Week 16

Week 16 | 18/04/16 - 24/04/16

Professional & Cultural

After an exciting three weeks at placement, we had another meeting with Marie on Monday to discuss our portfolio which had to be completed now that placement had finished. We talked with her for one hour about how we would plan our portfolio and what the tutors expected from us. In previous years when completing assignments, it was usually something I wouldn’t enjoy. However, I had such a good experience during my placement that I could not wait to start writing about it. In the portfolio, we had to show how I explained, planned, implemented, evaluated and documented pedagogical activities through participation in pedagogical practice at Kofoeds School. I continued to assess my own leaning throughout and had to discuss my learning experiences. I spent quite a lot of time planning the portfolio as I had a word limit and had to make sure that information I was including was relevant. We also had a 5 minute oral presentation to give to Marie and an external examiner the following Monday, so week 16 was used to prepare for our exams. The oral exam was a presentation based on our findings from placement.

I tried to incorporate my usual style of essay writing as best I could but tried to stay open minded also. I took many pictures during placement and used many mind maps in my project. Although we completed our portfolio's separately, my group still helped each other as much as possible and we met up during the week for group work to make the best project we could. This is something I am not used to at home, as we do very little group work, especially in relation to exams and essays. However, the Danish school system focuses a lot on group work and encourages it everyday. 'Group projects can help students develop a host of skills that are increasingly important in the professional world (Caruso & Woolley, 2008; Mannix & Neale, 2005). Positive group experiences, moreover, have been shown to contribute to student learning, retention and overall college success (Astin, 1997; Tinto, 1998; National Survey of Student Engagement, 2006)'.

         

As we spent most of week 16 preparing for our exam, we didn't have many social events but rather it was a week to concentrate on the exam. During the week, writing about placement and everything I learned in the previous three weeks, it helped me to realise my strengths and weaknesses in many different aspects. On our final day of placement, Peter talked about how we had developed very much as professionals and in the moment I wasn't sure how? But as I reflected on my own personal/professional development it soon became clear.

At the end of a long week of hard work, we decided on Friday that we would go to the very beautiful Brabrand lake and soak up the sun (which we don't often see in Denmark). Little did we know, there was actually more to follow in the next few weeks ... We then had a family dinner in Anna's flat to finish off a tiring week, prepared by Paolo who made a fresh pasta dish, of course!

     

Reference - National Survey of Student Engagement Report. (2006). http://nsse.iub.edu/NSSE_2006_Annual_Report/docs/NSSE_2006_Annual_Report.pdf

Week 15

Week 15 | 11/04/16 - 17/04/16

Cultural & Professional

My final week had already begun and on Monday morning when breakfast had ended, we went into our meeting room to plan exactly how the activity would go. Between the three of us, we decided that we would carry out activities throughout one entire day and that we would begin with cooking traditional dishes from home for all the students and staff at the school. We then decided that we would carry out dancing and painting in the afternoon during international day.

We made the most of our last week spending time with the students and Peter as much as we could. The people that I met in Kofoeds Skole were truly inspiring and I learned so much valuable information and gained so much experience during my time there. During lunch on Wednesday, I talked with an older man named Joe from New York and he told me his exciting story about how he used to be a sailor and that he stopped off in Ireland many times on his travels. This is just one example of an inspiring person I had the privilege of getting to know. We also talked with each of the teachers and the head master about our upcoming 'international day' and each of them told us how the ended up working in Kofoeds Skole.

As Thursday quickly arrived, we met at the school at 6.30am to start preparing pancakes for everyone for a different breakfast than usual. We decorated the main room and played music from all over the world and created a warm, welcoming atmosphere for both the staff and students. After breakfast had ended, we continued to play the music and began cooking in the kitchen preparing a starter from Romania, a main course from Ireland and a Slovenian dessert. The atmosphere was truly amazing throughout the entire day, and students and staff were coming and going to see what was going on. We explained when serving the lunch what each dish was and even though we took a chance, the lunch turned out to be a success!

  

'Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.' - T. S. Eliot

In the afternoon, we gathered in the bigger room for dancing and painting. The afternoon session is something I will never forget and I am so grateful that I could be a part of it. It was a great feeling to be a part of everything that was going on and it made all the planning and hard work worth while. We emphasised again that the activities were for fun and to include everyone through something different and many students, teachers and the three social workers joined the activities after lunch. Firstly, I taught line dancing and used Irish traditional music but first showing a clip of 'river dance', something that is part of my own culture. It was during this dance that I noticed a 'state of flow' for some students, which was exhilarating to see. Peter found it quite difficult to follow the steps, which created a hilariously warm, funny atmosphere, where both staff and students were laughing together and having fun. Cristina then taught a Romanian dance, which meant that you had to hold hands with a partner. This was particularly interesting as some of the students and staff found this difficult to do. This particular observation interested me as the student and social worker explained how they felt awkward having to hold hands as this isn't usual for Danes. However, eventually they let go of their worries and we carried out the dance all together. While we were dancing, Ana was painting with some students in the same room, who watched the dances and even hummed along to some of the songs (which was a big step for some particular students).

