Week 11 - Professional development (24-03-12 - 30-03-12)

Erasmus group at Italian and French Elegant Party

I can’t believe that I have been in Sweden for 11 weeks now, time is going so fast. This weekend the weather has been really great and we took advantage of the temperature change and had a barbeque with the rest of the Erasmus group. The French and Italian students also decided to host an elegance party which was fun, as their culture is elegant. I feel that I am learning so much about so many different cultures and I am extremely thankful to have been given the opportunity to study here in Sweden.

Me and Megan with Lorenzo at barbeque.

This week I started my new and last module ‘Education and School Practice’ and Ulla our lecturer has given me an insight into the background of the Swedish school system and the curriculum. We have been given numerous articles to study which cover familiar topics such as how children learn and Special Educational Needs. Seminars have been full of interesting discussions especially comparing similarities and differences between The Swedish Education system and the Northern Ireland Education system.

Ulla has kindly organized many guest speakers and school visits during our course and I am really enjoying this module already. This week we had the wonderful opportunity to meet with Dr. Wim Voskuilen, a lecturer from the Instituut Theo Thijssen Hogeschool Utrecht in Holland. He attended two of our seminars and gave us a presentation on the Montessori approach to education which is a very common teaching approach in The Netherlands. This is the first time I have heard of this approach to teaching and he informed us of the special training which is required to become a Montessori teacher. Montessori education allows children to have free choice in the classroom and a lot of their time is spent working independently rather than in groups like Northern Ireland.

Dr. Wim told us that lessons are individualized and he stated a very important quote that ‘we need to control the environment, not the child’ and that we must ‘help the children, to help themselves.’ I will take this quote into consideration and will definitely remember this for my future career in teaching as I feel when children are independent in their own learning real learning takes place.  He also told us that the children are split into heterogeneous groups which differs greatly from the approach taken in Northern Ireland. Composite classes are usually only found in country schools where small numbers make this essential for the feasibility of the schools. After listening to his perspective on heterogeneous groups I can understand why he feels this approach is best for the child. It can allow children to develop a number of skills in particular older children have the opportunity to communicate and help children younger than themselves. However, as with all approaches to teaching, no system is flawless and I can see both the positive and negative aspects.

I have also been training at the badminton Club here in Trollhattan every Monday and Wednesday; the coach now takes the lessons in Swedish so I am beginning to learn some of the language. The club provides me with a great opportunity to interact and talk to the Swedish people and training here is much better than my hometown. The Swedish focus much more on fitness and even after a few months I am still adjusting to doing thirty press ups and sit-ups every time I lose a match. It`s a strategy that definitely motivates you to try your upmost to win a game. I will definitely use this approach in my role as a coach in the future. The Swedish coach has also asked me to take warm ups at the beginning of the training session so I’m definitely feeling at home here and very much a part of the club.

 

Again, I’m looking forward to the week ahead, especially with Megan’s 21^st Birthday Party.

Week 10 - Personal Development : (The sun is shining in Trollywood) 17/03/12 - 23/03/12

I had a lot of university work this week as our Intercultural Studies – Global English and Media Discourse has finished and we have been given a take home exam to complete. This exam consists of questions on the future of English and the different purposes of English in other countries. Additionally, Rebecca, Megan and I gave a presentation on our field study of Inclusion of Special Educational Needs. The presentation was one hour long in comparison to our usual ten minutes in Stranmillsis. However, the presentation allowed us more time to discuss our experiences and although it seemed very long we really enjoyed sharing our findings. It was also very interesting to listen to other students field studies about different topics such as marketing and political science. I really have enjoyed this module and will look forward to starting our Education and School Practice module next week.

The temperature has increased this week and the sun has been shining every day. I hope this weather lasts as I feel like I am on holiday especially when we can sit out on our balcony and admire the lovely view we have. It’s been great spending a lot of time outside in the park and being able to go running along the riverside. I found it strange that the Swedish are still wearing their winter coats and scarves during this hot weather.  I got a few comments from the local Swedish people passing whilst running saying ‘spring is here’ however, I’m not quite sure whether they were saying it due to me wearing a pair of shorts or because it was the first day of spring. I also got to experience a traditional Swedish band playing in a local bar on Thursday.

The beautiful park beside our accomodation.

