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Reflections

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Due to the collaborative nature of the project it was vital that we, as members of a wider research team, were consistently documenting our reflections in a way that was palpable and accessible to others. Doing this allowed for more detailed, and ultimately more fruitful, discussion in weekly plenary meetings. In alignment with the formal UCM course requirements of the UGR3003, we completed multiple reflection exercises throughout the semester, but the reflections to which this section refers to pertain specifically to our role in the Cambridge A Global Perspectives (GP) classroom, generating ideas for the following week, and the overall progression of the project.

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Initial case analysis & project proposal

 

At the beginning of the project, we generated a descriptive review of the case, reflective our our understanding of the issue as perceived by the client and our academic advisor, and the planned research methodology. The proposed research plan evolved organically as a result of practical experience inside the classroom and several discussions within our research team, as well as interactions with extraneous academics not directly involved with the project.

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Porta Mosana: First visit 

 

Acquainting ourselves with the grounds, its classrooms and available resources, was pivotal to our understanding of both the teachers and students there. Both of our respective backgrounds as students in the United States and the United Kingdom highlighted the cultural differences in 'school life' in the Netherlands, as well as between both of our home countries. Casper Gardeniers, our client, and the coordinator of the bilingual department of tweetalig students at Porta Mosana, spoke to us about his understanding of the student body, their predominant stressors and extracurriculars, as well as the resources available for students who may benefit from extra support. Together we identified sustained student engagement as a major determinant of the gap between students' capability and performance. This dichotomy has been exacerbated by the shift to hybrid and online education as a result of the pandemic. The Global Perspectives course it itself unique, as its focus on transferable skills differs greatly of from the content driven orientation many of the other classes taken by the students. However, its unique nature also results in some niche challenges. Students do not normally recognize the benefits of the course until commencement and completion of their university studies. This signifies the students' first experience of delayed gratification well-known by academics in higher education, and also a deepening of the gap between motivation and performance. In terms of the stakeholder analysis, the mission is clear: increased engagement and performance of students in the GP class, not only measured by their ultimate Cambridge A scores but in the skills they develop and can practice into the future. The operation is also defined, by both the terms of the curriculum content as structured by Cambridge A but also by the structure of teaching as influenced by national corona regulations in the Netherlands and the implementation of such rules by the Porta Mosana administration and staff. Based on Casper's reflections from the past spring, potential structures provided by Porta Mosana, and our own thoughts, we created different plans and courses of action should in-person class be replaced by hybrid or online education. 

 

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Bridging the gap: Our role

 

One of our roles as teaching assistants was to mitigate the buffer Casper felt between student and teacher during online education, and maintain student participation and engagement. We determined our role in the classroom to be that of a bridge - connecting teacher with students, serving as teaching colleagues, and representing accessible authority in the classroom. It became clear that close interaction with the students would be pivotal in understanding their thought process when faced with and resolving new academic obstacles. Furthermore, honesty and vulnerability regarding our own experiences is key to building genuine relationships with the students. In doing so, we hope that we may demonstrate what not and what to do, and provide greater insight into their forthcoming university experiences. The ultimate goal of our our observations of Casper’s teaching methods, our review of GP learning resources, our understanding of the students’ thought processes, and our investigations of active pedagogy, was to allow us to distil both the gaps and “patches” of knowledge acquisition. With this realized, attempt to create a more tangible and transferable teaching method that can be used for and by GP classes throughout this year and the academic years to come.