CIDRE Portfolio-Munich 2022
CIDRE Portfolio-Munich 2022
Embedded Files
My name is Chris Alston. I am an elementary school librarian and technology teacher. I love my job because I am not limited by subject or topic and can literally switch my lesson mid-class based on a question thrown out to me from a student. I love that my students, once they learned the concept of inquiry, began asking unprompted questions, even when I asked them for facts.
I enjoy teaching/learning about different cultures, eating new foods, and jumping right in to try new cultural experiences.
My favorite pastime is reading. Shhhh. Don't tell anyone, but it's usually an AUDIObook! I also enjoy food tours and "working in the yard." I can't really call it "gardening" since I mostly pull weeds, throw seeds, pick up sticks, and move dirt.
I grew up in a family of five children with thrifty parents who watched their wallets and were able to help all of us who wanted to go, to get through college debt free. However, we rarely traveled outside of North Carolina, and I was probably 30 years old before I got on a commercial flight. I've never been outside of the United States and am really looking forward to this adventure in Germany.
Written Reflections:
Reflection on German Education System:
BEFORE
Prior to going to Germany, my preconception of the educational system in Germany is that it offers advantages over the North Carolina educational model with which I am familiar. North Carolina students are generally offered one route, the academic route. The academic route is preparatory for college, but not all students are equipped for that route. Some are gifted mechanically. Some are gifted artistically. There are many ways to be gifted other than academically, and the North Carolina system of education does not prepare students for those routes. The fact that two-thirds of German students go the vocational route serves to further convince me that North Carolina is missing the mark.
My Germany project theme is to research the Bavarian educational model and compare/contrast it with North Carolina's model.
AFTER
While in Germany, I spoke with adults and one middle grades girl about their experiences with the education system in Germany. No one expressed any complaints, except for the middle grades child, but that was perhaps because adults were no longer in the school system, had established where they are in life, and accepted Germany's need to fill a greater number of jobs that do not require higher education degrees. On the other hand, my middle grades child was still a student, and struggling, because she felt like she was not very smart because she was attending Hauptschule instead of Gymnasium like her sibling. [More about the tiered secondary school system below.]
The adults offered defenses for the tiered system and the need for workers to fill the skilled labor industries that enable Germany to maintain a stable economic system. Even so, some said that it was a shame that the decision for a child's future was made so early in a student's life since some children do not develop academically or in maturity as early as others.
Surprising to me was no one boasted about the benefits of the German education system. This does not necessarily change my mind about the its benefits, however.
According to Studying-in-Germany.com, students are evaluated using a 6-point system, beginning in grade 2. This continues through grade 4, at which time a student's secondary school placement is based these evaluations and meeting Grundschule target outcomes. Germany’s most desired placement in a publicly-funded secondary schools is the “Gymnasium”. Gymnasium provides intensive and in-depth general education and prepares students for university studies and scientific work. A “Hauptschule” and “Realschule” secondary education lead to a vocational qualification, but it is also possible for students to move on to seek university entrance qualification. There are also public education secondary schools that only offer vocational training.
Visual Thinking Analysis - Documentary
An Account of My 1st Time Outside of the United States
Tripcast - Munich 2022
This link should allow you to join my Tripcast without an invitation.
This visual documentary tells the story (in reverse order) about my first time outside of the United States. Growing up in a family of five children meant that we drove everywhere; we didn't fly. I was almost 30 years old before I took my first commercial flight, not for fear of flying, but for economy.
My first commercial flight took me to Boston, and when I left the "subway" of Germany and entered the streets, that's what it felt like to me. I did not feel overwhelmed by the different languages, especially since I am used to hearing other languages spoken around me on a daily basis. I wasn't panicked by the signs in German because I had been equipped by my CIDRE classes with tools to read those signs. And most important of all, I was not afraid of the experience itself because I was with a peer group and with people I had come to know and trust. This last point was, I believe, the one that has previously kept me from experiencing life outside of the United States...fear of the unknown. But, with a group that I trusted and the tools to get around, oh! I forgot a big barrier to traveling. Money! Add on the grants provided. So, with all of the above available, my first time outside of the United States will not be my last. When I left Munich, I was already wondering, "Where will I go next summer?"
Hundewiese im Hirschgarten is a dog park in Munich, Germany. You might wonder why you would take your pooch to a dog park when it would seem that all of Germany is open to these well-behaved animals. Most European dogs, however, have been socialized to behave well towards other humans. When they come into contact with other pets on the street, though, their hackles are often raised as they wonder if they should protect their owner from the other beast. A dog park offers some structure and yet plenty of space to give your dog the opportunity to become used to other furry friends.
