Second Week in Copenhagen

The first lesson we observed was a Grade 6 Maths class. It was difficult to understand what was the lesson about as it was taught in Danish. However, with some help from the teacher and the students, we could roughly understand the lesson.

The teacher began the lesson by introducing the concepts that she wanted to teach and after that, the students are given the time to finish the work assigned by the teacher. Most of the students work as pairs as they discussed how to solve the problems. They can do the work in their own pace and ifit was not completed, they would then have to bring back home to complete instead. One of the tasks was to make a house using the construction papers. As some of them did not managed to form a proper house due to incorrect measurements, they told us that they decided to use extra paper and cover up the hole instead. I, Xing Fen, was surprised as I would have tried to re-do it again if I were in their shoes instead.

                                                                                                                                                                  

As it was one and an half hour lesson, there was a 10 minutes break in between for the students. They would either grab some food to eat or they would head down to the courtyard to play some games.                                                                                                                                                            

We were each given a home-made cookie by the birthday girl! Yummy!

The next lesson that Chao Ngin and I, Xing Fen, observed was a Grade 4 English lesson. We did a short introduction of Singapore and ourselves before they start the lesson. One of the students said that he will be coming to Singapore for Christmas. However, when we told him that there would not be snow in Singapore, he looked disappointed. Oops. In this lesson, they were tasked to brainstorm based on the genre that they chose for their stories. When they were done with it, they can start drafting out the story. During the lesson, the students are allowed to either stay in the classroom or head to the classroom next door (second picture) to complete their work. I guess in this way,  it provides more personal space for the students to think and complete their work. 

Came across this student's story and had his permission to take a picture of it. It was such an interesting story! Check out the story below!

Xing Fen and I, Chao Ngin, also get to observe a Grade 5 science lesson. The students were doing their 3 pages report. In this report, they would need to do an in-depth research on the insect that they have chosen. For instance, they could research further on how the existence of the insect affects the ecosystem and etc. 

 Interesting art pieces done by the students!

We observed another Grade 6 Maths lesson. In this lesson, the students were introduced to parallel lines as well as how the lines would look like in different perspectives (different angles / using transparency sheets to look at things). I, Xing Fen, was intrigued by how parallel lines can be introduced in this manner. 

And not forgetting, the place that we often frequent to grab some sandwiches or ginger shots! A place where the teachers recommended us to go to get some food to eat during our breaks. Their sandwiches are really good! 

During the weekends, Chao Ngin and I, Xing Fen, decided to explore more around Norreport. We went to Nyhavn. It was originally a commercial port where ships from all over the world would dock. Today, the beautiful old houses have been renovated and restaurants dominate the old port. 

We also came across the #happywall! It was so fun trying to form letters on the wall!

We walked further and came across Amalienborg Palace. It is considered as one of the greatest works of Danish Rococco architecture and was constructed in 1700's. The palace is made up of 4 identical buildings - Christian VII's Palace, Christian VIII's Palace, Frederik VIII's Palace and Christian IX's Palace. It was really magnificent.  

  

A statue of King Frederik V from 1771 in the middle of the palace square. 

On Sunday, Xing Fen and Ying Ting attended our landlady's church choir concert. We enjoyed the concert and were really amazed with our landlady!

After the concert, she brought us to a small village in Ballerup. It was a really pretty place, a view that we would not be able to see in the city area. There are some museums, horse shed and animals in the field. I shall let the pictures do the talking!

Posted by: Chao Ngin, Gunita, Xing Fen and Ying Ting

Sabine

Introducing to you, Sabine

This is our Beautiful International Practicum Coordinator from Denamark, Sabine. She's been looking after us, ensuring that all's good. And that doggie over there is her dog, Phoebe. An adorable, tamed young doggie she is. :)

Friday to Saturday

Friday: Hamlet's Castle

We went to visit the Hamlet's Castle. Kronborg is known by many also as "Elsinore," the setting of William Shakespeare's famous tragedy Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. The interior of the castle were really interesting with different settings of the rooms that the royals stayed in as well as the ballroom. 

