Hello! I'm Clever Apple!!
Today, I would like to write about my study abroad experience!
Today's topic is, "What did I study while I was studying in Gifu? "
The photo above is a " jacaranda tree " taken in Sydney !
I took this photo at night, so it doesn't look so nice, but it 's a very beautiful tree that looks like a purple cherry blossom! !
In Australia, the best season for seeing them is from October to December! !
Today I will continue to write about what I studied in Gifu !
Please see this article about how I decided to study abroad in Gifu instead of Australia!
■Please also see this■
In this article, I would like to write about ①Leading, Developing and Managing People (human resource development).
What kind of subject?
First, let me explain about this subject !
The aim of this subject is to help students understand “Human Resource Development and Management at Schools” .
Actually, this subject is not my major, TESOL (Teaching English).
At University of Wollongong, students register for courses once every six months, but the subjects they can take vary depending on the semester.
In the first semester, I got enrolled in some courses without thinking too much about the next terms, and even though there were courses I wanted to take in my department, I was unable to take them due to the registering system.
Therefore, I decided to take a course in the field of leadership, thinking positively, "This is also a good opportunity!" (This was where hell began.)
The new semester began, and I started to read some of the reading materials, just like the previous semester.
However.....
"What is this? I have no idea!"
The contents were totally new to me!
I had learned about "English teaching method" at a Japanese university to some extent, so I had some background knowledge and did not have much difficulty with the content of the TESOL classes.
However, I have never learned about school management and human resource...
When I read some weekly readings, it takes a long time because there are technical terms.
I thought "Oh, maybe I took the wrong subject..."
Furthermore, after attending the lectures, I noticed that most of the students taking this course were principals or administrators of local schools in Australia! !
In the Zoom class, we were divided into several groups and had discussions, but I couldn't understand the contents of the reading assignments, and I couldn't understand the lecture either. I had no choice but to listen to the discussion by the principals that I couldn't understand at all....
Also, I wasn't interested in the content of the course, and it was difficult.
However, as I gradually understood the contents, there were some interesting things, so I don't regret taking this subject!
1. Assignment ① Essay
Well, the first assignment in this subject is the weekly forum participation comment + 2000-word essay .
This assignment is divided into two parts. In Part 1, you will post your comments on the weekly online form on the theme decided by the professor, and attach the screenshots as evidence.
If you do this well every time, it seems that points will not be deducted!
The second part was to "summarize the importance of Professional Capital and Collaborative Cultures to succeed as a school leader . "
One of the reasons I chose this course was that there were only two assignments, but it was nothing but hell to summarize in 2000 words about something I didn't understand well...hahaha
I really struggled to finish writing 2000 words ....
I don't remember what I wrote anymore... I guess I deleted the memory because I wanted to escape... (I saved it in One Drive properly hahaha)
2. Assignment ② Project
The second assignment is Project !
This task was tough...
This task was to create a PowerPoint with about 10 slides that conveys the need for professional learning to school teachers + Specify the problem in the given school situation in 2,500 words, and describe what you can do to solve the problems.
It was so hard to summarize in 2,500 words about things that I didn't understand, to think about what to say in a PowerPoint presentation to convince other teachers.
Furthermore, I have no experience as a manager or principal, let alone as a teacher.
Maybe I'm the one who should be managed 😢
However, since the 2,500-word summary report gave me the specific situation of the school, I was able to discover the problems of that school, so I didn't have too much trouble with the word count!
3. Summary
This subject was different from other subjects, but it was a valuable experience to talk with local teachers and principals in Australia and exchange information! !
If possible, I wanted to take TESOL subjects, which is my major, I think it's worth trying different subjects as well!!
The lesson I learned from this course was, "Don't jump into a field you're not very interested in half-heartedly".
I hope that it will be helpful for you to learn what you will learn at graduate school in Australia and what kind of challenges you would face! !
I will write about what I learned while studying abroad for a while from the next time!
May your study abroad be a wonderful one! ! !
