's about time for a nice cup of koffi in the visitors' centre nearby.

Third stop. Gullfoss waterfall.
There is not so much to say about it. You have to see it, to hear it, to feel it.

It is not exeptionally big, but the water thunders relentlessly down a gorge, tumbling on the rocks, roaring around.

An impressive show of nature.

Last stop, the peaceful crater of Kerid (Kerið) where the blue waters of the lake contrast with the stormy wind that almost ravishes you all around the cavity.

Our trip is over.
Have we understood any better what people feel around here?
And besides all the view and the feelings, there are the stories. Hundreds, thousands of them.
Each place has loads of stories to tell, and our tour leader introduces us to many of them.
The invisible people, the trolls, the elves, the Yule Lads.
Stones are petrified people, waterfalls tell stories of impossible loves or of the determination of a poor woman who did not want to see nature transformed into power plants.
This is possibly the most impressive thing of the day.
It is often said that Icelanders believe in the existence of other beings. It is now probably less difficult for us to understand why.

Whatever the place, it is important to know it to understand better the people who live in it.


REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

What is it to be an Icelander?

How important is it to know the environment of students’ life?

Nature speaks of a country where fantasy is stirred by the landscape, and where self-reliance is essential.

Tuesday, 26 April
DAY 3

School visit 1

Today we are visiting a school that does not look very new.

However, we are welcomed in the teachers’ room, where a whole banquet has been prepared for us. Apparently, it was not done only for us; if I am right, teachers have breakfast here.

At the entrance the usual rack to leave coats and shoes. Students should wear school shoes, but in the end they all wear just socks. Teachers wear shoes.

We are met by a boy and a girl. Their English is fluent. They are not shy to speak to a bunch of teachers, and foreign ones for that matter.

They sound happy for what they are being offered, but not boasting.

The part we visit first is the one for years 1-5, corresponding to primary education.

Lots of works made by students are displayed on the walls. Staircases are transformed into multiplication tables and series of prime numbers.

The classes don’t have many children. They are curious of us when we intrude in their daily routine, but again they are not shy, and they are happy to answer our questions. 

Some classes have teachers for special needs.

It is easy to understand what classes are focusing on at the moment.

The students of one class sport a brand new hoodie, with Denmark written on it. Tomorrow they are leaving for Denmark on a school exchange.

In another class we can see dinosaurs and books on dinosaurs displayed everywhere. Studying dinosaurs means approaching them as directly as possible.

Then we visit the workshops. The first one is for wood-working. Lots of tools hang on the walls: screwdrivers, saws, hammers. We all look at each other, quite puzzled. Would that be acceptable in our countries?

Our guides put a lot on emphasis on manual work.

They tell us they stay at school till 3 pm, with the exception of one day when they leave school at 12.

They get homework to do, which normally takes them around 2 hours.

They have all the subjects we could imagine, but they don’t have religious studies.

Then we visit the part of elder students, aged 11-16.

Here students don’t stay all day in one room, but they change according to the subjects.

The science rooms has rockets to explain the gravity force, microscopes for observations, other materials to help teach, and even more to help understand things.

Students wear caps, beanies and headphones. Teachers don’t seem to care. When we ask, they say there is nothing wrong with that, as long as they do their job.

 Again, students are quite easy going about our presence. Occasionally they try to attract our attention, but they never avoid contact.

They seem at ease in their environment.

One room is reserved to students with special needs. This is where they can go to relax and have some time for individual work when they feel like it.

The centre of the school is the library, which has a full-time librarian.

The last room we visit is the English room. They are in year 9 (14-15 years old), and they are studying the regular form of the past tense. They have slides projected onto the wall, with sentences contrasting Icelandic and English, and guiding them to the rules.

The teacher is happy to speak to us, and shows us the books they use and read, and the films they watch. She has a full range of games to use to help oral production.

She has only a vague idea of what European Certifications might be, but students probably don’t need to show how good at English they are.

Finn colleagues point out that the system is not much unlike theirs.

The thing that strikes me more is the students’ confidence. They do not hesitate before us. They don’t brag and they don’t shy away from us.

They apparently don’t concentrate much on specific subjects, but they use school to deal with everyday needs and problems. Workshops teach them what they will need in their future life, from fixing a hole in the socks to repairing house furniture, and on walls we have seen their works about “the text neck”, the consequence on spending too much time looking at their mobile phones.

As Johanna pointed out yesterday, the mission of the school is the well-being of students. 


REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

Learn by doing at school: labs for cooking, sewing, wood-work. Hands on in National Museum. Students don’t wear shoes. Teachers do.

Students tolerated with headphone and caps. No special embarrassment to talk to us- education to freedom, independence and self-assuredness?

Monday, 25 April 2016
DAY 2

The Icelandic school system

DAY 2

Very interesting presentation on the Icelandic school system delivered by Johanna Vilbergsdottir, the head-teacher of our host-school.

Johanna is very committed to her job, and proud for all the things she has been able to realize.

Vaettaskoli is the result of the fusion between two schools. Here – as in many other countries, as we find out – fusions have become quite common to limit the expenses for the staff.

Teachers are hired directly by the school. Within the first 4 months they can be fired. If they meet the necessary requirements they stay, and after 2 years they can get a permanent job.

They can teach whatever subject suits them, even subjects they have not studied at university but that they feel like sharing.

