More about the Polish school system!

Week 11 – Professional Developments – 10th May 2011

After enjoying a great Easter holiday and long weekend I have been immediately plunged back into work. I am really enjoying and benefiting from my experience in my school here in Poznań. Due to this I have decided from this week to go into the school for three days a week. I have been developing a great relationship with the class and am really enjoying being challenged by teaching both within a private school and within the IB curriculum. I believe that my teaching experience in this class has not just provided me with confidence but has also increased my ability to both plan and carry out effective interactive activities. As I spend a lot of time planning, teaching or learning polish myself I have become very busy during the week but I may not get such a great opportunity again and I want to ensure I make the most of it.

A big similarity between Northern Irish primary schools and Polish primary schools is the lack of male teachers. During my teaching practice at home, I found that there were no male teachers in both schools I taught in. This is no different in ISOP. There is only one male teacher in the PYP (primary years programme) and he is a specialist PE teacher. I find this very interesting. I think it is important to have both male and female teachers in primary schools. My teacher mentioned to me today that she has noticed that some of the more ‘lively’ boys of the class are responding very positively to having me, a male influence, in the classroom.



Our Classroom



Today I had the opportunity to informally ‘interview’ the main class teacher about assessment and recording of pupils’ progress within the school. My teacher is currently writing reports for the pupils and she was able to show me some of her methods used throughout the year to record pupils’ progress. PYP defines assessment as ‘the means by which we analyse student learning and the effectiveness of our teaching and acts as a foundation on which to base our future panning and practice. It is central to our goal of guiding the child, from novice to expert, through the learning process.’ My teacher told me that assessment with IB schools had to be a continuous process using both formative and summative assessment. (IBO 2000) The class teacher also informed me that IB schools believe that students should not be given grades, only comments about good work, or areas of improvement. However within the Polish system teachers are required to provide pupils with grades. The school is currently trying to think of a suggestion that will keep the teachers right in both systems.

One of the guys on my volleyball team recently asked me if I could go into his girlfriends school, she is an English teacher in a Polish Secondary school, and give a short presentation on life and culture in Northern Ireland. Of course I agreed, it would be fun to make a short presentation and also will give me the opportunity to see a polish school. After speaking to her on the phone she informed me that the presentation should be about 2.5hours but not to worry because that includes time for the students to ask me questions. I am not too sure what I have gotten myself into, although I am looking forward to learning a bit more about NI culture myself.

This weekend I am heading to Oslo with four of my Italian friends, including my roommate Matteo. I am really looking forward to practicing some Italian and seeing a new city in a new country. I am not looking forward though to the effect that a weekend in one of the most expensive cities in Europe will have on my bank balance.

Anyway, thanks for reading,

Jeff

References:

Primary Years Program Assessment Handbook, January 2000. International Baccalaureate Organization