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KIRKEBAKKESKOLEN SCHOOL, DENMARK
Melissa Easthope, of Edmonton, Alberta, and Merete Hansen, of Bredballe, Denmark, participated in a short-term teacher exchange program offered by the International Educators Exchange Program.
Melissa’s Story
Two different pieces make up a teacher exchange: hosting a foreign educator and observing a new but familiar environment. By experiencing both, I was able to reflect on my own practice as a teacher and facilitator.
I enjoyed the opportunity to welcome Merete to the Weinlos School community and to show her around Edmonton, a city I love. It was exciting to see my colleagues share openly their experiences and classrooms with Merete.
A main feature of an exchange is opening up your home and life to an exchange partner. Reflecting on best practices became part of normal conversations in the car on the way to and from school or at home around the dinner table. Focussing on the question “why do you do that?” allowed further reflection by comparing individual, school and district philosophies.
In the second part of the exchange, I was welcomed into Merete’s home by her family and felt immediately comfortable. Her family ensured that I experienced the wonderful things Denmark had to offer.
When I first walked into Merete’s school, Kirkebakkeskolen School, I was struck by its open layout. There were large spaces, circle cubbies in the walls and the floor was bright red. I saw classrooms in the shape of circles with not a student desk in sight. One of the nicest (and distracting) features was that every classroom had an unobstructed ocean view.
I was welcomed into classrooms where a variety of instruction took place. As I walked around the school, I saw students receiving instruction and working wherever they felt comfortable, usually with a laptop or iPad in hand. I assumed I’d find most students off task, doing whatever they wished, but I was surprised to see that the majority were completing their assignments or working collaboratively with others. I enjoyed the opportunity to describe to students what it’s like to live in Canada and go to school there. I may have inspired a few students to visit Alberta one day.
A valuable part of the exchange was seeing another successful way of teaching and reflecting on how the Danish education system would influence my own practice. As a result of my experience, I’ll provide my students with opportunities to take more ownership over their own learning by giving them more freedom to identify and work with their own strengths.
I’m glad I travelled to a different part of the world to not only see Denmark’s sites and learn more about its history but also to see how that country is teaching students to be independent and critical thinkers.
Merete’s Story
When I walked into Melissa’s school, I immediately saw posters describing students’ and parents’ responsibilities. I liked the fact that expectations were posted clearly for all to see. I also noticed that classrooms were numbered and teachers’ names were posted on the classrooms. This was a striking difference to my school, where only grade areas are identified.
The structure of the school day is similar to my school—the day is divided into different subject areas. One difference, however, is that Melissa remains with her class all day teaching all subjects, whereas I change rooms and grades throughout the day based on my area of knowledge (science and math). In Denmark, because teachers do not have their own classrooms, most preparation takes place at home. Students in my school stay in the same room but have several teachers throughout the day.
I had the opportunity to see different programs offered by the school. I visited the reading recovery and literacy programs, where teachers worked with struggling readers, and I spent time with the ESL teacher.
During my stay, I enjoyed touring Edmonton, trying different food and playing golf for the first time (I think I had beginner’s luck—for the first few holes anyway!).
