Today we saw in action what we had been told about yesterday and on Tuesday,
We visited two primary schools and a secondary school in El Prat and were given the opportunity to speak with teachers and see classrooms. We saw how the Immersion Classrooms operate, where children from different countries who have come to live in Catalonia after pre-school age (3-5).
New students from outwth Catalonia are taken out of class only when the whole class are doing language work in Catalan to work with the immersion teacher, which is similar to EAL provision in Scotland. Active learning and learning in context is used, not only for school vocabulary, but also to develop everyday vocabulary.
One thing which was evident was the cooperation that exists between schools, between sectors and with the community. Teachers from other schools get together regularly to share materials and professional dialogue, and they also come up with inter-school and community projects. Members of the community who have something to contribute and are Catalan speakers are encouraged to come into schools and to run or become involved in projects.
Visual displays were evident but could have been more informative.
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Very interesting re the strong links between and amongst schools as well as the community. How have they managed to get to this stage, what particular strategies/policies have been undertaken and at what levels....school, locally council??????
ReplyDeleteDo adults working in schools go through any formal checking procedures to be able to work in/with schools - children/staff?