The Plan:
I currently teach at
Bewegung, a kindergarten in Seoul, Korea. The school is based off a German
model and is very activity based. The students’ schedule starts at around
9:45/10am. After a morning snack and free time to run around, the classes start
10:10. Throughout the day the students will have 30 minutes of class followed
by 10 minutes of free time, there is a 50 minute lunch break at noon. Because
of the continue breaks throughout the day I find the students are in an
excellent attitude to learn in the classroom. I will be observing the
students from the morning until lunch.
The classes are
conducted in both Korean and English at about a 50/50 rate. The classes I teach
in English are reading, science, phonics, and storytelling.
The students in the
school are all Korean between the ages of 3-7. Mainly I teach the 6 & 7
year olds but I definitely interact with the younger students during the breaks
between classes. As I mentioned above the school is very activity based so the
children learn through games, building, and creating. However my classes often
use books. Aside from CD Players in the classrooms and computers for staff
there is no technology used for the lessons.
My plan is to document
the classes I attend and teach tomorrow. I’ll try to interview some of the
older students but in all honesty their English language level is pretty basic.
I’ll capture some classes by video and interview some of the other teachers in
the school to obtain information for the report.
Some Questions for the teachers/staff:
Do you think these
students would benefit with more technology in the classroom?
How important do you
feel learning through technology is in this current age?
What motivates children
to learn at Bewegung?
How do you think the
young age of these children affects their ability to learn?
Do any of the students
in the school have any special needs?
Are there any specific
subjects or activities that the students enjoy above others?
Are there any other
conditions affecting the students’ learning?
Questions for students:
Do you find the lessons in school
interesting or boring?
What is your favorite in
class?
Would you like to have
computers or videos in class?
How often do you use
computer/tablets at home?
What do you use the
computers at home for?
The
Report:
First of all a brief
overview of the persona of my students and the information I received from my
interview questions and observations. The students in Bewegung rang from three
to seven years old. All of the students in the school are currently Korean
although I was told that foreign students have attended in the past. Most of
the students started at the school at around 4 years old and this school is the
first regular interaction they have with people outside their own family.
Needless to say the three and four year old children have a problem adjusting
when they first enroll. The class sizes are pretty small for the most part. The
largest class, the six year old class, has 12 students. The seven, five, and
four year old classes have eight, ten, and six students respectively.
Although I don’t have
access to any financial information from the student’s families, I can guess
from the tuition of the school and the job titles of the parents (and the handbags)
that they are fairly well off. I would guess they are upper-middle class. Quite
a few of the parents are both full time professionals. In terms of cultural
influences I would say there is not a lot differentiating the students at this
school from children their age in other countries. While they are fully aware
they are Korean they seem to be fairly ignorant of the outside world. A few had
been on family trips to Guam, the Philippians, and Thailand. Their interests
lie in things like Lego and other toys, dinosaurs, strange cartoons that I have
never heard of, and other typical childhood fascinations.
As I mentioned in the
plan, Bewegung’s lessons are very hands on and activity based. In the classes
students are often creating something or working on a project. These activity
can be a music, math, or science lessons but they could also be more abstract
and based on critical thinking and problem solving. One lesson I observed with
the 7 year old class was a science lesson in which the students were making a
sundial. They learned about shadows, the place of the sun in the sky throughout
the day, and telling time. Another interesting aspect of the student’s day is
their frequent free (play) time, ten minutes between every class. The students
are very social and active during this time and often some of the themes and
activities from the lesson spill over into the free time.
As far as the staff and
teachers knew there were no students that had be diagnosed with any kind of
disability. There were no students with physical disabilities however, is
obviously at least one student that has pretty extreme problems with the
material and probably has some sort of learning disability.
The school is filled
with games, educational toys, and tools for art activities. In terms of digital
technology there is none. It is pretty rare for a kindergarten in Korean to
have no screen in the classroom and it seems to be a conscious choice by the
school. When the children were asked if they wanted video and computers for
educational games in the class, the students unsurprisingly said yes. At home
the students have regular access to TV, computers, and tablets. Some said they
have regular access to these tool and some said their parents wouldn’t let them
use them. Most of the students said they use their computers and tablets for
games, however, these games sound like they have educational purposes rather
than being purely for entertainment.
The students at
Bewegung seem to enjoy their time at the school. The ratio of time studying in
the classroom and independent play time seems to work well to keep the students
focused during lessons. While I think tablets, video, and other digital
technology could be incorporated into the classroom at this school there
doesn’t seem to be a great need for it.
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