Their hobbies are especially useful to activate the afternoon courses: each student has to choose among a range of possibilities, that at Vaettaskoli are abot 70, from fishing to English, from dancing to chess to wood-working.

The school’s primary aim is the well-being of students. Johanna is proud that in the past year the students of her school have reduced drinking, drug consumption and drop-out rate.

At 16 students sit a national exam in the fundamental subjects, then they can decide if they want to go to high school to be able to go to university.

Drop-out rate in Iceland is quite high.

The most important aspect she has spoken about is the fact that teaching has to be flexible, as also the curriculum is.

Students are followed individually, and they have psychologists, counsellors and other staff that can help them find the best solutions to their problems or expectations.

Schools are totally paid by the state, which also funds (at least partially) the private schools. Parents are not allowed to pay anything.

Students can raise money by doing several activities, and with the money they get they can finance their extra activities, like school trips.

Next, Runa (Gudrun Kristjansdottir) gives us a presentation on Icelandic identity.

She starts with her personal reflection on what it means to be a teacher:

Then she tells us about Icelandic history, flora and fauna.

It is exactly what we need to start and discover the place, to have a background to the schools we are going to visit tomorrow and to the people we are going to meet.



REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

School principals have almost total freedom -together with parents- to decide school offer.

Teachers hired by the school, can teach what they feel like, for example their hobbies, in afternoon activities.

Sunday, 24 April 2016
Day 1

Iceland!


There we are. Iceland, finally.

The impact has not been easy. The road from Keflavik airport to town was one enormous barren gloomy lava field.

The sky overcast. And finally, the inescapable (and unpronounceable) Hallgrimskirkja.

Probably not the most convincing church in the world.

Then things cleared up.

The sky, first. Then the heart when I finally met the colleagues who were going, like me, to the Erasmus meeting.

When we finally arrived at Vaettaskoli - Engi, we had already become friends.

The sky was glorious, and the school had prepared some good kaffi to welcome us.

Eduardo, from English Matters, introduced the programme of the course, focussing especially on the importance to live the experience with an Erasmus spirit. Mix mix mix, and ask ask ask.

We all seem to have the intention to carry out the task.

75 teachers, from 16 different countries: Germany, Spain, Latvia, France... Enough to make us dizzy!

The meeting ended in time to enjoy a glorious sunset on Reykjavik bay.

The adventure had started.


REFLECTIVE JOURNAL

Erasmus spirit. Join together. Exchange experiences, expectations and frustrations. All eager to know about the Finnish school system.

Context used to teach.

Icelandic Cinema

Director:

 Benedikt Erlingsson

Writer:

 Benedikt Erlingsson

Stars:

 Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, Charlotte Bøving, Johann Pall Oddson |

Leaving today for Iceland.

To get into the Northern mood I have watched one of the Icelandic films that have been more appraised, a strange combination of stories and characters that are far from the cinema we are used to.
Difficult to follow and understand, it sets its stories in a timeless dimension that makes us touch the essence of myths and Northern sagas.
A scene anticipates a similar one in Inarritu's Revenant.

Classroom Observation

A few websites with materials on how to do it effectively:


http://curry.virginia.edu/uploads/resourceLibrary/CASTL_practioner_Part4_single.pdf

http://www.tttjournal.co.uk/uploads/File/ttj_plus/Observation%20Tasks.pdf

http://edglossary.org/classroom-observation/

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/739?ref=search

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin297.shtml

http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/the-school-visit-what-to-look-for-what-to-ask/

http://lsl.eun.org/observation-visits

Classroom Observation Strategies: 
choose your journey

http://www.aitsl.edu.au/professional-growth/support/classroom-observation-strategies

Classroom observation makes teaching and learning more visible. It encourages colleagues to collaborate to improve teacher practice and student learning. But which classroom observation strategy should you choose?

These resources provide an introduction to some common observation strategies. Combining instructional guides and accompanying videos, the resources explain all you need to know to choose and implement an appropriate classroom observation strategy for your school.

Get started with the resources by using the ‘Introducing observation’ video at a staff/team meeting. Choose the most appropriate strategy to suit your context and use the relevant video with staff to see it in action. Use the ‘how-to’ guide as a basis for agreeing on some structures and protocols to support implementation.

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Introducing Classroom Observation

An introduction to implementing classroom observation in your school. ▼

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Instructional Coaching

A coach working one-to-one with a teacher, to model and observe classroom practice and to support reflection and professional conversation. The aim is to build a partnership to develop evidence-based teaching practices. ▼

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Instructional Rounds

A group of leaders and/or teachers visiting multiple classrooms at their own or another school with the aim to spread practice and support scaling systemic improvements of teaching and learning. ▼

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Learning Walks

A group of teachers visiting multiple classrooms at their own school with the aim of fostering conversation about teaching and learning in order to develop a shared vision of high quality teaching that impacts on student learning. ▼

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Lesson Study

A small team of teachers working together in a systematic cycle of planning, teaching, observing, refining and reviewing specific lessons in order to examine their practice and improve their impact on student learning. ▼

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Peer Observation

Teachers observing each other’s practice and learning from one another, including offering constructive feedback to peers. ▼

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Videos of Practice

Classroom practice is recorded and later viewed as a means of observation of self and/or others. The aim is to support self-reflection and provide access to observation of others’ practice anytime, anywhere. ▼