As our days in Spain begin to dwindle, it is time to start thinking about what we have learned over the course of our trip and our time at Sotogrande International School. I think we would all be in agreement that this journey has taught us quite a lot about ourselves, education, and teaching. As I think about the first day here just a few short weeks ago, I realize the progress I have made in my teaching, and how the IB program at SIS has challenged me to challenge my students. As Chris so eloquently stated, “I have learned more about the American school system by studying in a school that isn’t the American school system than I ever would have back in the States”. It’s very true-we don’t truly realize anything until it isn’t in our lives anymore.
We have all taken the time to ponder the differences between the school system here and the school system back home. For example, in my first placement I was handed teacher textbooks and told which units and lessons I would be teaching. If I wanted to, I could have had everything completely planned out for me and I could follow the textbooks exactly as they were written. Of course my education classes have taught me that valuable learning comes from engaging and real world experiences, so I would never teach straight out of the textbooks. Here, I am handed objectives. I know what the students need to be able to do by the end of a lesson or unit, and I am responsible for figuring out the best way to meet those objectives. Everything is based off of the unit of inquiry, which is centered on a real world problem. The students are in charge of their own learning. If we don’t get through something one day, there is plenty of time to cover it the next day or later on in the week. What we teach is based on what the students want to learn. The students end up so much more engaged because the learning is practical and applicable to real life.
All seven of us will be headed back to America with an appreciation for Nutella, the picturesque Mediterranean sunsets carved into our head, and many new ideas about how we will apply what we have learned to our own classrooms sometime in the near future.
Thanks for reading,
Sara Schroeder
Sara, you may not know or believe this, but when the original version of the MN Academic Standards (called the Profile of Learning) was created, outcomes were the focus, just as you described in your school in Sotogrande. Hopes were high that teachers would put students and learning first. You can see that we've instead moved to a system where testing seems to be the most important aspect of teaching and learning. Take heart. You now have experienced taking responsibility for your teaching in a big way, and you've seen the results in your students and what they know and can do! You CAN do those same things in your classroom here in MN (or wherever you end up!), and I encourage you and your fellow Sotogrande Gusties to do the same!
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