Danish preparation course for teachers’ mobility


All training schools of Skårup Seminarium (Skårup College of Education) received the invitation below in November 2007. Letters were sent both to the head of schools and to teachers of maths. Furthermore the course was advertised on the web-page of the college. Student teachers with maths as a main subject were approached personally and on the intranet of the college.

Course: The international math teacher
Many math teachers would like to participate in teacher exchange in Europe as well as having their pupils participate in e.g. COMENIUS-projects. However, our research seems to indicate that many teachers refrain from international activities because they think that they lack the necessary linguistic and possibly intercultural competences.
As part of an international in-service project for teachers, in which University College Lillebælt, Skårup Seminarium, participates, we now offer a course which presumably will make it possible for math teachers in the future to get an international dimension into their teaching and to participate in teacher and pupil exchange.

Aim:

To further the participants’ possibilities of participating in international projects.

Content:
  • Intensive course in English focusing on classroom language and mathematical terminology.
  • Mathematical topics suitable to be taught internationally, e.g. essential parts within numbers and algebra, geometry and mathematics in use.
  • Planning a number of math lessons in English, equivalent to a week’s teaching in a class.
  • This is the way math is taught in other countries. Examples (on video) of teaching units and math curricula.
  • Intercultural (communicative) competence – what is it? In theory and practice.
  • How to finance international activities?
Teaching and learning:
The course will focus on the participants’ active contributions e.g. by videoing parts of the course and parts of their own lessons. The teaching will be both in Danish and English.

Participants:

Math teachers in years 6 – 10 and student teachers with math as a main subject.

Teachers:

Sen. lecturer Annette Jäpelt (math) and sen. lecturer Birgith Lotzfeldt (English).

Number of lessons:
21

Place:
University College Lillebælt, Skårup Seminarium

Time:
January 10, 17, 24 & 31, February 7 & 28, March 6, 2008, h. 14,30 – 17,00.

Price:
There is no tuition fee.

Further information:

Annette Jäpelt (math), annette.japelt@skolekom.dk
Birgith Lotzfeldt (English), birgith.lotzfeldt@skolekom.dk

Three teachers and six student teachers applied for the course. The small number of teachers are presumably due to the fact that teachers only can get a reduction in their teaching hours if they apply for courses before the beginning of the academic year and if the head of school recommends the course. As to the number of student teachers, there is no tradition for students taking courses which are not part of the curriculum.
On the first day of the course the participants were introduced to the following plan. At the same time they were asked if they wanted any changes – the got a week to consider that. No one wanted any changes:

Structure of each course day:
  1. Handing out a mathematical glossary related to the day’s topics.
  2. Annette illustrates the topic orally and visually.
  3. In groups participants plan a lesson in English about today’s topic. Annette provides materials about the topic (in Danish).
  4. Short presentation for the whole class.
  5. On the last days of the course the last item will be videoed.
  6. Culture and language – generally and related to the above.
  7. Annette’s presentations are in Danish and English. Birgith’s presentations are in English.

Content

1. 10/01/08
Mathematics: Numbers and arithmetic
  • Number system
  • Integers
  • Fractions
  • Variables.
  • Equations
Classroom language
  • What is “classroom language”?
  • Examples of classroom language?
  • Exercises in the use of this language.
Comments:
Students were introduced to the idea of the course and were given information on the COMENIUS-project. They were told that at the end of the course a teacher and a student teacher would be selected to go to Prague for a week in the autumn of 2008 to teach maths in a lower secondary school
AJ handed out a list of words in English to do with numbers and arithmetic. In a dialogue between AJ and students it was shown through various examples on the white-board how these words are used.
BL had a power point presentation with lists of classroom language (beginning a lesson, simple instructions, classroom management, spontaneous situations, ending a lesson) with a special focus on maths. Students were asked to create small plays in groups in which these expressions were used.

2. 17/01/08
Function
  • System of coordinates
  • Representation
  • Generally known functions
  • Graph sketching
International communication
  • ”Small talk” – What do I say in the staff room?
  • Dos and don’ts in international communication.
  • What should I be aware of when using English as an international language?

