http://www.afs.org/blog/icl/?p=512 Thu, 15 Nov 2012 13:44:57 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.afs.org/blog/icl/?p=512#comment-310 Melissa Hahn Wed, 07 Mar 2012 06:13:01 +0000 http://www.afs.org/blog/icl/?p=512#comment-310 Marjeta, you and Robert did such a nice job. We all felt welcome and I think the experience will always be a memorable one for me! One thing that comes to mind is the way that European students construct their learning - it seemed to me that this happened through asking questions. It always surprised me that students felt comfortable interrupting, and that the burden was on the presenter to clarify! I also remember the need for concrete examples, plus that my European counterparts seemed to feel comfortable challenging each other on an intellectual level in a way that I think would feel insulting back home in the US. Maybe the idea is separate from the person? Also, I was struck by how presenters wanted immediate verbal feedback at the end of the presentations - and that they expected it to be critical! I had never seen such a thing - it made me uncomfortable because I would never want to hurt someone's feelings in front of everyone, but at the same time it was very efficient! I also noticed how hungry for ideas my fellow participants were. After each series of sessions, German students in particular wanted to know all of the details about the sessions that they'd missed - and they wanted me to recount the whole lesson for them in detail! I am so used to providing very abbreviated summaries back in the US that I struggled to put into words the full scope of what I had seen in my own workshop - I simply couldn't communicate that way very naturally. What else? As an American, I noticed that I was quiet when my European colleagues were talkative and debating, because to me that was the right time to be quiet - and then at other times, it seemed I was talking the most, when they were being quiet. Perhaps this is a question of timing, and the way that we conduct and pace our conversations. One of the things I loved most was the emphasis on the outdoors, and overall health. It was hard to come back to a country that has lost the kind of equilibrium that Slovenes seem to have. Marjeta, you and Robert did such a nice job. We all felt welcome and I think the experience will always be a memorable one for me! One thing that comes to mind is the way that European students construct their learning – it seemed to me that this happened through asking questions. It always surprised me that students felt comfortable interrupting, and that the burden was on the presenter to clarify! I also remember the need for concrete examples, plus that my European counterparts seemed to feel comfortable challenging each other on an intellectual level in a way that I think would feel insulting back home in the US. Maybe the idea is separate from the person? Also, I was struck by how presenters wanted immediate verbal feedback at the end of the presentations – and that they expected it to be critical! I had never seen such a thing – it made me uncomfortable because I would never want to hurt someone’s feelings in front of everyone, but at the same time it was very efficient! I also noticed how hungry for ideas my fellow participants were. After each series of sessions, German students in particular wanted to know all of the details about the sessions that they’d missed – and they wanted me to recount the whole lesson for them in detail! I am so used to providing very abbreviated summaries back in the US that I struggled to put into words the full scope of what I had seen in my own workshop – I simply couldn’t communicate that way very naturally. What else? As an American, I noticed that I was quiet when my European colleagues were talkative and debating, because to me that was the right time to be quiet – and then at other times, it seemed I was talking the most, when they were being quiet. Perhaps this is a question of timing, and the way that we conduct and pace our conversations. One of the things I loved most was the emphasis on the outdoors, and overall health. It was hard to come back to a country that has lost the kind of equilibrium that Slovenes seem to have.

]]> http://www.afs.org/blog/icl/?p=512#comment-250 Marjeta Wed, 15 Feb 2012 08:40:15 +0000 http://www.afs.org/blog/icl/?p=512#comment-250 Hello Melissa, it's great to read your post-congress impressions!! Would love to hear more about: 'Several times, I was struck by how “European” the event felt.' I really have no idea, being a (Central) European myself (AND a local co-host of the event). Hello Melissa, it’s great to read your post-congress impressions!! Would love to hear more about: ‘Several times, I was struck by how “European” the event felt.’ I really have no idea, being a (Central) European myself (AND a local co-host of the event).

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