Click on the underlined words or the image above to be linked to the Clio article.
WhatsApp?
Cultural Observation
2022-July 10
“Monument to the Gays and Lesbians Persecuted under the Nazi Regime.”
Image to accompany
Cultural Observation
2022-July 10
Cultural Observation
2022-July 11
Munich Water Fountains
Cultural Observation
2022-July 13
Tipping in Germany
Cultural Observation
2022-July 17
Prien am Chiemsee
Prien am Chiemsee was not what I expected. In Munich, tourists like me are common and necessary to the economy, and are therefore (mostly) treated well. In Prien, especially as it was early on a Sunday morning when I arrived, I stuck out like a sore thumb. I was met first by a person who stopped their car, it seemed to keep an eye on me, because they left as soon as I moved away from the playground where a mother and child were enjoying the morning coolness. Then there was the woman who stood on her porch and watched me go down her street. She did not respond to my hello. Sorry, but I couldn't help but to giggle to myself. The scene was like that out of a movie!
The trip was not wasted. I spent three hours in Prien am Chiemsee, especially in the business section, as the town put great effort into fountains and sculptures and gardens throughout the village. What I took away from my experience is that small towns are small towns, full of suspicion of the "outsider," no matter the country.
Four Projects on Cultural Theme: Bavarian Education Model (vs. North Carolina Model)
Mode 6
Edpuzzle
Click on the link (below) and type in the code: vemozob
The German Education System
This video lesson contains an English speaker who went through the German school system. She explains the German school system with facts, statistics, and interviews. The lesson contains break points for students to answer content questions. The lesson also requires students to make inferences as to the meaning of words in the German language.
The Qs for this video are provided by Edpuzzle.
Mode 1
Two-Voice Poem
This two-voice poem represents a conclusion that I would like North Carolina Department of Education to reach when considering what is best for our students.
If the embed code does not connect you to the Munich 2022 collection, use this link.
Mode 3
HistoryPin
Prior to leaving the United States and traveling to Munich, I created a HistoryPin that included sites we planned to visit. While in Germany, I added Pins for sites I visited.
Application: I will use HistoryPin for local and world culture lessons. Locally, students will select Durham sites of interest and create Pins (using a rubric) for those sites. I will use this HistoryPin map to share my trip and as an example. For world culture lessons, students may select within different countries. We do world culture lessons during quarter 4.
Lesson Plan:
HistoryPin Lesson Chris Alston, Y. E. Smith Elementary
Rationale
During the school year, students will have multiple opportunities to use HistoryPin. The culminating activity will occur during the fourth quarter when we cover world culture. For the modeling portion of HistoryPin, I will use my own HistoryPin from Germany. For the training portion, I will use this lesson to teach students how to create their own pins in a Durham, North Carolina Historical Landmarks HistoryPin collection.
Standards
ISTE Standards: Strands 1 and 3
Time Required: 45 minutes
SWBT
Use resources provided to fill in the blanks and image for a Durham historical landmark assigned to them and then publish their post to the collection.
Materials Needed
Computer
Sites to visit: National Register of Historic Places listings in Durham County, North Carolina
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and [created HistoryPin collection].
Lesson Plan
In a previous lesson, the teacher will have modeled HistoryPin with her own Munich 2022 HistoryPin collection and introduced the project/lesson for today.
Teacher will assign each student one historic place from the National Register of Historic Places listings in Durham County, North Carolina From Wikipedia.
Students will visit the Wikipedia site and will use the information AND THE IMAGE from the site for their HistoryPin. [Using the given image will eliminate the time used searching for an image. This is an assignment to learn nuts-n-bolts, not a creative assignment.]
Students will use information and image available from the Wikipedia site to complete a pin in the teacher’s Durham, North Carolina Historical Sites collection.
Students will post completed work to the collection.
Differentiation
Need more help: Students who need additional assistance will be given a numbered sheet that indicates the correlation between the Wiki site and the HistoryPin site.
Accelerated Learners: Students who finish early will go back into the pin they have posted and add more details, such as finding additional information about the site and linking to an external site.
Assessment
Students who publish their post as outlined above by the end of the class period will have been highly successful. Students who finish later, outside of class, will also get full credit. Teacher cannot give credit for unpublished work.
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