WorldWise DEIS Student Travel Workshop, Dec 03
Eight teachers and 30 students attended a WorldWise workshop on 3rd December in the Irish Aid Centre in Dublin. Five DEIS schools were awarded grants in 2009-10 to support student travel to their partner schools. The workshop was designed to help students and teachers to use their visits to develop their schools partnerships and their awareness of development education.
Students and their teachers from schools in Donegal, Cork, Roscommon and Dublin worked together to explore the concept of linking in an unequal world, and how their visits to partner schools in Kenya, Vietnam and the Philippines will be the start of journeys of learning and action.
Practical elements of the student visits were explored, including the different stages involved such as preparation, reflection, recording, evaluation, feeding back and action. Students also examined their own perspectives on development and, using cartoons, explored how the concept can mean very different things to different people. During this exercise and throughout the day, students reflected on how their partner schools and peers might be impacted on by their visit and what their views and perspectives on development might be. Students investigated representations of their partner countries in the media, and questioned why such a negative picture was being painted.
In the afternoon, students came together with their teachers to look at how they would work together to make their visits positive learning experiences. Through the use of role-plays, students and teachers also explored how they would manage challenging situations while they are overseas, and how they might prepare themselves for what they are going to experience.
All students taking part in visits to their partner schools will come together again in the summer of 2010 for a debriefing session and to reflect on the learning that has taken place.