International Dinner

On Friday Megan, Rebecca, Ryan (a student from University of Ulster) and I spent the day preparing traditional Irish Cottage pie for the International Dinner. We previously attempted Irish stew but we felt without gravy it wasn’t the same. The International Dinner gave me a good opportunity to get to taste foods from all over the world including Ukrainian, French, Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Korean, Latvian, and Polish specialties. It was interesting to see the different types of foods and try some things I have never heard of or tasted before. I know I will never have an opportunity like this again so I made the most of it by tasting everything up until the point where I could not physically eat any more. We had a lot of fun making the food even though we did not win. The Turkish won as they cooked many different types of food from spring rolls to deserts. I really enjoyed the Ukraine’s potato cakes and also the Italians homemade pizzas even though they arrived much later, as it is their tradition to have dinner much later than we do. I’m looking forward to the rest of this weekend as we are having a barbeque.

 

Week 9 - Proffessional Developement : ( Visit to School's) 10/03/12 - 16/03/12

This weekend I went to Goteborg to see my first ever ice hockey game. There was a great atmosphere as it was the last match of the season and a very close game with Goteborg losing by one point in the last few minutes of the game. 

Caroline, Me & Linda

This week we visited two more schools as part of our field study in which we have to write a twelve-page report on the inclusion of children with Special Educational Needs and the differences between the system here in Sweden in comparison to Northern Ireland. It was interesting to visit different schools and gain an insight into how each school caters for SEN pupils. Firstly, we visited Magnus Åbergsgymnasiet särskola, Trollhättan where we interviewed Anna a social pedagogical worker. The school was a secondary school for students aged 16 to 20.

I noticed that students at the age of sixteen choose the field of study in which they would like to have a future career compared to the age of eighteen In Northern Ireland; I felt this age was very young to make such an important decision. However, the Swedish education is free for all so students can always change their career path if they feel that the course is not for them unlike in Northern Ireland were we pay for our education.

Furthermore, we had a wonderful opportunity of observing the Special school were many children with severe learning difficulties and it was interesting to see how they were educated. The main subjects which they could study were Merchandising, Hotel and restaurant, Construction and Caring. The subjects focused very much on developing core life skills which these students would need to survive and also to provide them with skills and training to gain employment. However, if a student is exceptionally talented they are integrated into other mainstream classes such a higher carpentry class.

My second visit was to Lextorpsskolans a Special School for pupils who have Autism. We had a meeting with a behaviourist who give us an insight into how the system works in Sweden. The school was very homely and had a TV room and a kitchen within the classroom. There is a lot of one to one teaching and every child has their own individual timetable.

On Friday I had my first visit to the school I will be teaching at in April called ‘Fridaskolan.’ There are two Fridaskolans one in Vänersborg and Trollhättan. Karin a teacher from the Fridoskolan in Vänersborg who has close links with University West kindly collected us from our accommodation. She drove myself, Megan, Rebecca and Emma a student from Manchester to both schools. Emma and I will spend our placement in Vänersborg the neighbour town of Trollhattan. Karin introduced us to the staff, the teacher and classes which we will be with during our placement. Karin has been very helpful and has placed us in Schools according to our interests therefore, I will have the wonderful opportunity of been in the sixth grade with pupils aged 11, who can speak English. It will be great to teach the class English as a Foreign Language after completing the TEFL course in Stranmillsis. Furthermore, I have access to wonderful resources such as a sports arena, and separate rooms for practical subjects such as Science, Art, and even language rooms. 

Fridaskolan

It was great to see both schools and feel of the atmosphere of this school. I think teaching in this school will be a different experience than teaching in schools in Northern Ireland. I have already noticed that the school environment is much more informal and relaxed than in Northern Ireland. Schools in Sweden also have no uniforms. Pupils can wear anything they wish to school. The children are free to walk around the classroom and school wearing no shoes as it is the Swedish culture to take off your shoes indoors. However, children also choose what they want to eat themselves and can walk with hot food through the corridors to their classroom which would be seen as a health and safety issue in schools in Northern Ireland. The children here are much more independent. I will look forward to teaching in this school and sharing more experiences on how the Fridaskolan works.

Week 8 - Cultural and Proffesional Development ( Road trip to Malmo - Copenhagen and our first school visit.) 03/03/12 - 09/03/12

This weekend Megan, Jakub and I set off on a road trip to Malmo and Copenhagen. It was great having the use of a car for the first time in 2 months and not having to catch a bus or a  train. On our drive to Malmö which is the southernmost province of Sweden the scenery was absolutely breathtaking. The first thing we spotted as we approached Malmo was the tallest building in Scandinavia known as The Turning Torso which is a high-rise sky scraper. We managed to direct ourselves to it with Megan’s good navigation skills and Jakub’s good driving and of course the excellent motorway which reaches right into the city centre. The design is based on Santiago Calatrava’s “Twisting Torso” sculpture and there is a creative 90-degree twist in the entire building.

