Emily DiFonzo, DIS: Study Abroad in Scandinavia Summer 2023
Denmark and the other Scandinavian countries are unique in their chart-topping education systems, which has made studying abroad in Scandinavia such an incredible experience. What stands out to me most about studying abroad in Denmark is the emphasis that the education system places on learning through experience. My courses in Denmark have been drastically different from my classes at Pitt. We have multiple field studies outside of the classroom per week where we visit local services related to what we are studying. Since my classes were early education centered, we visited local playgrounds to assess inclusivity, a local resident’s home to see what Danish family life is like, a children’s museum to see what information Denmark prioritizes as important in early learning, and more! We also have plenty of opportunities to converse with professionals in our field of study, and many of my classes were hosted by guest speakers instead of my professor. The time we do spend in classrooms is conversation heavy instead of lecture-based, and the classes are very small to help facilitate deep and meaningful discussion.
In my course called Children with Special Needs, much of our class time was spent simulating classrooms and assessing how accessible certain aspects of the learning environment were to children with specific needs. Pictured are three students from my class during one of these simulations. One student had a blindfold on and one had noise cancelling headphones on to simulate the unique needs that vision impaired and hearing impaired children bring to the classroom setting. Another student acted as the teacher and had to adapt her agenda for the day so that each student felt included and could actively participate. While we can learn techniques for assisting children with special needs in the classroom, this knowledge does not mean much unless we can learn to use it in practice, which this abroad experience really emphasized to me. I felt that I could better connect to the information I was learning during my summer abroad because we were learning it in practice-based contexts!
Not only does practice-based education make learning feel more relevant to a future career, but it also allows for a more collaborative classroom environment, which I really learned to appreciate this summer. In my study abroad classes, nobody was competing against anyone to obtain a better grade, or to get on the better side of the curve. Much of our classroom activities were in groups, so we really learned to trust one another and to work together for the best outcome, which is the reality in actual careers. I would most definitely recommend DIS for its unique classroom environment!
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