You are here: HOME > Case studies & resources >   Case studies
CASE STUDY

 

Lady Manners School, Bakewell

Classroom in Kanagawa Sohgoh Senior High SchoolWill Woodward reports on a school linking visit between Kanagawa Sohgoh Senior High School, Yokohama, and Lady Manners School, Bakewell which took place on 16 to 23 October 2006.
 
Type of project
School Linking Visit.
 
Partner schools
Kanagawa Sohgoh Senior High School, Yokohama, and Lady Manners School, Bakewell.
 
Background to the partnership
Lady Manners School has received strong support from the British Council over the last two years, including attending the 2005 Japanese Language Immersion Course, as well as visits from Dominic Regester, including one to speak to representatives from the local 'Peak 11' consortium of schools in December 2006.
 
Owing to this enthusiastic support, and the fact that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was already on the Year 9 scheme of work, Dave Jackson, Head of History, requested that I approach the British Council Tokyo to help us find a school interested in the idea of working on Hiroshima together.
 
Kanagawa Sohgoh Senior High SchoolTamie Akiba at BC Tokyo found Kanagawa Sohgoh Senior High School (Kanasoh), who were very interested in the idea of a joint curriculum project. Through e-mail correspondence between William Woodward (LMS) and Sakae Suzuki (Kanasoh) before the visit, it was established that the proposed project would fit into the existing curriculum at each school:
  • Year 9 History at LMS: specifically as part of the National Currriculum Key Stage 3 Twentieth Century World course.
  • At Kanasoh the project fits in with the Global Issues course, which is an elective course for Second and Third Year students (equivalent of Year 12 and 13 in the UK).
 
Aims of the visit
The priority was discussing the proposed project on Hiroshima. In addition, a number of other aims were identified:
  • meet the staff who would take part in the project
  • meet the head teacher (kohcho sensei) to gain his support and cooperation
  • observe a range of lessons across the English curriculum, as this is the area of the curriculum involved in the proposed Joint Curriculum Project (JCP)
  • observe a Global Issues lesson and assess students' ability; this was seen as very important, as the Kanasoh part of the JCP will be in English. If their ability were too basic, it might need to be approached through a History lesson. This would have been a great problem, as History teaching in Japan tends to be very didactic, leaving little room for the kind of debate expected at KS3 in England.
  • Meet members of staff and students from other curriculum areas to investigate broader opportunities for exchange
 
Preparatory activities
English Day at Kanagawa Sohgoh Senior High SchoolCorrespondence between William Woodward and Sakae Suzuki established an appropriate time for the visit. This was necessary in order to allow for observation of appropriate lessons, meeting the relevant staff, and making links with other parts of the school.
 
Materials and outlines of the proposed project, samples of students work, school details, etc were sent to Kanasoh.

Activities during the visit
  • lesson observation: various English lessons, music, art, chemistry, sport, French, German, media studies
  • meeting with students: international exchange students from outside Japan; meeting  with March exchange visit students
  • attendance at whole school staff meeting
  • meeting with senior staff including head teacher
  • meeting with Global Issues students (will graduate in March)
  • shared and explained to teachers the Y9 History scheme of work; discussed one student's work, and gave a completed year's work from student to the school
  • shared details of current and previous approaches to Hiroshima question; shared samples of worksheets, and students' work which demonstrated two sides of question
  • participation and teaching at 'English Day Camp'
  • teaching in four other lessons, including Oral Communication, Reading
  • presented school with hardback book on area around LMS; large scale paperback for use with classes; calendar of images of Peak District
  • official welcome party at local restaurant
 
Reading Lesson at Kanagawa Sogoh Senior High SchoolImpressions and learning points
  • observation of Global Issues lesson determined that students' ability was more than adequate for the project. Assessment was seen as very important, as the Kanasoh part of the JCP will be in English. If their ability had been too basic, the JCP could arguably only be approached through a History lesson. This would have been a great problem, as History teaching in Japan tends to be very didactic, leaving little room for the kind of debate expected at KS3 in England.
  • participation in Global Issues lesson demonstrated that Kanasoh students are also capable of and keen to debate and argue: lesson observed was on the question "What should be done about North Korea?" In contrast to the 1990s, debate is now a central part of the senior high school English curriculum in Japan, and so Hiroshima is a very appropriate issue. Indeed, when told about next year's proposed JCP, the class were keen to express their opinions, which were encouragingly varied: the JCP will offer real debate about this interesting historical issue.
 