Christiania 

After our brief but enjoyable visit to Malmo we then travelled on to Copenhagen to meet the other Erasmus students who were travelling there by train. It’s only 45 min by car but the journey was very exciting as we drove over the Öresund Bridge, the longest bridge in Europe which connects Sweden and Denmark. After booking into our hostel we made our way to the centre of Copenhagen. We couldn’t believe it when we met Mary, Michael, and Niall on the main street of Copenhagen. It turned out that they were staying in the same hostel as us, so it was great to catch up with them and share some experiences of University life here in Sweden. Copenhagen was full of wonderful places to see and we did our best to get round as many as we could but I will definitely not forget Christiania (a free town within Copenhagen well known for it’s hash trade) and the smell of people freely smoking illegal substances. It is also well known for its inhabitant’s love of meditation and yoga and abroad it is celebrated as a showcase of the progressive and liberated Danish lifestyle. So leaving this cultural experience behind us we returned home early on Sunday to prepare for our first school visit.

Us in the centre trying out some danish mediatation

On Monday as part of my field studies for the module on Inclusion of Special Needs I had the opportunity to visit a school in Vanersburg close to Trollhattan known as ‘Norra Skolan’.  This was my first experience of the Swedish primary education system and when myself, Megan and Rebbecca arrived we had a warm and enthusiastic welcome from a Special Educational Needs (SEN) teacher called Camilla. This particular school had two separate classes for those with learning difficulties (such as autism and ADHD). A class for the younger children aged 7 – 9 and the older group aged 10 -12. This was a new experience for me as during my previous placements in Northern Ireland I had not encountered specific classes catering for those with SEN in a mainstream school and I was delighted to have the opportunity to experience this method of inclusion.  

The children attended music in the morning which was taken by a specialist teacher, this was followed by some mathematics lessons and in the evening we were privileged to join in the cooking of apple pie and cream. The children’s behaviour and ability to organise themselves even the very young was in such contrast to what I have experienced so far in my teaching practice. This is definitely something I think is very positive about the Swedish culture. I think the resources in the school were excellent and it was great to learn more about how the Swedish education system works including the fact that school dinners are free for all including staff. I felt very welcome at this school and am looking forward to visiting other schools in Trollhattan next week.

Week 7 – Cultural Development : (Stockholm Adventures!) 25/02/12 - 02/-02/12

My best effort to smile for the camera in freezing water

We had an early rise after a late night to embrace the wonderful opportunity of going on the Viking Shauna Tour organized by the hostel City backpackers along with a group of international students. We travelled to a lake with a Swedish tour guide giving us lots of information about the town. I noticed how the tour guide started running to make the train; Swedish people do not like to wait the extra five minutes until the next train arrives, so we all ran after her.  When we arrived I was amazed by the beautiful scenery and the wooden Shauna platform floating on the freezing lake which we eventually jumped into. We used the ladder to carefully enter the water as it was freezing but by the end, after several dips and running in and out of the Shauna I got the courage to jump. She told us that this is a very popular activity in Sweden and now I can understand why as it is very addictive. However, usually people rent the saunas and take it out into the lake and drink champagne. To rent this it is extremely expensive so we were lucky to experience this trip especially with a group of International students including some Irish, American, Canadian and Australian from Umea University a partner of Stranmillis.

'Gamla Stan'

We visited some lovely places in Stockholm on Saturday including the most charming part the Old Town (Gamla Stan.) It reminded me of the Haga District in Goteburg. The old town is the original Stockholm and was set up during the 1300 century. Most buildings are from the 1700 and 1800 century. There were lots of lovely cafes and souvenir shops where I bought some postcards. The buildings here were in perfect condition. The tour guide informed us that  you would never  see a building in Stockholm with a patch of paint falling off, which I found very true. We also experienced the changing of the guard an extremely popular event at the Royal Palace as well as visiting Stockholms Stadshus (City Hall.) Later, we went to the Ice bar hotel. I had never been to one before so it was lots of fun and we received a lovely cocktail called a snowflake served  in an ice glass. I have decided that I love Stockholm and the city’s great buzz but it’s time to catch the 8 am train to return to our new home in Trollhattan.

Changing of the guard at the Royal Palace.

This week the Sun has been blinding me every morning.  While it lasted we decided to take full advantage of  this nice weather and  we went to watch the sunset with the Erasmus group here at University West. We went to the waterfalls area which is very beautiful and climbed to the top to get the best view we possibly could.

