So I added the exclamation point to make this post sound a little more exciting for those non-education people. This post is all about the differences between the American (Wisconsin/Minnesota) school system and the Scottish system. To start that comparison I will address the children. No! Scottish children are not different from kids back in the U.S. There are cultural differences but kids are kids no matter where in the world you are. They all want to feel accepted, loved, and like there is a purpose. They also have lots of energy.
At first it felt like the systems were very different. I felt like I never knew what was going on, like I had missed a semester worth of education courses. The terminology made no sense to me. After really looking, and taking the time to get to know the lesson planning process I realized that the terminology was all that was tripping me up. Their process is very similar to that in the Midwest, there are just different names for things in Scotland.
The lesson planning starts by looking for which E and O you will be addressing. E's and O's, experiences and outcomes, are what I know as standards. There seem to be fewer E's and O's and they address a range of school years not just one at a time. Then you decide what your Learning Outcome will be. For those of you who know what I am talking about, this would be your objective for your lesson. In Scotland and the United States these are typically written as SWBAT or "Students will be able to...." From the learning outcome the teacher develops their Success Criteria, how they will be assessing the learning outcome. One really interesting teaching strategy that I have seen used here in Scotland is allowing the students to help come up with the success criteria for a project. The teacher will state what they are trying to achieve and then ask what the students think will have to be included to show that the project was successful. The teacher has then taken that list of things and made it into a checklist or rubric. I love the idea of students coming up with the success criteria.
So in reality I have not seen much of a difference in the way that you plan a lesson. I have seen more of a difference in the curriculum. In Scotland there is a very large emphasis on groups. The classes are divided by ability level in reading and maths (that's math). The teacher then meets with one group at a time. While they are meeting with one group the rest of the class is looking to the board. On the board there is a list of tasks for each ability group. The students are expected to do their work quietly and independently (this doesn't always work, as I said they are kids and have a lot of energy). The teacher then meets with each group as time goes on. The only time that I have really seen whole group lessons is during the topic time of the day. During topic the class is introduced to a specific topic or theme. For example the classes that I am working with just finished with their Rainforest topic. In the United states there is usually a focus on a social studies or science topic. The difference is that the topic in Scotland reaches every aspect of the curriculum. For example with the Fairtrade topic students learn about household budgets in maths. They work on comparing and contrasting their lives with a child in a developing country.
How Scotland uses their topics really shows the biggest difference between the two school systems. In America a lot of subjects and topics are taught, but they are taught at a surface level. It is like a buffet of learning for students. They are introduced to a lot of topics, hopefully one really appeals to them, but then it is up to the individual students to continue learning about a topic if it interests them. In Scotland, the schools present a few topics each year and they go in depth with each one. The hope here is that each student finds something about a topic interesting. Both systems are trying to appeal to as many students as they can just taking their own approach to it.
The first thing that I noticed about the classrooms in Scotland is the amount of student work displayed. The walls are simply covered with student art, writing, displays, and creations. The students are so proud of their classrooms as it represents them. Back in the U.S. student work is displayed, however, usually the best pieces are selected to go on display and there are lots of motivational/education posters on the walls. Here the motivation and education come from the work of the children.
The other difference that does not have really any educational value, but I find really interesting is the heating system in the schools. In Minnesota and Wisconsin heating is in basically every school and is controlled by the school. Here the newer classrooms have their own heating units and the older rooms have radiators that are centrally controlled. Centrally controlled means that somewhere in Scotland there is a unit that controls these radiators. No one in the school can control the heat in these rooms. The controls somewhere in Scotland are programed so that they turn on at 8:50 (when students get into the school) and turn off at 3:25 (when the dismissal bell rings). This means that when teachers arrive early they have to stay in their jackets until the students get into the school and begin to warm up the rooms. At the end of the day if you stay too long after the last bell the rooms are cold again because the heaters are off and the body heat is gone. I just find this so interesting.
I apologize for the really long post about things that the general public don't necessarily find that interesting. I could probably go on even longer though because I just find these things so interesting. I wanted to student teach abroad for these differences, to be immersed in a different school system, to bring back these differences and use them in my teaching someday. Teaching is so fascinating and I love it. It is planned yet completely uncontrolled, a work of love that makes you want to sit in a corner and cry somedays, a puzzle that you never really get to complete. I love what I am doing and am fascinated by the art of teaching.
