'Horray for Danish Pastries'
Teresa Comba University of Brighton
  
What was the context/situation/challenge?  
This was when I was on a teacher exchange to Randers Denmark in March 2007 which was part of the Socrates (EU) programme for sharing educational experience for educators in a range of subject areas. For me this was Nursing Education. 
 
·Teaching Nursing in a different country (Denmark) Even though I was assured they would speak very good English, I remained uncertain until I actually went to the school on the first day.
·Identifying what was 'teaching' had to complete 8 hours of teaching. The school had only scheduled me for 2hrs but I had a timetable of 26 contact hours with a wide range of staff (educational, clinical and students), in the 5 days there - to discuss areas /themes of mutual interest.
·Achallenge was the organisation of the travel/accommodation/ subsistence as Denmark was not known for its cheapness (one flight return fare was quoted as £1000 + [local airport] and not direct with the cheapest £80 but had to go to a distant airport to benefit from this. Hotel expensive as only choice of two in the town and I had a limited budget.
·Dealing with internet information about transport systems that were not clearly translated into English.
·A further challenge was to live in a hotel for the 7 days.
·Another was to keep my journal for the period away so I could write my e-reflection of the experience.
·Accommodate the cultural differences and recognise the similarities which were very comforting.
 
What were the particular characteristics of the situation that engaged you in an immersive way? 
·I think the journal writing in the evening was certainly a feature.
·Once I got there and made contact with my facilitator I recognised its similarities with other study trips I'd done and so went into what I call my visitor mode. I smiled a lot, looked enthusiastic, asked lots of questions and made sure I was never late for anything. I also tried to speak some Danish but was not very successful and often they would laugh at my efforts but I did not respond in a similar fashion when they pronounced words somewhat idiosyncratically.
·I  found the contact with staff and students engaged me in an immersive way particularly when I went to the Intensive Care Unit (this was my area of expertise when I was practicing nursing 70s-80s when I was a unit sister and then a teacher of ITU)
 
What forms of learning / personal development / change emerged from the situation?  
·Writing reflectively even though I work with students engaged in reflective practice it is different when having to do this one's self. 
·Even writing this - the start for me is difficult but once started I can then get going and then can become emerged. I'm a last minute .com person I need that edge to create. Apparently my e- reflection was the most comprehensive of the ones received from all who went on exchanges from the school.
·I don't think any change has emerged from the situation (that I can think of at present)!
·I would be very happy to go to another country for another teaching exchange because I now know the things to look out for.
  
What words/concepts/feelings would you use to describe the immersive experience? 
·anxiety provoking (initially)
·exciting
·lonely
·satisfying (finally)
 
What principles or lessons can be drawn from this story?  
I think this experience helps me to develop (further) a particular module for Course Design and Planning in which we use a PBL approach and small groups (2-3) have to develop a programme and present it to their peers. This has to have relevance to their practice but the group may not all come from a similar background but have to learn to work together within a time frame they also have to experience a mini peer review that is assessed and videoed. 
 
 

 


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