An Educational Adventure in Prague

Okay so after being here for six weeks I have eaten, seen, and experienced a lot in the Czech Republic. This is just a brief list of my top 15 favorite things in Prague and Cesky Krumlov. You will be able to find some of my favorite restaurants, treats, and most memorable places I have visited.. right here!

1. Vanilkla gelato from Angelato
2. Anything/everything at Kri Kri (Greek restaurant near Pension)
3. 80s & 90s night at Lucerna (club by Wenceslas Square)
4. Rafting in Cesky Krumlov
5. Family dinners at the Institute
6. 24 CZK double scoop gelato at Namesti Miru tramstop
7. Tesco
8. Complementary water and tea at Laundromat
9. Miss Fit cereal
10. Namesti Miru escalators
11. Blue Pear dish at the Pub
12. Chips and drinks at Puerto Rico (restaurant near Pension)
13. Merlin Hostel in Cesky Krumlov
14. Fitness Flora
15. Spanish Synagogue in Jewish Quarter

As I talked about in my EDP blog, you can see that we have had a VERY busy week this week.  We’ve travelled to Italy, taught in a Czech elementary classroom, read many chapters in our textbooks, and even constructed and administered our own multiple choice test!
I feel like during this week, I have had the chance to use assessment on two different occasions. The first was during our lesson at the Czech elementary school.  Kayla, Sarah, and I learned that we would each have the chance to teach a mini-lesson to a English class in the third grade.  Based off our observations of the first grade class, we created lessons that we thought would be in the children’s’ ZPD. However, the children’s English language skills accelerated much faster than we anticipated and the children showed to be much more advanced. While we did not utilize any form of formal assessment, we were able to conduct informal assessments.  Throughout the lesson I paid attention to the children’s engagement and as we got further into the lesson the students proved to be more efficient at the material (verb usage).
Another form of assessment that I experienced was in a more formal setting.  Kayla and I were assigned a project in which we had to construct a multiple choice test and administer to at least fifteen people.  The test was to be designed for a elementary class in the Czech Republic (ergo, the material was culture specific).  The process of creating the test proved laborious, as Kayla and I researched our subjects and constantly revised our questions.  After we finished writing the tests we administered the tests to our other NC State study abroad classmates.  Not so surprisingly, most failed.  We analyzed their answers in depth, practicing computing things like item discrimination and item difficulty.  Overall, this project was very valuable- it showed me what skills I need to further develop and how significant content mismatch between instruction and assessment can really be.

So last weekend we got back from our travels to Italy. We visited Venice that was more of an extended weekend stay (mostly due to our flight reservation difficulties). Since we were gone we had a hard time coming back to school and having a lot to make up.  However, the trip was well worth it.  The first day we spent the day simply wandering the streets of Venice, kind of just getting lost in the city.  The second day we went to a nearby island, Lido, and spent the day on the beach.  The rest of the time we spent visiting Italy’s tourist landmarks (S. Mark’s Basicalla, ect). Other highlights included authentic Italian pizza and pasta and large quantities of gelato!

After our amazing time in Italy, I would have to admit I was a little disheartened coming back to Prague. However, we did have a pretty hectic week ahead of us.  We had a lot of work in our classes and planned and taught our first lesson in a Czech elementary classroom!  Kayla, Sarah, and I worked together to design an English lesson that focused on verb vocabulary and usage. However, once we actually got inside the classroom and began our lesson, we quickly learned that the students’ English level was actually

much higher than we anticipated.  In EDP this week we talked about metacognition and learning strategies.  Since I had the first portion of the lesson to teach, I introduced the lesson by asking some pretty simple questions. I reminded them of some of the English they had been learning so far this year. I also asked them what kind of verbs they remembered. At first, the students seemed like they had no idea what I was talking about. However, after I provided an example of a verb and explained that a verb “is what you do”; the students immediately rattled off numerous verbs they remembered. This is an example of the students’ ability to retrieve relevant prior knowledge.