Trollhättan's Waterfalls.

We also attended a conference this week on Dating Violence; the conference was based on changing attitudes to dating violence in adolescents which relates alot to teaching children. It was very interesting.  We attended the CAVA conference dinner in the Kung Oscar Hotel where we had access to unlimited food and hot chocolate and it was a great opportunity to talk with the other lectures and discuss some issues related to teaching. During the conference we were privileged to watch the opening of the waterfall (vattenfall) in Trollhättan.



 On Thursday evening, we enjoyed a full course meal and had the opportunity to meet the Mayor of Trollhättan. I tasted herring pâté and wild hog for the first time and it was delicious. The weeks keep getting more exciting and busier as Megan and I will set off on a Road trip to Malmo and Copenhagen this weekend.

Week 6 – Personal Development : (Suprise, Suprise!) 18/02/12 - 24/02/12

On Saturday night we rented the common room to celebrate my 21^st Birthday party.  Megan and Rebecca kindly decorated it whilst I was still sleeping, putting up balloons, photos etc. However, this was not the only surprise. On Monday morning I received a phone call from my aunt who informed me that I needed to go downstairs to collect my birthday present which was supposedly being delivered via an internet courier.  I stumbled out of bed and ran half awake down the stairs only to find my mum and my aunt screaming at me with the video camera. She said ‘you are not going to escape the video camera that easily, especially on your 21^st Birthday.’ I was totally shocked and  it felt so surreal that they were actually in Sweden at my apartment. So I just starred at them sleepily like an idiot until I could process the fact that they were really there and that they were actually here for my birthday. They definitely surprised me but I was so excited that they were here in Trollhatan.

Me and my Mum having a nice meal.

After the initial shock had disappeared we decided to go and visit the town. This was followed by dinner at O Leary’s  restaurant. Myself and Megan had wanted to eat in O’leary’s so many times but like any student on a budget we simply could not afford to.  So we were wined and dined experiencing our first Swedish meal which was a big upgrade from our preplanned Lidli pizza. It was great to catch up with them both and when we went back to the hotel room I discovered that they had brought a birthday cake all the way from my favourite cake shop in Derry. They had some problems at security but still managed to arrive here with the cake which had a childhood photograph on it of myself and  my best friend cherish who could not be there in person.

Birthday Cake from Derry!

On Tuesday, after a presentation on Voices of Africa with Rebecca and Megan for our Intercultural we met up with them and I received many presents from all my family and friends from back home, including some lovely letters from my younger brother and sister as well as my granny. It will be interesting to compare my brother and sisters writing and literary skills with that of Swedish children of a similar age during teaching practice. I felt like I was at ‘home’ on this day even though I was still here In Sweden. I was overwhelmed that my mum and aunt had managed to fit so many things into their hand  luggage as well as decorations and a twenty one canvas signed by all my family and friends which later that night was signed by all my new Erasmus friends.

We decided to host a party in our flat on Tuesday and it was definitely a night to remember. The Erasmus group were taking full advantage of my mum and aunts homemade cooking, Irish cake and free drink. On Wednesday we went along the canal to show them the frozen lakes and the waterfall and then had our last dinner as they were leaving again in the early hours of Thursday morning.  I could not have asked for a better birthday and I really enjoyed this time catching up with them.

My aunt, me and my Mum.

Front row at Snow Patrol at Münchenbryggeriet.

On Thursday morning Megan and I set of to Stockholm by train. We were excited to visit Sweden’s Capital City which we had heard many good reviews about from the Erasmus students. When we arrived at Goteburgs train station Megan presented me with the train tickets and  as I was flicking through them I realised that she had hidden Snow Patrol tickets in between the train tickets. I really couldn’t believe that  we would be going to see my favourite band when we arrived in Stockholm at the concert venue Münchenbryggeriet. Again, I was completely shocked but extremely excited; this excitement increased after a five hour train journey of listening to Snow Patrol songs as well as admiring some lovely views and towns. 

My first impressions of Stockholm were that the city was simply beautiful. We stayed at The City Backpackers hostel which was very central. When we arrived we got ready for the Concert. The concert venue had a lovely view over the water and the city; it was much smaller than Belfast Odyssey. I noticed that the Swedish are much more reserved during concerts compared to any other concert that I have ever been to however; I don’t think Megan and I were. After, we visited some local Swedish bars and meet some lovely Swedish and Norwegians. This has been the best week of my life and I am looking forward to seeing more of Stockholm this weekend.

