JOB SHADOWING EXPERIENCE IN ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO DI VILLAPUTZU (VILLAPUTZU E SAN VITO), SARDEGNA, ITALIA.
18 NOVEMBER – 2 DECEMBER 2017

My experience in this job shadowing has been very enriching both personally and professionally.
I am going to sum up the most important aspects of it and the widest differences I have found in the Italian Educational System and in the teaching practice of the schools were I have been.

1. In Italy they have “Scuola Media”, whose students are aged 11-14 (3 years) and which is a basic education from where the students can have access to Liceo, if they want to continue studying, or vocational training schools, oriented to different professional fields.

2. There are not any special schools for students with educational needs, they are integrated in ordinary schools and there are teachers only for them (insegnante di sostegno) who are sitting next to them in class, helping them to follow the lessons according to their possibilities and abilities.

3. The head of school is not a teacher. He or she only manages the school. The access to be a head requires a specific examination process (concorso).

4. The school week is Monday-Saturday in Scuola Media and Primaria. The teachers have Sundays and another day of the week off. 

5. Very often the break (ricreazione) takes place inside the classroom. The students eat a snack there and have a chat with their classmates under the supervision of one teacher.

6. When there is a teachers strike, the students go home (a letter is sent to their parents in advance) and teachers also have the right to attend trade union assemblies for 10 hours maximum every school year. When so, the students are sent home. 

7. There are external evaluation tests (Prove Nazionali) at the end of 3Primary and 3Scuola Media. It is carried out in April every year. It is done by computer in each school and the teachers and students are supervised by the government. The results are analysed to check the progress and level of each school.

8. The necessary mark to pass a test/subject is 6. 

9. There is no class of “tutoría” in any group of Primaria or Scuola Media. A teacher is assigned to each group but there is not a specific plan of tutorial action to be carried out.

And these are the main points regarding the Educational System. Now I would like to point out the most relevant aspects I have observed during my job shadowing experience in the different schools.

1. The emphasis is on the oral language: the students can express themselves very well are do not feel embarrased when they have to talk in front of the class or in front of teachers. I have observed that they are able to explain, present, ask questions, ask for clarifications, participate and even interrupt the teacher using their own language with a good standard of correction.

2. More and more teachers are in favour of implementing collaborative groups, so the students work together to solve problems, do projects and write essays. They help and learn from each other and show a good level of autonomy. The role of the teacher is giving them very clear instructions, helping them in the process when required and checking the final production. This methodology is very motivating for the pupils. 

3. In some science and technology lessons, some teachers use inductive methods and experiments, showing them that science is not abstract and they can understand very clearly how things work by watching, smelling, touching, etc. 

4. Many teachers use videos to present the contents and encourage their students to do power point presentations in which the gruops can present the result of their work to the class. 

5. In art, students are required to see, feel, touch the object before painting it. This way they are more aware of the representation of nature (as they did with the leaves) or other objects.

6. The teachers encourage the students to talk by writing sentences from poets and philosophers on the blackboard. They have to comment on what they think about these sentences. All opinions are admitted and discussed. I can observe that most of the students participate. Teachers make students think, then talk and finally (and not always) write. It is the natural approach to language.

7. Most students show a high level of correction regarding pronouciation and intonation when they read. They do not only reproduce sounds but also understand what they are reading. 

8. In primary schools math lessons, teachers use inductive methods to make the students calculate numbers without writing anything. Mental calculation and numbers grids are used instead. 

9. Last but not least I was very much impressed about the concert the students prepared for us as a farewell. Some of them played instrumens (including launedda, a typical sardinian instrument), sang and danced the typical folklore dance wearing traditional costumes.

And before I finish with this journal, I will write about some cultural trips we did in our free time. Here I have to thank Alessandra and some other teachers who very kindly accompanied us and showed us the most interesting landmarks of the region. 

Cagliari: the capital of Sardegna, with impressive bastions from where you can have a 360º view of the city and the sea, a beautiful marbled Cathedral, the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre, the lively Piazzas full of cafés and restaurants and the harbour, elegant area with the best shops.

Villaputzu and San Vito: I select the beautiful seaside area of Porto Corallo, the lake of Colostrai full of flamingoes, the old church of San Vito Martir and the museum of “L'imprenditora femminile Donna Francesca”  in Muravera.

Alguero: a beautiful old town with the taste of the Mediterranean. It is called “little Barcelona” you can see the influence of the years under the rule of the crown of Aragón. Some people speak alguerese, very similar to catalan language. Loving and artistic people. 

To finish with, I must highlight that it would not have been possible without the care and effort of Alessandra, her husband and the rest of teachers in the primary and secondary of Villaputzu and San Vito. They have treated us as if we were members of the staff and it has been very interesting to talk, interchange points of view and learn from each other. The students have also been great and they were willing to talk with us all the time.

I will never forget this experience and I strongly recommend it!