I encouraged the students to think about what they already knew about the topic- and they took it from there.  Although the lesson w

as obviously not in the range of their ZPD because it was not challenging enough for them, I think the students had a good time because our activities were so interactive.

After our amazing weekend in beautiful weekend in Cesky Krumlov and my upcoming travels to Italy, I am noticing how fast my time here in Europe is slipping away very quickly.  At the end of this experience I have shared a lot with my peers, but we have also been going through some different things.  We have different interests and are enrolled in different types of classes.
This week in ELM350, we have been discussing the use of constructed-response assessments in comparisons to selected-response assessments.  The main difference between the two types of exercises is obvious: selected-response items allows students to select an answer out of number of choices, whereas in constructed-response items, students are required to answer it without any choices, ergo they have to construct the answer.  Examples of these types include multiple choice, true-false, matching (selected-response) and oral testing, written essays, short answers, and fill in the blank (constructed-response) assessments. The use of these two types of items in an assessments both serve different purposes, each having both advantages and disadvantages.  In one aspect, selected-response items can cover a wider range of material whereas, constructed-response items allow a student to cover an individual item much more in depth.
If I were required to reflect on my experience here thus far, I feel like a constructed-response format would be needed. All of my classmates and friends here have differently experienced Prague and other countries in Europe.  It would be insufficient to complete a selected-response type of assessment if its objective was to discover the significance and meaning of this study abroad experience.  I feel a constructed-response type of item would allow for more freedom and not be too restrictive.  An essay type of response item would also offer me the opportunity to really express the diverse things I have experienced in a more interconnected way.  This blog in itself is an example of this.  Every week I seem to have new adventures that I have been able relate to my education classes here in my writing in the form of this post (essay).

We just got back from our exciting weekend excursion to Cesky Krumlov.  Our group was split in half, which meant twenty of us took a four-hour bus ride through the countryside of the Czech Republic and made it to our destination- Hostel Merlin.  While there we ate dinner in a medieval restaurant, toured a castle, and my personal favorite- went rafting in the middle of a thunderstorm.  This weekend was also filled with learning important Czech words and phrases.  Most of these included, prosim, naschledanou, dobry den, zvlásť, and dekuji- which give us the important translations for please, goodbye, hello, separate (checks), and thank you.  We also use the Czech language when we refer to various stations on the Metro. A few popular ones are Namesti miru, I.P. Pavlova, Mustek, Muzeum, and Jiřího z Poděbrad. My knowledge of these phrases and names come from simple repitition of the words (rehearsal).  Especially when using the public transportation, I listen to the voice-over announcing the upcoming stations and I attempt to imitate her pronunciation of the stops.  However, for some words or phrases, I have failed to pronounce correctly even though I have practiced numerous times.
Using mnemonics is a helpful way to learn something when you have no prior knowledge of the material.  In my next assignment for Educational Psychology, we are assigned to come up with examples of mnemonics as a way to remember important Czech phrases and words.  For example, Jiřího z Poděbrad is the name of the station we get off at to walk to our pension.  So whenever I refer to this stop with my friends I say ‘JZP’ instead of Jirio z Podebrad. This is an example of using superimposed meaningful structure as away to remember the needed information.  We also used a type of verbal mediator when we kept referring to Cesky Krumlov as Krispy Kreamlov- making a connection between the city and Krispy Kream doughnuts.  While the two ideas are pretty random and unrelated to each other, I think I will always be able to remember the name of the city because of the unique relationship we made between the two.

