In March I had the opportunity, thanks to the Erasmus+ programme, to spend a week at a state school in Brussels. There are around 300 pupils taught there. There are no classes; the system is rather comparable to our course system in the upper sixth form of a Gymnasium. The young people learn partly with guidance and partly independently, and they receive assignments, feedback and both organisational and subject-related information via a digital platform, which they access on the laptops the school provides to them. The learning groups consist of two to forty pupils and, from a group size of around 15 members, are taught by two teachers.
What stands out is the consistent focus of teaching on European topics and aspects of democracy. In addition, the city of Brussels is heavily involved as an out-of-school learning environment. Both teachers and young people see themselves on the one hand as specialists in their subject area and on the other hand as learners too. This creates a sense of togetherness that contributes to a very positive working atmosphere. In addition, to support communication among everyone involved in school life, no mobile phones are used throughout the whole school day.
Since the school moved into a new building about a year ago, the building’s features could be optimally adapted to the needs of the learning and teaching methods there. For example, a large and a small classroom are each connected by a direct door, so that learning groups can easily be divided. Because the partition wall is made of glass, the teachers can keep both subgroups easily in view. Overall, everything is designed to make communication and exchange easier.
I particularly liked the openness of the staff to trying out new things and, where necessary, making adjustments. The week was an extremely inspiring experience for me, and I want to bring as much of it as possible into our everyday teaching. I can recommend taking part in Erasmus+ to everyone!