                                                                        

At the end of the day, we talked with some of the students who had participated in the activities and one lady said "you three have made a difference at the school". This was inspiring to hear as it made me feel that I had achieved my main personal goal which was, to make a difference. Another personal goal I feel that I achieved was being able to work with other adults in a fun and stimulating way. During the placement period, I feel I have developed more on a personal level and also in a professional way. Particularly professionally, I feel I now am more experienced in working with adults individually, with other teachers and with the social workers. This experience I will take with me and use throughout my life and I now feel more confident as a person when I will have to work with other professionals out in the field of work.

Happy with our end result!

References -

Goble. FG et al (2004) the third force; the Psychology of Abraham Maslow. The estate of Abraham Maslow. Maurice Bassett publishing

http://www.riskology.co/99-risk-quotes/

Week 14

Week 14 | 04/04/16 - 10/04/16

Personal & Professional

I cannot believe that I am already writing about week two for placement. Time really does fly when you are having fun (cliché I know). On Monday Morning, we had a meeting with Peter and our tutor Marie first thing, to start putting together some ideas for our activity. As the meeting progressed, we started to plan in more detail. Ana, Cristina and I decided that we would use the tool of diversity within the school to be our backbone for our activity. This would also incorporate democracy. However, as each of us come from very different back grounds professionally, we found it difficult in the beginning to work efficiently as a team. As Ana and Cristina are both completing their masters and have a lot more experience with adults than I have, I found it quite challenging to get my points across due to my inexperience. It soon became clear to me that I wanted to make this a personal goal for myself to work on and improve. As the week progressed, I learned a lot from Ana and Cristina and our group dynamics when working together was something I hadn't experienced before.

'Good design begins with honesty, asks tough questions, comes from collaboration and from trusting your intuition' (Freeman Thomas).

In relation to working as part of a team with Ana and Cristina, we used a model which I found extremely useful – the Walt Disney model (1994). Based on what we observed in the first week we agreed on the idea of an international day. We aimed to use the tool of diversity within the school as a way of bringing people together, as some of the students in the school feel excluded from society, we wanted to create a sense of belonging. The students in the school accounted for more than 20 different nationalities and this was something we wanted to promote and celebrate. We used the phrase 'everyone is unique, but everyone is the same'. During this week, we also set up two meetings with two different social workers and talked with them for almost two hours on two different occasions. This was very beneficial as the information was reliable and first-hand and we were extremely grateful for them taking their time to talk with us.

During the week, we also talked with the students and tried to get their opinions as much as possible as we were providing the activity for them and so we wanted to find out their interests to make the activity as interesting as possible. We got to know the students more and heard some of their stories about their personal life. I was also interested to research if this type of organisation was heard of back home.

Also, during my second week, I feel as though my personal learning was being developed, for example how to approach adults experiencing difficulties. Some students didn’t want to talk and this was something I had to be aware of. Kofoeds Skole challenged me in many ways and this is just one example. Another example, in relation to professional learning was having to work as part of a team that wasn’t really functioning. During my professional career, I will work with many professionals that I have to co-operate with and learning to never give up is something Kofoeds Skole taught me.

Reference - http://www.designorate.com/disneys-creative-strategy/ - BY RAFIQ ELMANSY · 04/06/2015

Week 13

Week 13 | 28/03/16 - 03/04/16

Personal & Professional

After more buses, trains and planes, we finally arrived back in Denmark. Accompanying me for the next two days was my sister. She was just as excited to be in Aarhus as I was. Over the previous few weeks, I had been keeping her up to date with everything that had been going on and she was ready to experience Aarhus for herself. As we entered my little room, I felt a sense of 'being home' upon me. Comparing that feeling with how I felt when I first entered my room on the first day, I never would have expected to feel 'at home' in 42.2 room 12, Denmark.

Over the next few hours and days we explored the city's shops, café's, bars and restaurants and proved to myself how much I had actually learned about the beautiful city of Aarhus.

I enjoyed our time together and on Monday evening we had our final dinner. She prepared to leave early on Tuesday morning, while I prepared for my first day of placement.