Week 5 – Personal Development 11/02/12 - 17/02/12

We have been given a take home exam which consists of three questions, six pages long to complete in one week.  In comparison to sitting an exam with a few hours to complete the questions I always prefer to be given work to take home. I am much  more comfortable when I’m afforded more time to think, work on and complete an assignment. Basically the exam is like an assignment except you have a shorter time to complete the work. Again, this was challenging as I am writing about topics which I have not studied before such as carrying out a risk assessment and community development. 

The teachers here are extremely helpful and are very easy to approach for guidance especially regarding exams and presentations. I have realised how lucky I am to be a native English speaker. English is the second language of many of the other students studying here  such as those from Italy and France. This has caused added difficulty when completing coursework and some students have been asking me for help with the English in their essays. Google translator seems to be the tool of choice and  many students would be lost without it. Helping the other students has proven to be very rewarding and it has given me an insight into the difficulties facing many international children in our own schools back home . Studying here has been a great opportunity to re-evaluate my own view on different cultures across the world, and to really broaden my horizons for the future.

The Badminton training here is really great and this week we got the chance to meet the coach of the Trollhattan Badminton Club. He invited us to watch a badminton match and placed us in a group according to our ability. The games are of a really good standard and I think I will improve a lot during my time in Sweden. I even had the opportunity to play a mixed game against a Swedish Champion, unfortunately myself and Robin the French student lost this one. We also got to watch some of the younger players including the Swedish number one player at Under 13. As a coach in the North West Squad I have been able to take some new ideas from the sessions and note them so that I can use them in the future.

This week was also Valentine’s Day therefore a French Student decided to host a party; it was great fun as they decided to put a blank piece of paper on the wall for everyone to write special messages in all languages. Being here has made me realise how much more multi-lingual other cultures are compared to Northern Ireland as everyone here speaks at least two languages. This experience has made me want to learn another language apart from English and I think I will consider taking up a course when I return home.

This weekend we also attended the Local nightclub called Lipz and we were shocked when we were able to make ourselves a taco wrap with salad which was available on the middle of the dance floor. We have been told that in Sweden it is compulsory to have food served where there is any drink. I feel I have really settled into the Swedish way of life, and I love every minute here.

Week 4 - Proffesional Development (Time to Work !) 04/02/12 - 10/02/12

View from the Library at University West

One thing I have noticed this week is how friendly and helpful the Swedes really are. The tutors here are always willing to help and I find that they give instant feedback on presentations and reports which is much better and more constructive than receiving the results at a later date like Stranmillis. This week I had to prepare a presentation on Tackling Social Exclusion to the rest of the class for the Power, Gender, and Inequalities module. This was a challenging but interesting task as it is a topic which I have not studied before. The class is quite small so I felt very comfortable during my presentation and afterwards everyone provides constructive feedback including the tutors. This aspect of the Swedish classes has been extremely beneficial and as a direct result I feel I have improved on my own skills at providing instant feedback which is essential in teaching. 

I have noticed that the classes at University West are much longer and last three hours. In addition the classes themselves are not always supervised with the tutor setting a group task and then leaving for a period of one hour or more. When the tutor returns to the classroom they will discuss the questions which we would have worked on in groups during their absence. In comparison to Stranmillis there is a very relaxed attitude to teaching and an expectation on the student to be mature and work unsupervised.  I personally have found this method of teaching very useful although I do realise it depends on the group and individual for this method to work successfully. The classes are very informal and I feel calling tutors by their first name adds to this relaxed classroom environment. During our lessons we are encouraged to reflect and discuss each topic and relate to situations in Northern Ireland such as ‘gender’, ‘inclusion’ and ‘power.’ We have also been provided with a take home exam which I will have to work on next week.

Furthermore, we had a meeting with a school teacher from the school that we will spend our time during teaching practice. The school is known as a ‘Fridaskolan’ meaning ‘Free School’ and it provides free education for children from the age of six to sixteen. We where told that (Frida Education) are financed mainly through public money, i.e. the amount that comes with each pupil who chooses to attend a Fridaskolan school. This differs to Northern Ireland education system where the money is usually controlled by the government. I am really looking forward to my placement module and my first visit to the school to experience how this School system works. I am excited to learn more about ‘Fridaskolan’ and the Swedish education system and how it works in the classroom..http://www.fridaskolan.se/News.asp

Chole,Izza, Me and Fiora.

The weekend we have all booked a trip to Riga in Latvia for April. We also dressed up and attended a French student called Melanie’s Carnival party to celebrate her 21^st birthday. It was a great night with the entire Erasmus group. I am now looking forward to my birthday which is very close.