I thought college meant university, but apparently, college means high school in the United Kingdom. While observing the classes at the college, I’ve noticed many differences in how they run their school system. For one, this specific college seems to separate the female and male students and only have one gender in each class. The classes in the States are all coed unless, of course, it’s an all-girls or an all-boys school. The class sizes seem much smaller, as well. One class we observed only had 9 students in it. Classes in the States, in high school, are usually about 30 students each. It may be better to have fewer students, just so that it allows the students to connect to their professors better. This all is very dependent on the school, but this college looks to be less strict on the phone policy. They all their students to look things up on their phones or use their phones to take notes. I wanted to point out diversity again. I believe it’s just because Birmingham itself is so diverse, but the classes are very diverse when it comes to the students they enroll. This specific professor we are observing is highly observant of their students. He is consistently walking around the classroom and asking students if they need help or looking at their progress. I would love to have a professor like this because sometimes it’s difficult to get ahold of helpful resources when a professor is not willing to help their students. The professor asked us to “interview” the students and ask them three questions to help them work on their English. They are all from different countries and are learning English while in the UK. The professor is very patient with them and is willing to work with them slowly to ensure they understand how to respond to introduction questions. The students were told to voice record their responses to us asking and post them for an assignment. It was nice that we were asked to help these new students with their English. 

After recollecting with the other group that observed a different class, I discovered that their class was the complete opposite of mine. Their class was coed and the professor teaching the students was way more strict with the phone policy. I’m pretty sure that that specific class was full of Birmingham residents, so they were not foreign like ours was, and they were actually retaking that class so the professor was hard on them to ensure they understood the information and would pass the class the second time around.

We took a tour around the school and I’m really impressed. The building is very open with much sunlight. The library has educators to help students who need it. There’s a section of the school where students can quietly work on anything they need to while being surrounded by faculty to ask for help or make appointments. There is only one entrance into the school so that the students are properly protected from any outside issues. I noticed a sign that a society at the school had displayed. It said “Henna Art Society”. I’m assuming it’s a group where students get together to create henna art on each other. I think it’s beautiful because not only is henna a fun activity to do, it incorporates a culture to either introduce to those with opposite cultures or to help create a comfortable environment for those who share the same culture.

We lectured for a bit on a teaching cycle regarding expert input, student output, assessment, and feedback. I found it interesting that the Assistant Principal mentioned how if one of the steps is missing then it messes up the entire system, resulting in possible boredom from the students. He said that this system relates directly to the education systems but I can also connect it to healthcare and nursing. Patients need to be taught and educated on treatment and what procedures are going to be performed. This system and ideas are not new to the United States, but it’s something I never thought about before.

The second class we observed was an English class. This professor has very effective teaching techniques. I noticed that she tends to rephrase questions to her students when they answer them incorrectly. She doesn’t let other students answer questions for each other when they answer them incorrectly to ensure they understand the answer and how to arrive at the answer. She’s always leading her students in the right direction in any way she can. Either by rephrasing or telling students exactly where to find a piece of information so they can give the right answer and be on the same page. I heard her say “Think before you speak” to a student when she asked him a question to allow him to genuinely consider and use his critical thinking and not simply blurt out the first answer. She was writing information on the board once every student answered her questions and before she did so she made sure to explain why she’s writing certain things so that no one gets confused. The layout of the class was similar to a typical American English class. It was the professor that made the class a bit different with her techniques on engaging the students.

Today was a great experience and I learned so much about the differences in the schooling system. I enjoyed today and I’m glad we were given the opportunity to speak with the students, as well.