A minature sculpture of the Hamlet's castle. 

 

Hamlet's castle.

There were lots of duckling and swan swimming around the lake near the Hamlet's Castle.

Took a photo together before entering the castle.

Look at how magnificent the castle looks from the inside!
 Notice the guy in black sitting there? There is suppose to be a fountain at the spot that he was sitting but it was 'stolen' from the castle. 

The picture below is the miniature sculpture of how the fountain would look like if its still in the castle.

One of the paintings on the ceiling.

The ballroom.

Saturday: Day trip to Sweden

A trip to Sweden before practicum officially begins! We took a train ride to Malmo, Sweden. It only took half an hour for us to reached there. Greeted by Turning Torso, the tallest residential building in Sweden.

 

After a long walk we finally reached the dog park. The park is really huge and it is such a beautiful place.

Swans with cygnets. :)

After visiting the dog park, our next destination was the museums! 

Malmö museums

The museum have displays of the cars, trucks, utensils, movie and many other things from the past in Sweden. 

They even had a submarine (U3 submarine) where we can go in and take a look at how the interior looks like.

An attempt by Gunita to pull the bag which weighs 75kg, which is equivalent to the weight that each horse had to pull in the past.

Besides the photos shown above, there was also a section where they describe the inventions of various technology from the past that relates to physics and chemistry. There was also an area which had specimens of various animals and insects. Also a level where it had different science experiments that we could try out, it was really insightful and we definitely learned and had a lot of fun there.

Posted by: Chao Ngin, Gunita, Ying Ting, Xing Fen

First Day in Randersgade Skole

14 May 2014, Wednesday

It was our first visit to our Practicum school, Randersgade Skole. Randersgade Skole is a public school located in Randersgade the Copenhagen City Heart in Copenhagen, with a total of 500 students and 31 teachers. It is divided into preschool, also known as 0 grade, and 1-9th grade. Each class has an average of 24 students. So, that means that each class has a student-teacher ratio of 24:1, which differs from the normal Singapore classrooms which has a ratio of 40:1.

Even though we were told beforehand that Students do not call us using Miss or Mrs. Instead, they call us by our first names. It is a little strange. We will get used to it though.

We were greeted with a warm welcome upon our arrival and were first introduced to Søren Kirchheiner, our Coordinating Teacher (CT) and the Vice-Principal, Vibeke Backlund. Vibeke gave us information about the school, the class size, the student-teacher ratio as well as what is expected of the school from the ministry as we drank our tea and nibbled on the cookies. Soon after, Søren took over and briefed us on what was expected of us for the day. 

We then had to form groups based on the subjects we're taking. Thus, Xing Fen and Chao Ngin are in a group and Ying Ting and Gunita are in another Our respective partners have an important role to play during our practicum. We will not only discuss our lessons plans, but our partner would provide us with constructive feedback to help us improve as we go along.

He brought us to the first classes that we were going to observe for the day. Ying Ting and Gunita went to the Grade 3 Music class whereas Xing Fen and Chao Ngin went to the Grade 3 Maths class.

Ying Ting and I, Gunita, were greeted by Anne Thi Lam who informed them that the class was doing a project on the different ages of music. Each group will have to present their work to the class at the end of 3 lessons.

As the class worked, we walked around to see what they were up to and to talk to them about their projects. We even took photographs of the classroom and the students' shared workspace. It was really impressive.

The Classroom Layout

The Classroom Decor

The Shared Workspace Outside the Classroom

Students' Work put up at their shared Workspace

Meanwhile, Chao Ngin and Xing fen observed the 3rd Grade Math class. The Math teacher incorporated games with learning during class time. I, Chao Ngin, was impressed with the fact that the teacher was able to use the Smart Board to teach.

Halfway through the class, the students, together with the teacher, got up for a quick 5 minute break where they did some stretching exercises. I, Xing Fen, felt that after the activity, the students were refreshed and were ready to start work again. It was a fun way to get the students up on their feet while managing the class efficiently.