At first it felt like the systems were very different. I felt like I never knew what was going on, like I had missed a semester worth of education courses. The terminology made no sense to me. After really looking, and taking the time to get to know the lesson planning process I realized that the terminology was all that was tripping me up. Their process is very similar to that in the Midwest, there are just different names for things in Scotland.
The lesson planning starts by looking for which E and O you will be addressing. E's and O's, experiences and outcomes, are what I know as standards. There seem to be fewer E's and O's and they address a range of school years not just one at a time. Then you decide what your Learning Outcome will be. For those of you who know what I am talking about, this would be your objective for your lesson. In Scotland and the United States these are typically written as SWBAT or "Students will be able to...." From the learning outcome the teacher develops their Success Criteria, how they will be assessing the learning outcome. One really interesting teaching strategy that I have seen used here in Scotland is allowing the students to help come up with the success criteria for a project. The teacher will state what they are trying to achieve and then ask what the students think will have to be included to show that the project was successful. The teacher has then taken that list of things and made it into a checklist or rubric. I love the idea of students coming up with the success criteria.
So in reality I have not seen much of a difference in the way that you plan a lesson. I have seen more of a difference in the curriculum. In Scotland there is a very large emphasis on groups. The classes are divided by ability level in reading and maths (that's math). The teacher then meets with one group at a time. While they are meeting with one group the rest of the class is looking to the board. On the board there is a list of tasks for each ability group. The students are expected to do their work quietly and independently (this doesn't always work, as I said they are kids and have a lot of energy). The teacher then meets with each group as time goes on. The only time that I have really seen whole group lessons is during the topic time of the day. During topic the class is introduced to a specific topic or theme. For example the classes that I am working with just finished with their Rainforest topic. In the United states there is usually a focus on a social studies or science topic. The difference is that the topic in Scotland reaches every aspect of the curriculum. For example with the Fairtrade topic students learn about household budgets in maths. They work on comparing and contrasting their lives with a child in a developing country.
How Scotland uses their topics really shows the biggest difference between the two school systems. In America a lot of subjects and topics are taught, but they are taught at a surface level. It is like a buffet of learning for students. They are introduced to a lot of topics, hopefully one really appeals to them, but then it is up to the individual students to continue learning about a topic if it interests them. In Scotland, the schools present a few topics each year and they go in depth with each one. The hope here is that each student finds something about a topic interesting. Both systems are trying to appeal to as many students as they can just taking their own approach to it.
The first thing that I noticed about the classrooms in Scotland is the amount of student work displayed. The walls are simply covered with student art, writing, displays, and creations. The students are so proud of their classrooms as it represents them. Back in the U.S. student work is displayed, however, usually the best pieces are selected to go on display and there are lots of motivational/education posters on the walls. Here the motivation and education come from the work of the children.
The other difference that does not have really any educational value, but I find really interesting is the heating system in the schools. In Minnesota and Wisconsin heating is in basically every school and is controlled by the school. Here the newer classrooms have their own heating units and the older rooms have radiators that are centrally controlled. Centrally controlled means that somewhere in Scotland there is a unit that controls these radiators. No one in the school can control the heat in these rooms. The controls somewhere in Scotland are programed so that they turn on at 8:50 (when students get into the school) and turn off at 3:25 (when the dismissal bell rings). This means that when teachers arrive early they have to stay in their jackets until the students get into the school and begin to warm up the rooms. At the end of the day if you stay too long after the last bell the rooms are cold again because the heaters are off and the body heat is gone. I just find this so interesting.
I apologize for the really long post about things that the general public don't necessarily find that interesting. I could probably go on even longer though because I just find these things so interesting. I wanted to student teach abroad for these differences, to be immersed in a different school system, to bring back these differences and use them in my teaching someday. Teaching is so fascinating and I love it. It is planned yet completely uncontrolled, a work of love that makes you want to sit in a corner and cry somedays, a puzzle that you never really get to complete. I love what I am doing and am fascinated by the art of teaching.