From 20 to 24 March, the URV’s Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology organised a programme to enable students from one of the most renowned universities in the USA to participate with students from the faculty in a series of activities and workshops

Among the activities were a welcome event led by the dean of the faculty, Luis Marqués, and workshops on different themes relating to Teacher Training, including teacher induction and evaluation programmes, myths about education, education in Catalonia and the Catalan linguistic immersion programme. There were also discussions on the importance of connection between teachers and students in the classroom, multilingualism, working to improve the future, methodologies such as PBL (Problem Based Learning) and the latest technological trends in education. The last day was devoted to the subject of immigration in schools and the special classes provided to cater for the educational needs of students who have recently arrived in the country. There was also an analysis of the Magnet schools as an example of successful collaboration between businesses and schools that helps newly arrived students to integrate better.

The programme allowed participants to learn about different cultures and exchange experiences and was culturally enriching for all concerned. For the students it was a week full of new friendships, discoveries, learning and unforgettable moments. The American and Catalan students both rated the experience as excellent so the plan is to repeat it in the future.

The activity was coordinated by Ramon Palau, the head of internationalisation at the faculty. He rated the experience as highly positive and pointed out that it was an important first step in the process of internationalising the Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology.