George Street Normal School
Examples of internationalisation activities at George Street Normal School.
Virtual links with a school in Japan mean that students at George Street Normal School in Dunedin can get an international experience without even needing to leave the country.
With a particular focus on connections with Asia, students have the added opportunity to learn about this fast growing region to help ensure they are equipped to embrace the opportunities that this region offers New Zealand.
What happens
Every fortnight students from George Street talk online with students of the same age from Gifu Shōtoku Primary School (a university-attached primary school in Gifu, central Japan). All students at Years 5 and 6 have the opportunity to take part. Students at each school prepare a topic and a set of associated questions, then, using clear communication protocols and primarily the English language, they engage in an online video conference.
Students really enjoy this and develop skills in talking to an audience, communicating to a second language group, learning some Japanese words and phrases, and discovering aspects of each other’s culture that differ or are the same. An example might be, ‘what we do after school’.
Such regular live video conferencing has built understanding and excitement as students develop their ‘screen buddy’ relationships.
Both schools have the support and encouragement of their adjacent universities, which are also linked. This connection dates from 2003 when the head of Gifu Shōtoku Gakuen University’s educational computing programme, Professor Toshihide Ishihara, arrived in New Zealand to commence a year’s sabbatical at the Dunedin College of Education.
While here, Professor Ishihara helped set up electronic, educational networking between George Street and Gifu Shōtoku. Initial discussions between the schools centred on their common goals to engender a strong relationship focused on friendship and intercultural understanding.
With the continued support of George Street Principal Rod Galloway, the initiative has gone from strength to strength and other projects are planned.
Benefits and outcomes
The School observes that the intercultural understanding, attitudes and skills developed in George Street students are all part of the package of what they will need to succeed in an interconnected 21st century world.
George Street is demonstrating with Gifu Shōtoku how technology can make global connections very real, and this online relationship has also led the schools to organise exchanges.
For a few days in the first term of 2008, 2009 and 2010 Gifu Shōtoku students and teachers have visited George Street, taken part in classes and worked on their English. Part of the Gifu Shōtoku students’ experience has been to join their George Street buddy’s family for an evening to see what kids do after school (playing sport, going to ballet, visiting the library and so on), have an evening meal and generally to get a snapshot of life in New Zealand.
During these visits, the senior teacher from Gifu Shōtoku also visits many George Street classes, takes some demonstration lessons, introducing children to Japanese words and phrases, and teaches the whole school the traditional games and dances.
Other exchanges have focused on staff, who have been able to observe the differences in teaching practice between the two cultures.
Reciprocal visits to George Street by Gifu Shōtoku students, parents and teachers are set to become annual events. A group of students, teachers and parents will visit Gifu Shōtoku in October 2010.
Pointers
Everyone involved at George Street noted that while travel is great, it is not essential for effective internationalisation. Furthermore, with developments in computer and internet technology, online international interactions needn’t be expensive or complicated.
Contacts
About internationalisation at George Street Normal School
George Street Normal School is located in Dunedin, near the University of Otago. It has a close working relationship with the College of Education and has a significant proportion of students who are the children of University students and staff.
Many of the students were born outside New Zealand and the School has quite an Asian focus with nearly 10% of its students having Asian heritage. The School deems it important to allow new students coming from overseas to speak their own language while in class and it is not uncommon to hear children conversing in, for example, Mandarin or Yiddish when on task or solving a problem. New students are also assigned a buddy, of their native culture if possible, for the initial weeks.
Principal Rod Galloway and staff are very aware and supportive of the internationalised environment within the school and they believe internationalisation in the school is about understanding, feeling and acting out what it means.
The Board of Trustees strongly supports initiatives to date, but do want to see even more international activities and the benefits which accrue from those. They are keen to reinforce the School’s internationalisation goals, making them even more explicit.
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