Impact
  • exchange visit confirmed March 2007: 20 Kanasoh students to visit LMS and have 5 day homestay, shadowing of LMS pupils (two mornings); joint educational visits (two afternoons). The focus of this will be reciprocal language exchange: English learning for Kanasoh students, Japanese for LMS students, many of whom are expected to come from the LMS Japanese Society.
  • both schools to work towards JCP
  • joint work on Hiroshima to be made part of the curricula for subsequent years
  • one of the most significant outcomes of the visit was the emergence of joint determination the from head teachers Meikle (post visit meeting at LMS 6 November) and Suwabe (meetings at Kanasoh on 18 and 19 October) to make the JCP a beginning rather than an end in itself
  • joint memorandum currently in draft stage: helpful exemplar received from Tamie Akiba at BC Tokyo

Plans for evaluation
This cannot be completed yet, and is really a question of continuing evaluation:
  • feedback meeting between William Woodward and Duncan Meikle (head teacher LMS)
  • continued communication between the two schools
  • completion of the exchange visit in March and the JCP will allow for genuine evaluation – of these specific events
  • evaluation will be ongoing: there is strong interest in the two schools' music department for some form of JCP, perhaps involving the performance of original music; in addition, the linking visit and proposed JCP constitute an integral part of the LMS head teacher's commitment to the international dimension, and application for the International School Award
 
Details of planned future joint curriculum work
  • Summer term (term 3 at LMS, term 1 at Kanasoh): both schools work on Hiroshima JCP
  • part of JCP for which we will apply for BC funding: 5 to 10 LMS students continue studies at Kanasoh: two schools work together as a single group; this may involve whole Global Issues class – estimated to be fewer than 20 from April (new school year)
  • Possible final event: students and staff from both schools visit Hiroshima to see museum, meet Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivor) and take part in the August 6 official commemoration ceremony
  • 2008 – possible JCP involving music departments; one suggestion is for students in both schools to work together towards a performance of an original piece of music, perhaps written by LMS teacher / composer Robert Steadman.
 
Advice for future school partnerships/area links
Hawaian spam sushiI already had a great deal of experience of the Japanese educational system, having worked in both state and private secondary schools, primary schools, a junior college and university of art and design, as well as a Board of Education (LEA) office which involved curriculum planning in a series of prefecture-wide state school 'Cross Culture Schools'.
 
However, the advice gained from Pred Evans, at the 2006 conference on educational links with Japan held at BC London, was invaluable. Exchanging school calendars and coordinating over long term planning, as he advised, has made the proposed JCP as well as broader links seem much more likely. I would advise anyone considering such a project / linking visit to first attend such a conference. Failing that, a face-to-face visit from one of the World Links Team is helpful, and much more effective than phone/e-mail in terms of communication. For economy's sake, meeting various levels of staff, and perhaps even a group of teachers from a 'cluster' or 'consortium' of schools would be a good use of the World Links Team's time.
 
In conclusion, whether or not teachers have experience and knowledge of the country with which they are hoping to conduct a JCP, it is advisable to work with the British Council particularly at the planning stage – both in the UK and the destination country. The coordination and advice provided by the BC at both ends is very helpful. Because of this assistance, LMS and Kanasoh are working together in the current academic year on both an educational visit to LMS in March and a JCP in July / August which will hopefully involve a number of Year 9 students from LMS studying in Japan.
 
One last point: I think that my helping in a range of lessons and teaching quite a lot went down very well: people in Japan appreciate help and if you muck in; further, the head teacher was very impressed with where I stayed: budget accommodation for day labourers – rather than some posh hotel. Indeed, having prior knowledge of the culture helped, but much of this could be learned from guidebooks and a briefing by the World Links Team. For example, I was asked if I'd like to go out for dinner one evening, and I correctly assumed that this was a semi-official 'welcome party'. It was at this party that the head teacher said what he really hoped the schools would gain from the link, and taking part in this typically Japanese event/party helped ensure a successful outcome for the whole visit.
 
William Woodward, 2 November 2006
 
Find out more about School Linking Visits
 

SEARCH CASE STUDIES


Keywords
Type of resource
Subject/curricular area
Country/region
Partnership or project type
Sector