International Winter School
I was given the opportunity to attend the 5th annual, 2018 International Winter School “Comparative Studies on Adult Education and Lifelong Learning“ in Würzburg Germany. This conference was to compare and analyze international and European strategies of adult education and lifelong learning. During the first week of this seminar we discussed the history of education through the European Union (EU) and how it has evolved to what it has become today. We had the opportunity to listen to professors from the University of Lisbon, Julius Maximilian's University of Würzburg, and a representative from the EU, who gave us valuable lectures on theory and comparisons of adult education around the world. There was the opportunity to visit educational facilities within Germany and to see how they function on a daily basis. The second week was broken down into several comparative work groups to create a presentation within our comparative category. This is where we were able to share and compare our similarities and differences between our cultures, theories, interpretation, and educational frameworks.
The Winter School was one of the best experiences in my life. This was an experience that has changed my life in a way I didn’t imagine. The perspectives from the wonderful people I came in contact with and became friends with can be unmatched to anything I have ever done. I can look back now and reflect on so many things that has given me a different perspective on how I look at the world and how I look at Adult Education and Lifelong Learning.
It wasn’t just the knowledge I was able to obtain and give back but it was the interaction and watching people work together to find similarities and common ground on subjects they were passionate about. It was about why we were here in Wurzburg, Germany and why we decided to come from so far away to share what we know to strangers that would eventually become friends. It was about sitting at dinner or over a glass of wine and discussing world policy and how things worked in your country. It was breaking down barriers and seeing eye to eye on subjects that were difficult to talk about. It was the future educators coming together to learn and compare.
It is this that I can take and apply to my classroom and my teaching that is greater than anything I could have imagined. I have watched diverse people work together to create a project that would be presented to many other diverse people. I can take that experience and use it to my advantage to create a self directed and transformative teaching experience that will create better learners.
The Winter School was one of the best experiences in my life. This was an experience that has changed my life in a way I didn’t imagine. The perspectives from the wonderful people I came in contact with and became friends with can be unmatched to anything I have ever done. I can look back now and reflect on so many things that has given me a different perspective on how I look at the world and how I look at Adult Education and Lifelong Learning.
It wasn’t just the knowledge I was able to obtain and give back but it was the interaction and watching people work together to find similarities and common ground on subjects they were passionate about. It was about why we were here in Wurzburg, Germany and why we decided to come from so far away to share what we know to strangers that would eventually become friends. It was about sitting at dinner or over a glass of wine and discussing world policy and how things worked in your country. It was breaking down barriers and seeing eye to eye on subjects that were difficult to talk about. It was the future educators coming together to learn and compare.
It is this that I can take and apply to my classroom and my teaching that is greater than anything I could have imagined. I have watched diverse people work together to create a project that would be presented to many other diverse people. I can take that experience and use it to my advantage to create a self directed and transformative teaching experience that will create better learners.
My comparative group category was: National/Regional Adult Education and Lifelong Learning Policies. This group of 6 represented Serbia, Hungary, Portugal, India and the United States. During our discussions and brainstorming we found some interesting commonalities as well as differences in each of our countries educational policies. At the end of the week gave a presentation to the rest of the participants, which included Master and Doctorate students, as well as Professors from around the globe, who gave us high marks for the presentation. You can see part of our presentation to the right.
Here you will find a link to an essay about the history and some current educational policies in the United States: Winter School: Comparative Studies in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning Essay Winter School: An Experience with Adult Education and Lifelong Learning |
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Reference:
Lima, L. & Guimaraes, P. (2011): European strategies in lifelong learning. A critical introduction. Opladen & Farmington Hills: Barbara Budrich. Retrieved from: http://www.pedocs.de/volltexte/2013/8283/pdf/Lima_Guimaraes_2011_European_Strategies_in_Lifelong_Learning.pdf
Lima, L. & Guimaraes, P. (2011): European strategies in lifelong learning. A critical introduction. Opladen & Farmington Hills: Barbara Budrich. Retrieved from: http://www.pedocs.de/volltexte/2013/8283/pdf/Lima_Guimaraes_2011_European_Strategies_in_Lifelong_Learning.pdf