Teacher Training and Contact Seminar – Rob Dawson

Course Title: Sustainability and Interculture Course and Contact Seminal

rganizer: The Danish Efterskole Association

Date: October 4-5, 2022

Location: Riga, Latvia

https://padlet.com/charlottefforandring/q9ow0ymbozim9xr6

 

I had the honor and pleasure of participating in a Course and Contact Seminar in early October 2022 in the center of Riga’s old town. There were workshops/presentations on topics ranging from the UN SDGs to CLIL to what is (inter) culture and how important it is to education and Erasmus+ projects.

The structure of the course and seminar was such that we were often communicating with each other. This helped newcomers to Erasmus and informal education better understand the importance of such methods and the ease in which it can be set up. The lead organizer created a flow to the entire course/seminar that had us moving round the room at all the right moments to discuss what we had just learned/heard. There was a visit to an official CLIL school as well.

The contact seminar element was flawless with participants from Denmark, Hungary, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Spain, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic. This map, was an excellent idea and a technique to be used in our future projects at Poli https://padlet.com/JakobCJ/ob2poe3vmmmg4yok … It was an easy way to remember who is from where, which was welcomed when there were over 50 participants.

I was the first to have to stand up and introduce myself and school in a lightning round of introductions. Then, in the first contact seminar task of meeting new partners as the one with the most experience I was placed as head of one roundtable discussion group, and I was bombarded with questions from newbies. The methods of these discussion sessions were akin to Coop methodology and after 20 minutes the four groups rotated, leaders remained in place. This afforded all participants the chance to meet new participants and talk to more experienced members, gather information, etc. By the end of the entire course there were promises made for many, many projects. I had at least ten prospective projects on my plate.

The secondary school we visited, the Riga English Grammar School (http://www.rag.lv/) provided us with excellent tours of the facilities, student lead. The ease at which these young persons conveyed their joy and enthusiasm of being students at RAG was amazing. The principal and a math teacher explained about their journey to become a CLIL school. The most educational element was when it was made very clear the math teacher teaches complex concepts in Latvian but regularly uses YouTube videos in English to summarize her lessons. It is not necessary to teach an entire lesson in the target language for the class to be considered CLIL. This is important because it reaffirms my belief that Poli is far more active in CLIL than many believe. It confirms that we are on the right path, and we should carry on. This alone made the entire course worth participating in.

Accommodation, meals, and the seminars/workshops were all in the same hotel along the river, the only exception being a cultural event at dinner in town. The hotel was fine, the food fine, the service excellent. Personally, I would prefer to stay in a more cost-efficient facility and have an extra day to work on new projects and find more partner. That said, I would add that the Danish Efterskole Association, and Jacob Jensen put on the most efficient and educational course I have ever participated in.