The best part of this experience for me is that I am still in contact with at least one teacher from Gymnasium 18, at least two students from the school, and other Ukrainian teachers, both those I met as part of the TEA program and those who have commented on my blog.
Two of the students from Gymnasium 18 will be studying in the U.S. this next school year as part of the FLEX program; one in North Carolina and one in Minnesota. I look forward to hearing about their experiences and providing any insights I might offer both before they are here and while they are in their American school.
As well, I have been in regular contact with the teacher who heads the English department at Gymnasium 18. She is a wonderful teacher, caring and demanding, but also an interested teacher, who regularly questions me and regularly answers my questions. There is also a teacher who has commented regularly on my blog posts who has provided me an additional sounding board for both ideas and suggestions.
This on-going exchange will no doubt be the most important lasting impact of my trip to Lutsk. While I would love to return, the opportunity to exchange continuing ideas with both students and teachers from the region will allow me to better utilize what I learned through this entire process.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Friday, July 9, 2010
Professional Presentation
When my agenda from Ivegeniia arrived sometime in late January or early February, I saw scheduled a presentation I was to give on standardized testing in the United States. Standardized testing is a hot topic in Ukraine, as students are required to take a national test after their ninth form year, and another such test after their eleventh form year. With strong enough results after the ninth form exam, students may leave the local school to study at a college. I visited such a college in Lutsk, where the instructor Mayya was leading a classroom of fifteen or sixteen young girls in an English lesson. The lesson was concerned with the attributes of a strong leader. These girls all said they hoped to be teachers of English, translators, or international business leaders.
When I arrived in Lutsk, Ivegeniia explained I would give my own presentation at a meeting of regional English teachers that was to take place the next day at Gymnasium 18. I went back to my hotel room that evening to brush up on what I would say and to make certain my PowerPoint presentation was complete. I had also brougth along sample pages of the Advanced Placement Literature exam. I was going to use the multiple choice section questions to engage the teachers.
The next morning, I was handed a simply made program for the day, with my name included as the second speaker. First, one of the English teachers from Gymnasium 18 and her eleventh form students would demonstrate a lesson on the effective interaction between teacher and students in a higher level language class. The lesson concerned ways in which the students could create civic minded projects to aid the physically handicapped.
My turn came and I started by explaining there are a myriad of tests U.S. students are either required or encouraged to take, including state administered tests, as well as nationally normed exams. I then passed out the sample A.P. multiple choice questions and asked the teachers to complete the first five. After giving them a brief period to work through the test questions, as well as a couple minutes to share their answers, I brought them back together, went over the expected answers and segued into my PowerPoint, illustrating the features and the drawbacks of each of the most common tests.
In half an hour the whole experience was over, and the teachers thanked me. I honestly wondered what I had said that they didn't already know, but I think hearing it from someone who works with these exams regularly helped them see how their experiences compare to those of U.S. teachers.
When I arrived in Lutsk, Ivegeniia explained I would give my own presentation at a meeting of regional English teachers that was to take place the next day at Gymnasium 18. I went back to my hotel room that evening to brush up on what I would say and to make certain my PowerPoint presentation was complete. I had also brougth along sample pages of the Advanced Placement Literature exam. I was going to use the multiple choice section questions to engage the teachers.
The next morning, I was handed a simply made program for the day, with my name included as the second speaker. First, one of the English teachers from Gymnasium 18 and her eleventh form students would demonstrate a lesson on the effective interaction between teacher and students in a higher level language class. The lesson concerned ways in which the students could create civic minded projects to aid the physically handicapped.
My turn came and I started by explaining there are a myriad of tests U.S. students are either required or encouraged to take, including state administered tests, as well as nationally normed exams. I then passed out the sample A.P. multiple choice questions and asked the teachers to complete the first five. After giving them a brief period to work through the test questions, as well as a couple minutes to share their answers, I brought them back together, went over the expected answers and segued into my PowerPoint, illustrating the features and the drawbacks of each of the most common tests.
In half an hour the whole experience was over, and the teachers thanked me. I honestly wondered what I had said that they didn't already know, but I think hearing it from someone who works with these exams regularly helped them see how their experiences compare to those of U.S. teachers.
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