JOB SHADOWING Slovakia 7-11 October 2024

Day 1

"Erasmus+ connects us". This is No1 impact of Erasmus. Connections lead to collaboration and partnerships. Job shadowing means sharing practices, deprivatizing teaching and learning from each other. The ultimate goal to make a contribution to student learning and providing our students with opportunities to learning and making connections.Travelling a whole day on Sunday 6th was worth it.  There was a very warm welcome by the school; the school headmistress, the coordinator, and  three students dressed in local costumes were waiting for us at the school doorstep. It was interesting meeting the rest of the jobshadowers from  Finland, Spain (Huelva and Tenerife) and Lithuania. It didn't take long to feel at ease. The headmistress' presentation about the school gave a picture of the school and its involvement in various programmes. The singing and dancing by students  provided a cultural experience. Walking in the school corridors and classes, I saw similarities and differences, including good practices i.e. the bell sound is music, there is time allocated to switching classses, lockers for students, recycling bins for paper, plastic in all rooms, interactive white board in the classes. It's been nice meeting in person the Principal, Vice-principal, other administrative staff and teaching staff.

It's been great observing three lessons: English, Italian and Russian. Interesting use of tools:interactive/gamified experience via  https://genially.com/,  teaching games via https://www.baamboozle.com/, word clouds via  mentimeter https://www.mentimeter.com/. Video on the importance of travelling at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyqhDKNig88

 The school day ended with a tour in the city of Rožňava, where students were our tour guides.  It was nice to have a chance to chat with them. Learning and making connections via lesson observations, informal conversations during coffee breaks, lunch and dinner, cultural visits  make the Erasmus experience a dynamic and pleasant experience.