Page 4 - SASTA Journal 2017

2 SASTA Journal Number 02 / 2017
Today, we started the morning at the Naritasan Temple. The guide spoke English and explained all of the rituals and important parts of the Japanese culture. From guarding dogs and lions to dragons that protect all water. Fun fact - gures in doorways, or buildings are found in pairs. On the right they have their mouths open as you are born with mouth open to cry and the rst sound being AH and gures on the left have their mouths closed as at the end, a nish point with the last sound having your mouth closed.
Each building made from wood have not one nail, all are expertly joined in different cross pieces for structure, support and ability to move with earthquakes. The paint on all comes from original sources, gold, rocks or gems ground up.
Many parts of their religion came from India as they feel India was
the birth place of civilisation. Under one of the main temples there
is a time capsule of peace that has messages from all of the world
leaders at the time from 1984. The leaders are Queen Elizabeth, Ronald Reagan, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, presidents from India, Canada and Germany and the Dalai Lama to be open in 2434.
During lunch and bus rides we were able to quiz each other on our teaching styles, resources and activities we use for different areas and year groups. Even if we had gained nothing else, being immersed in sharing professional dialog,
advice and critique of Australian education would have been worth
the trip. Due to our differences geographically, we all have different
ideas and experiences to share.
The afternoon was spent at the Museum of Aeronautical Sciences, as a STEM teacher who is spending the year focusing on aerodynamics; this was the place to go. Situated on the edge of Narita airport we saw the inside and outside of different aeroplanes, learnt fun facts about the aeroplanes and then my favourite part, turning each of the types of engines over. Outside, the museum had working models that had previously come from a small plane, a blimp and a helicopter. The spall plain was a piston engine, the blimp had a star radial engine and the helicopter had a jet engine. With the models of the engines we could understand how they worked, to re, turn turbines that then drove shafts.
Day 3: An Eye-opening Experience from Japan - by Sandy Davey
Having the opportunity to teach in Japan has truly been a-once-in-a-lifetime, career highlight. The intention of my visit to Midorimachi Elementary school was to re ect on the educational practices that I viewed during my short visit – however – I walked away learning more about myself.
It didn’t take long to realise that children are the same the world over. The Japanese students wore their love of learning and curious natures on their faces, and the classroom chatter, giggling and surprised looks were a delight to observe. We walked down the halls of the school as they high- ved us, with their calls of ‘Hi’ echoing behind us.
Prior to coming to Japan, I was aware of a national pedagogical shift in the teaching of science – a change from ‘teaching as telling’, to ‘teaching for understanding’ – by promoting practices such as active re ection, discussion and debate, and hands-on experimentation. This was to be my experience in-part, as I observed a Japanese elementary teacher in-action. His lesson was open-ended and his use of questioning admirable. The lesson quickly diverted from the lesson plan we had been presented with, as the students took charge of the experimental inquiry and invented their own ways of testing their hypothesis. At the end of the lesson, he drew the learnings together. He used a strategy of ‘Look, Look Deeply, Look Back,’ to plan his lesson, which is new to me and a strategy I will look more closely at.
Soon it was my turn to teach. Amidst the nerves, I prepared the materials for my lesson and for the entry of my Year
5 class - 30 students in total. They were very excited and took their places in the purpose-built, science laboratory, quickly - waiting to see what I had for them. They participated fully in the lesson and the experience of working with an interpreter was both different and exciting. I took comfort in knowing I had someone else to work alongside - however - the ow and timing of the lesson was interrupted. All new experiences that I have professionally grown from.