Comments:
AJ handed out a list of words in English to do with function. In a dialogue between
AJ and students it was shown through various examples on the white board how these words are used.
BL ad a power point presentation of small talk in the staff room and do’s and don’ts when teaching abroad, followed by general recommendations as to what to be especially aware of when teaching in a foreign language.

3. 24/01/08
Mathematics: Classical geometry.
  • Triangles.
  • Circles.
  • Similarity
  • Solids
  • Drawing
Language and culture
  • The relation between language and culture
  • English as the international language of our time.
Comments:
AJ handed out a list of words in English to do with geometry. In a dialogue between
AJ and students it was shown through various examples on the white board how these words are used.
BL had a power point presentation with two different views of the relation between language and culture: 1. Culture as contained in the semantic and pragmatics of the language, 2: Culture as context for the use of language, leading to a discussion with the participants of culture as a theme in teaching.

4. 31/01/08
Applied mathematics.
  • Models.
  • Statistics.
  • Probability
Intercultural communicative competence.
  • What is intercultural communicative competence?
  • How is teachers’ and pupils’ ICC developed?
  • Exercises.
Comments:
AJ handed out a list of words in English to do with probability. In a dialogue between
AJ and students it was shown through various examples on the white board how these words are used. Students were asked to make tree diagrams as to the occurrence of various statistical phenomena.
BL had power point presentations focusing on various views on intercultural competence (Byram and Kramsch), different schools of culture in teaching (sociological/historical school, anthropological school, pragmatic school) and a discussion of elements in IC (Byram). A list a literature on intercultural competence was handed out and students were given the opportunity to record their own intercultural experience and to assess their own intercultural competence (Byram).

5. 07/02/08
Communication and problem solving
  • Spreadsheet and dynamic geometry programmes.
  • Introduction to next course day.
  • What should I pay attention to from a linguistic point of view when designing teaching units in a foreign language?

Comments:
AJ handed out a list of words in English to do with statistics. In a dialogue between
AJ and students it was shown through various examples on the white board how these words are used.
BL had a power point presentation with advice on planning, teaching and evaluating in a foreign language.

6. 28/02/08
Planning of teaching units in groups
Internationalization at home
  • How can I work internationally with my pupils at home?
  • How to finance teacher and pupil mobility.

Comments:
AJ told students that the math lecturers in the COMENIUS-project had agreed that the math units to be taught during the exchange would be introductions to fractions and Pythagoras’ theorem.
In pairs students prepared teaching units to be presented on the following course day.
After some negotiations it was agreed that Niels Henriksen, teacher in Nyborg, and Nadia Kjelsmark and Jeanne Christensen, student teachers at Skårup College of Education, would go to Prague to teach there for a week in the autumn of 2008.
BL gave information on internationalization at home and on the financing of teacher and pupil exchanges.

7. 06/03/08
Presentation of teaching units – in groups
  • Response on the content of teaching unit
  • Response on the language of teaching unit
  • Evaluation of the course.
Comments:
Niels Henriksen made a presentation in English of a teaching unit with an introduction of fractions. The presentation made extensive use of hands-on visual elements. [The presentation was video-recorded.]
Jeanne Christensen made a presentation in English of a teaching unit with an introduction of Pythagoras’ theorem.
AJ gave feedback on the content of the presentations, and BL gave feedback on the language. They found both the content and language of the presentations very satisfactory, allowing for the fact that teaching in a foreign language is a very challenging task.

Evaluation

In an informal, oral evaluation students expressed their satisfaction with the fact that students and student teachers had had the possibility of taking a course together. They recommended this to be college policy in the future. They saw it as an advantage that the course had not dealt only with mathematics and language, but that culture also had been an important part of it.
In an anonymous, written evaluation, the following answers given. There are only six answers as no more students were present on the last course day:

To which extent did the course fulfil your expectations?
  • To a very high degree: 5
  • To a high degree: 1
  • To a medium degree: 0
  • To a small degree: 0
  • Ta a very small degree: 0
The teaching methods were:
  • Very satisfactory: 3
  • Satisfactory: 3
  • Partly satisfactory: 0
  • Not satisfactory: 0
The teaching content was:
  • Very satisfactory: 6
  • Satisfactory: 0
  • Partly satisfactory: 0
  • Not satisfactory: 0

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