Teaching Practice Footprint

DNS 2017, the senior team, is now finalising one of the last periods of DNS programme: Teaching Practice. Teaching Practice lets us experiment in the reality of the classroom, apply teaching methodologies and most importantly, make mistakes and learn from them. However, teaching practice doesn’t end after the lessons. We also contribute to the teaching practice place by being in charge of the programme in the school and initiating a chosen project, our “Footprint”.

Here are the different footprints some of 17’ers are leaving in the schools they work:

Gianluca, Guendalina and Louisa, as teachers in Bustrup Day School and it’s care homes decided to create a sun in Mosaic:

“As the end of our teaching practice is approaching it was a necessity for us three to materialise in an artistic project our general feeling and recognition of the great experience we had in Bustrup.

After listing several words reminding us the bases of our teaching practice we decided to create a sun in mosaic fitting with the description that we all had about the warmth, energy and great atmosphere surrounding us for the last couple of months. We also had the wish to include the students in the Realisation of the project in order for them to recall their participation and involvement every time they will happen to see it.”

Dovile, teacher in Boserup brought the recycling system to the school:

“I had the opportunity to have my teaching practice in Boserup school, an amazing school surrounded by nature. As such, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the school implements nature into students’ daily school time as much as possible. But where I am leading with it? You guess it right, my ‘Footprint’ – Recycling system.

The reasons that brought me to implement a recycling system was a wish to teach a future generation how waste is a resource and how by recycling it, we citizens, are changing the linear economy to a circle one. This means that we create a system based on circulating the resources management. The waste gets used as a resource, instead of being dumped uselessly and damage the nature.

Recycling is in our hands. Whenever we buy something and latter unpack it, it can become something new or just dumped. From now, Roskilde school community has its hands-on recycling adventure. In the school, zones were created with marked recycling boxes for different waste (paper, plastic, glass, metal). Moreover, the school also recycles kitchen scraps by using them for compost and chicken food. The waste travels then to the bigger containers. Building a recycling system takes time, it takes learning and teaching. And here it meets all the community, where each person is responsible, no matter who they are (headmaster, teacher, or student). Exchanging knowledge, teaching each other, helping each other – this is what matters. This is our recycling system.”

Jenifer, Francesco and Inês, as DNS teachers, were part of reviewing and rewriting the DNS programme and its book:

“There was no better way for us to leave a footprint in our teaching place and school than bringing our skill in to use to something that is extremely needed. With already 3 to 4 years of experiences in the DNS programme and its community, we realised how relevant it was to enrich the DNS book with real experiences and strengthen its fundamental values.

What better way of owning your education than actively improving its programme? Those were integral parts of our Teaching Practice and DNS program: Ownership and Contribution.”