This week in class was an especially exciting time since we were able to observe a Czech elementary school classroom.  Once entering the school, right away I noticed crowds of rambunctious students running and playing games in the hallway.  Initially I was a little surprised at the activity inside and I become a little overwhelmed. However, once sat in the classroom and the teacher began class, the students immediately sat down and were ready to learn. This is very different from what I am used to back in the States; at home elementary schools have lines and hall monitors for every activity in the hallways in comparison to here where children seemed like they were just let loose. However, this less controlling method seems to work because the students get their energy out and when the song plays, the children are ready for instruction. The teacher first played a song and the students sang along.  Following, the teacher introduced an activity that focused on recall, spelling, and cursive writing. This activity pretty much dominated the rest of the class. A student would roll a dice showing a letter of the alphabet. Then the groups of students had to come up with a name, animal, and object starting with that selected letter. They had to spell the word correctly and write in acceptable cursive manuscript.
In class this week we talked about different levels of instruction and assessment through the lens of Bloom’s taxonomy. There are six different levels, increasing in level of difficulty.  In this situation, I feel like the teacher’s “word-activity” mainly stayed within the first level of cognitive domain, knowledge.  In this first level, the instruction or assessment is demanding rote memory and learning facts from the students.  In the teacher’s exercise, students were required to remember a word and how to spell it. The students then had to practice writing the word in cursive.  All of these tasks fall into Bloom’s “knowledge” level.
This experience was valuable to see because it was my first time really applying theories and knowledge into the field (the classroom).  I was able to see how significant the activity was and what it actually demanded from the students. I learned that in most elementary school instruction, most assessment and activities will fall into the first couple levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy since the students are not necessarily advanced yet at this young of age.

So far this week I have visited the Jewish Quarter and a couple other museums. I actually went back to the Jewish Quarter a second time because there was so much to see, I needed an additional visit to see everything! I also made my first trip to the Laundromat and of course did a few errands at the grocery store.  My class (Kayla, Sarah, and myself) was also given the opportunity to visit a local elementary school classroom! I really enjoyed this experience because I was especially interested to see any differences that I might be able to notice between instructional methods used here versus in the states.
In class this week we focused on group differences, where culture comprises a major aspect of this topic.  We discussed how in any single classroom there would be evidence of cultural and ethnic diversity and that individuals of this nature may not behave in the same manner that we are familiar with.  For example, in some cultures it may be disrespectful to make eye contact with a superior, but in the United States eye contact reflects attentiveness and engagement. Also, some cultures have different perceptions of what level of personal space is appropriate. I have experienced this last example frequently in my time here so far.  On the metro or tram I have noticed that even if there is room to spread out, people will most often sit or stand right up against you.  At first I found this uncomfortable, but I soon realized that the locals here are used to being in big crowds, since they live in the city, so this closeness is appropriate to them.
I think my study abroad experience will prove to be very valuable when I create my own classroom environment because this time has forced me to become aware of cultural and ethnic diversity. It is one thing to read about it in class, but completely different learned knowledge when I have actually experienced it.

During this week my ELM class has focused on the reliability and validity of assessments, emphasizing the significance of such results. Reliability refers to the consistency of results, whereas validity refers to the extent at which the assessment actually measures what it is intended to measure. In class this week we worked with these concepts during an activity in which Kayla and I were asked to design a grading rubric to rate how beautiful statues were around the city. We were attempting to create a rubric that would prove to be reliable and show consistency.  This task was much harder than we initially anticipated. While designing the questions we tried to eliminate any questions that would involve subjective judgement.  For instance, how can you create a question rating beauty if the definition of beauty is not the same thing to every individual.  After designing the questions, the three of us went into the city and rated five statues. At the end of class we analyzed the results and compared them to one another. Surprisingly, we found that our scores were pretty reliable (we rated statues similarly), however, we found a new problem with out rubric.  While it did show reliability, the test did not prove to be very valid.  We found that are questions did not necessarily reflect the issue of identifying beauty.  Therefore, we concluded that are test was not a good one as it did not actually test what it stated (beauty).
From this activity, I learned that test design is actually a very difficult task to successfully complete. It made me aware that you need consider the material being tested and its possibility for subjective interpretation (especially with inter-rater/intra-rater).  My study here in Prague thus far has made a strong impression on me that really fortifies these concepts. I realized that while I may be used to people thinking similarly to me at home (reliability) and that I should not be so quick to assume that my way of thinking is the norm. In Prague, the difference in culture has proven to be very beneficial to me.  I will remember that as a teacher I need to appreciate the differences in ethnic groups and individuals.  Becoming aware of these differences will help me be a better teacher as I will need to pay attention to my methods of teaching and designing objective assessments.

