Christel Claussen

Rolling On The River

Reflections on the methods project

When we started the Methods course, we were put in groups of four and three, and I ended up in the group with Silje and Berit It was pro!a!l" the !est solution !ecause the" live in Mosj#en and I often travel there, so the group could wor$ together, not just over the Internet I have found us wor$ing in groups ver" profita!le for all of us Since it has !een a group assignment, we as a group have focused on helping each other if there has !een an" pro!lems We chose to have %igh School students as our pupils for the project Silje and Berit are %igh School teachers and I just graduated from %igh School which made it ver" eas" for us picturing the tas$s and how we were going to ma$e them Silje actuall" got to tr" out some of the tas$s on the %igh School students she wor$s with We wor$ed out together how we were going to write this assignment, how the design was going to !e and how the set up should loo$ li$e We have also focused on ma$ing the project look li$e a group assignment We have made the set up on ever" tas$ loo$ the same The group wor$ has gone ver" well even though we live in different places I have travelled to Mosj#en a couple of times so that we could plan the different stops, !ut most of the time I have !een in &esna and the" have !een in Mosj#en We had to communicate online as well, so we made a group on 'ace!oo$ where we posted our su!missions That was ver" helpful to us !ecause then we had a place where we had all the su!missions gathered and ever"one in the group had a chance to loo$ at the su!missions and comment I thin$ we have !een ver" helpful to each other !" commenting on each others wor$ If there has !een something that didn(t sound right, we have commented on that tr"ing to ma$e the other person see it and fi) it We have also helped each other in the wa" that if someone didn(t have an" idea of what to write, we would come up with suggestions * project li$e this is something I wish m" teacher in %igh School would have come up with I thin$ the idea of location !ased activities and an e)tended classroom sounds fun to a lot of pupils in %igh School The t"pical +nglish lesson I had in %igh School was listening to the teacher and doing !oring tas$s in a !oo$ ,ocation !ased activities ta$e the pupils -out of the classroom. and in to the real world, which I thin$ is ver" helpful for the pupils after the" graduate I thin$ the pupils will !e a!le to use more of what the" learn in location !ased activities and e)tended classroom activities in the real world, than what the" learn in a !oo$ I am not sa"ing that %igh Schools should cut out the !oo$ and onl" do e)tended classroom activities, !ut to include !oth would !e helpful and

Christel Claussen

Rolling On The River

motivating to ever" pupil I thin$ pupils in %igh School do too little practical wor$, which is sad !ecause man" pupils learn !etter when the" do practical wor$ as well, not just theor" In this project our group have focused on a little more practical wor$ than teachers in %igh School do toda" We have tried to have a !alance !etween practical and theoretical wor$ On each stop, we have actuall" made a stop, li$e the li!rar" or Mc/onald(s This is !ecause we wanted to ma$e a connection !etween each tas$ We first selected a place, and then made tas$s related to that place so that it would ma$e sense to the pupils and teachers In the !eginning it was a 0uestion whether we should have a dead line on each stop I $now it has helped me a lot to have a dead line on each stop, !ecause it has pushed me to write consistentl" all the wa" If we haven(t had an" dead lines I fear that I ma"!e would have put the stops off until the last minute It was also !eneficial to m" group that we had dead lines !ecause then we had time to loo$ through each other(s su!missions Wor$ing with this project has !een a long, !ut amusing progress I have learned a lot a!out planning lessons, which I thin$ I will !e a!le to use later in life even though I am not going to !e a teacher I have had fun coming up with ideas to tas$s and tested m" creativit" In the last stop it was hard coming up with something ver" creative !ecause I felt I almost used it up in the previous stops, and our group tal$ed long a!out what we were going to do I thin$ we have done prett" well with our creativit" in each stop and in each tas$ When I went to %igh School, it felt li$e we had to do what was written in the school !oo$ There was almost nothing creative a!out the +nglish lessons, which made +nglish 0uite !oring even though it was m" favourite su!ject I have tried to ma$e the tas$s fun for the pupils as well as their learning and reaching competence goals, and I have tried to ma$e the pupils a!le to use what the" have learned later in life, not just in %igh School The Mississippi project is the product of m" group, and I am 0uite proud of what we have made Wor$ing in groups have !een ver" fun and I hope Silje and Berit will $eep the creativit" in tact as the" continue their teaching career +ven though I am not going to !e a teacher, this project has opened m" e"es to new wa"s of thin$ing when it comes to activities with children and motivation, and I $now I will have use for it later in life