international practicum
SIS Swiss International School
Zürich, Switzerland
Yu Pin
Posted to the same school as my batchmate, Yu Pin!
My 5-week teaching stint at SIS Swiss International School provided me with the opportunity to understand and appreciate both Singapore and Switzerland’s education systems.
This exchange also gave me fresh perspectives on teaching and learning, and I gained valuable insights on how to become a more effective educator.
some context:
SIS is a private day school with educational levels from kindergarten to primary school, advanced secondary school and college. Bilingualism (German and English) is experienced both in class and day-to-day school life on all educational levels. Students at SIS can graduate both with the Swiss Matura and the International Baccalaureate (IB). The Swiss Matura is the equivalent of Singapore’s ‘A’ Level Examination, which students will take at the end of 12th grade.
Interestingly, as much as we are familiar with national exams being centrally set and moderated in Singapore, the Swiss Matura exams are locally set. The school teacher sets the paper and an expert, which is usually a university professor, will moderate the exam papers. The students’ results are accepted throughout Switzerland.
key takeaways
I saw first-hand how a positive classroom culture can encourage student engagement. Students thrive in a learning environment they perceive to be safe and conducive – students at SIS were unafraid of making mistakes and were extremely enthusiastic about sharing what they know with their teachers and peers.
With a more student-centric approach, students would be given more time and space to experience and engage in possible cognitive conflicts* (in the case of group discussions), resulting in greater learning.
* Cognitive conflicts are contradictions in information or knowledge that engender students to think about and resolve these contradictions.
Note to self:
Growth takes time!
lesson: earthquake hazards & mitigation
After sharing about the impacts of earthquakes, as well as some general building design guidelines, we tasked our students to construct earthquake-resistant buildings out of recycled materials.
We then tested the sturdiness of their buildings with our d.i.y earthquake shaking table, before introducing students to real-life examples of earthquake-resistant buildings.
The activity allowed students to apply their knowledge of earthquake mitigation strategies in a fun and memorable manner.
Using the 2011 Tōhoku Earthquake as a case study to illustrate earthquake impacts.
SHAKE TIME!
Element of earthquake-resistant design: reinforcing the building's base with extra cardboard and cotton.
Earthquake shaking table in action.
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