Friday, 11 March 2011
Feedback from teacher
In terms of personal impact of the trip, among the many lessons I got to observe in the school was a Year 12 Maths lesson. It was a fantastic opportunity to see how the content was delivered and how the students were receptive to the material. The lack of resources available to the teacher did not diminish from the learning of the students in the room and it was fascinating to see how the students accepted that if they did not understand the work in the lesson then it was up to them to ensure that they did in time for the next lesson. It was also reminded me that Maths is the same all over the world and the language barrier became almost non-existent as the language of the classroom became more “mathematical”.
As a department, we have benefited because main school students are now talking about a post-16 Maths trip visiting Italy. Despite our best efforts, students still seem to think that Maths only exists in the classroom and this has been a good opportunity to talk to the students about how different branches of Maths are used in everyday life and how this is the same all over the world. Since our return, all of my classes have asked what has Maths got to do with the project and it has been nice to be able to explain to them about how Maths is used. Unfortunately, we have not found the time in our curriculum to look at the topic of migration in any great detail but it is an area we may look at when we redesign our schemes of work and start to include more investigative tasks.
As an aside, we have just received the results from the January modular exam that our Year 12 students took. All four students who went to Italy achieved a grade A! Either we selected the correct students for the trip or it could be argued that trip encouraged the students to work harder!
As a department, we have benefited because main school students are now talking about a post-16 Maths trip visiting Italy. Despite our best efforts, students still seem to think that Maths only exists in the classroom and this has been a good opportunity to talk to the students about how different branches of Maths are used in everyday life and how this is the same all over the world. Since our return, all of my classes have asked what has Maths got to do with the project and it has been nice to be able to explain to them about how Maths is used. Unfortunately, we have not found the time in our curriculum to look at the topic of migration in any great detail but it is an area we may look at when we redesign our schemes of work and start to include more investigative tasks.
As an aside, we have just received the results from the January modular exam that our Year 12 students took. All four students who went to Italy achieved a grade A! Either we selected the correct students for the trip or it could be argued that trip encouraged the students to work harder!
During our stay in Italy, we saw some nice cities. After Carrara, the next place we visited was Lucca which is a really pretty, medieval city. Some of us were lucky enough to visit Pisa and it's leaning tower which was a great experience to see a world famous building and the great ones that surrounded it.
Another city we had the pleasure of visiting was Viareggio which we happened to hit in carnival season. This meant that we got to see the amazing carnival which is famous for mocking popular people, for example politicians.
Unfortunately, after a packed few days it was time to leave Massa. We found this trip was a well organised programme with a good variety of activities. One of our favourite parts was staying with the italian families, as it was something none of us had done before. We all made some great friends and found it really interesting to meet people from other countries and learn about their ways of life. Being immersed in the italian lifestyle was also a beneficial and enjoyable experience, especially living on masses of italian food. All in all, we all really enjoyed ourselves and felt we had gained something from this experience.
Another city we had the pleasure of visiting was Viareggio which we happened to hit in carnival season. This meant that we got to see the amazing carnival which is famous for mocking popular people, for example politicians.
Unfortunately, after a packed few days it was time to leave Massa. We found this trip was a well organised programme with a good variety of activities. One of our favourite parts was staying with the italian families, as it was something none of us had done before. We all made some great friends and found it really interesting to meet people from other countries and learn about their ways of life. Being immersed in the italian lifestyle was also a beneficial and enjoyable experience, especially living on masses of italian food. All in all, we all really enjoyed ourselves and felt we had gained something from this experience.
Friday, 4 March 2011
WAVES visit to Italy
We arrived at Pisa airport in the afternoon and proceeded to take a taxi to the train station which would take us to our destination of Massa. When we arrived in Massa, our host families came to pick us up one by one and take us to their houses where we would be staying for the next six days. That evening, we settled in with our families and got ready for the next day to come.
The next morning, our host families took us to their school where we were collected and taken to the town of Carrara which is famous for it's marble mountains. We were taken on a tour of a famous marble factory where we witnessed some amazing marble projects. After this, we carried on higher up the mountains and had lunch in a small italian restaurant with the rest of the trip participants. Here, we tried the famous Massa delicacy called 'lardo', being pure fat. We then returned to the school and had a discussion about the subject of immigration, where everyone was able to share their views. After a long day, we returned to our host families where we were able to do what we wished, for example explore the city of Massa.
There's a little taster, there'll be more later...
The next morning, our host families took us to their school where we were collected and taken to the town of Carrara which is famous for it's marble mountains. We were taken on a tour of a famous marble factory where we witnessed some amazing marble projects. After this, we carried on higher up the mountains and had lunch in a small italian restaurant with the rest of the trip participants. Here, we tried the famous Massa delicacy called 'lardo', being pure fat. We then returned to the school and had a discussion about the subject of immigration, where everyone was able to share their views. After a long day, we returned to our host families where we were able to do what we wished, for example explore the city of Massa.
There's a little taster, there'll be more later...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)