So it’s just now a couple days after the two week mark here in prague and I already feel as though I have been here for a long time! -Which is not to say that time is going slowly, it seems like my stay here is flying by! I feel like I have adapted much better this week, as I am finally getting the hang of the metro and tram transportation systems.  I also can now navigate myself to the institute, nearest tesco, grocery store, gym, and a few favorite resturants- all significant feats.  However, something that I still struggle with relates to a topic that we covered in my ed. psych class this week. We read and discussed a case study in which a student was experiencing cultural mismatch with his new peers at school. The term cultural mismatch refers to a “situation in which a child’s home culture and school culture hold conflicting expectations for the child’s behavior” (Ormrod 112). The boy in the case study was mocked by his new peers because he spoke and dressed differently from them. The boy did not necessarily adjust to the culture of his new school because he simply assimilated into his new environment- instead of trying to learn everything about this new culture.
I have recently found myself in similar situations in my experience in Prague this week.  My experiences may seem petty in comparison to the boy’s situation, but they still convey the cultural mismatch phenomena that occurs so often.  For example, a trip to the grocery store is always one of the most interesting (and sometimes challenging) excursions. When I went to buy fruit I picked out hte bananas I wanted and simply brought them to the cash register. When the cashier got to the bananas he started telling me something in Czech, which I obviously did not understand. I eventually realized that in some stores here you are supposed to weigh produce and put a sticker on it that displayed the weight and price of the produce.  Following this, you are supposed to bring them up to the cash register.  I did not know that this was the norm here and failed to realize it during shopping because I was simply assimilating into my new environment.  I took my past knowledge of grocery shopping from my past experience and applied it to my new environement (grocery store outside of the states). Obviously, assimilation did not work in this situation though which conveys the cultural mismatch between myself and other Czech locals that are familiar with such norms.
Despite these little mishaps (which probably happen daily), I have found that learning from these mistakes force me to pay alot more attention to my surroundings.  I also realized that I cannot simply assume that everything here will function as I am used to it in America. This is probably why the study abroad experience is so significant- we are forced to learn and adapt to an entirely new setting.

It seems as though during the most recent years traditional instruction and assessment strategies are being criticized more often and that authentic assessment techniques are becoming more widely encouraged.  Traditional assessment includes true-false, matching, and multiple choice testing.  Critics of this type of assessment claim that these tests only usually test the lower level cognitive skills, whereas authentic assessments require more complex thinking of the test taker.

While I have only been studying here in Prague for a little over a week, I feel like my entire stay here is an authentic learning experience.  I don’t think I am actually going to be tested on my knowledge of Czech culture, but living here and participating in daily activities forces me to learn about the culture in an ‘authentic’ way.  I am not being lectured or researching Czech culture from a distance, but I am experiencing the culture every day whether I am going grocery shopping or trying to navigate my way around the city. This shows how my participation in this study abroad program resembles an ‘authentic’ method of learning about a foreign culture.

However, I can also relate these concepts of traditional and authentic tasks/assessment specifically to my study in education.  In both classes I received a syllabus stating various expectations and projects to be completed throughout the courses.   Kayla and I will be required to take final exams and complete assignments that are in the forms of traditional assessment.  This is the type of assessment that I am familiar with from my experience in high school and classes at NC State.  However, studying abroad in Prague has given me the opportunity to learn in a unique way.  I will not only be tested of my knowledge of educational psychology and measurement and assessment by formal exams and quizzes; I will also be tested of my knowledge through an authentic method of assessment through my microteaching activities.  During these microteaching sessions I will be tested of what I have learned in class and my ability to teach a lesson inside a Czech elementary classroom. Overall, I think living and studying in Prague will offer me great learning opportunities as I am consonantly challenged in ways that I am not necessarily used to.