After the 1 and a half hour class, all of us had a break and then, we proceeded to the next class, which was the English class. The class was being relieved by a young gentleman and we were asked to help them with their class activity. Each student had to write a postcard to their pen-pal named David.

David is a character in one of the texts in their textbooks. He was from the Banana Islands and in the text, it was written that David was interested in coming to Denmark. As such, the students were tasked to write the postcard telling him what they liked about Denmark. It was an interesting activity for the students as they could draw and write. So even if they are not proficient in speaking or writing in English, they could draw and most, if not all, love to draw.

During the English class, we learned a lot about the students. Teachers in Denmark try not to yell at the students and trust them to behave themselves. Students are given opportunities to explore the language and help is given only when necessary.

Anyway, after the English class, two 8th Grade students brought us around the school. Here are some of the pictures of the school.

The Art Room                                                                          

Students mould, paint, draw and do anything related to art here.

 The Physics/Chemistry Lab Students conduct Chemistry and Physics related experiments here.

Part of The Library

The Gymnasium
Physical Education takes place here.

The Wood Design Room

The School Yard 
Students, regardless of their ages, gather here to play.

It was really cold out.

But seeing the students really happy to take a picture together made it all better :)

15 May 2014, Thursday

We met with Margit once again at UCC today. This time, we knew our way around and did not get lost (TeeHee). Our session with Margit was a thought-provoking one. She gave us a lot of information about the Danish Education System and the Folkeskole ( meaning, People's School). We discussed and compared the two education systems, the Singapore Education System and the Danish Education System. 

Let me tell you some of the differences. Here in Denmark, students do not have any grades from Grade 1 to Grade 7. It is all about the student's progress. However, from Grade 9 onwards, the grades would be revealed. On the other hand, in Singapore, there are exams every year right from Primary 1 all the way to university which are all graded. We studied the pros and cons of the two various systems and realised that each system, no matter how awesome (in our own words) it sounds, each system has its flaws and it's beauty. 

Just like Singapore, there is a plan that is set out by the Ministry of Education in Denmark, to provide schools with the system's guidelines. There are statements that talk about what the system should be like. However, like Margit explained, these are just ideals and do not always happen. 

Moreover, students get paid to go to school from Grade 0 all the way to the University level. I guess we now know why the taxes here are high and why the standard of living is high. Yes, Singaporeans do have to pay for their education after Primary 6 but it is not SOOO expensive. It is still good and affordable.

Coming here has taught us a lot. We may sometimes not like the way some systems work but at the end of the day, we need to look at each system critically and realise that different systems work for different people. Sometimes, we just need to accept it and deal with it in the best way possible. 

During the break and later on in the day, we met up with the two "tutors" who were assigned to the exchanged students. We also met up with the Canadian exchange students. They had been there 2 weeks before us and had lots to share. They told us what to expect in the classrooms and even told us about the education system back in Canada. It was really a stimulating day as we learned so much about different cultures and countries. 

We even met up with Gunita's sister as well as Ying Ting's friends for food and to explore a little. We tried different cakes in Denmark and they all had their unique flavours. It was really delicious. At night, Gunita's sister took us to a Middle Eastern joint for Kebabs. We filled our tummies and went back home to rest before tomorrow, the next exciting day.  We even went to a beautiful church. We were amazed by it's artistry and elegance.

This day was really filled with ups and downs that made us grow a little and that changed our perspectives a little. It was a fruitful day. So here we are, excited to start a new day and to have more stories and information to share. 

The Staircase in UCC

Staircase leading up to the Classrooms in UCC

Food at UCC
The people here eat really healthily. 

The View from Where We Were

The Inside of the Church

Another View of the Church

Roasted Cashew Nuts Stand as We walked to the Station

Kebab!!

Posted by: Chao Ngin, Gunita Shahi, Xing Fen and Ying Ting