As we both went our separate ways, one going to the airport and myself going to into the unknown, I felt sad and apprehensive at the same time. I felt really nervous for my first day as I wasn’t particularly sure what to expect. Ana, Cristina and I met outside at 8am and entered together. We were greeted by Peter, not knowing he would be our biggest inspiration for the next three weeks. We talked with him about what we would do on our first week and we agreed that we would use the first week to participate in the workshops, getting to know both the staff and students. During my first day, I stayed in the art room and talked with some students and one teacher called Melaine. Some of the students in the room didn’t engage in conversation so much however I learned valuable information about the ones that did. Kofoed's School is a Centre for welfare recipients, people receiving unemployment allowance, sickness benefit recipients and pensioners in the city of Aarhus. The objective of Kofoed’s School is to provide help to self-help with the aim of integrating the target groups into society by improving their self-confidence, skills and competences, thereby helping them to live a more fulfilled life. The students are aged 18 to approximately 60 years. They offer help to the city's vulnerable groups, for example lonely, unemployed, drug addicts or run-down people.

Ana, Cristina and I each had so many questions, more and more as the week progressed. How does the school actually work? Does it actually help people? Do the students stay in the same work shops each day? What do the social workers do? Albert Einstein (1922) said “the important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” As the week progressed and we talked with Peter more and more, he realised we had many questions that we wanted to be answered. He explained to us that Kofoeds Skole has a book that they are very proud of, and it is the heart within the Kofoeds Skole's all over the world. Peter also suggested that we set up meetings with the social workers in week two or three to find out more information.

By the end of our first week, we were more familiar with the routines of the school for example, each morning we met at 8am for breakfast and then participated in the work shops until lunch time. We all met again and ate lunch together, prepared by the students and head chef Tina, who used to be a student at the school and is now employed there. In the afternoon's we chose a different workshop for example dancing, and tried as many new things as possible to learn as much as we could. On Friday afternoon of our first week, we had a meeting with Peter and we talked about our aims and aspirations for the next two weeks in more detail. I was intrigued to find out what week two would bring for us.

'You have two hands. One to help yourself, the second to help others.' - Author unknown.

Reference 

http://homeinsteaders.org/authors/author-unknown/#sthash.ASqqoxNQ.dpbs 

Week 12

Week 12 | 21/03/16 - 27/03/16

Personal & Cultural

By the time week 12 had come, we were all ready for a week off to do whatever week wanted. I decided at the beginning of Erasmus that I would return home at some point for a short period and I chose to go home the week before Easter (week 12). I had made some plans before returning home about how I would make the most of my 5 days back in Ireland. Anna and I planned to home together and we made our way to get the bus to Copenhagen, trying pack as little as possible (which isn't something I find particularly easy). As we made our way around the airport, it became clear that we had come a long way from when we first walked through the airport on our first day in Copenhagen. We knew exactly where to go and what we had to do, in comparison to feeling lost and confused as to where our next location was. I feel that the challenge of travelling with a friend instead of a parent is a good example of independence.

“True success is achieved by stretching oneself, learning to feel comfortable being uncomfortable.” ― Ken Poirot

As we waited to board the plane, I felt nervous, an emotion I don’t usually associate with when seeing my close family and friends. I assumed it was because it had been so long since I had last seen them. As we landed in Dublin airport, I was fortunate to be picked up by my brother who drove three and a half hours to collect me. We talked the whole way home about Denmark, similarities and differences, the people I had met, the university and everything I could think of that I experienced in the last two months.

The next day I saw my parents, who wanted to do everything they could for me. For example, make my lunch or my favourite dinner. They were just as interested in everything I had to say and it was a beautiful feeling to be in my own town, which I appreciated so much more during those few days that I was home. As a student in Aarhus, I was independent and free, and during my time home I was making my own comparisons with Denmark about smaller things I didn't notice before moving to another country. For example, I felt so grateful for my mother cooking dinner. Also, in relation to the Irish culture, I had forgotten how socially active people where in different situations. During my bus journeys in my time at home, most people I sat beside started a conversation about where I was going or where I came from. However, this would be very unlikely to happen in Denmark as Danes take their personal space seriously and are more reserved.

During the rest of the week, I travelled with friends to the beach and explored different places in Ireland as much as I could. Each day I was constantly answering questions about Denmark and their culture. My family were intrigued by some of the stories I told them. When explaining my placement, we discussed how that type of school would not be very likely to happen in Ireland, which we agreed is unfortunate.

On my final day, we all had an 'Early Easter' as I wouldn’t be there for the actual Easter Sunday, something we celebrate each year as a family. We all ate a home-made meal together, cooked by my sister and mother, and played games after. By the end of the week, I was so excited to get back to Aarhus, and see what my upcoming placement would bring.

Reference - http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/