Course Pedagogy and Innovation
On October 17th, our course “Pedagogy and Innovation” had the wonderful opportunity to visit a Hungarian school for a day – a great chance to gain insight into different educational systems and teaching methods abroad.
After an early morning train ride to Ráckeve, we were warmly welcomed at Szent Imre Catholic Primary School with coffee and snacks. We were immediately impressed by the school’s bright, spacious interior. The principal greeted us and gave an engaging introduction to the history of the school and its educational principles. When the bell rang, the hallways quickly filled with lively students on their break and we were guided upstairs to visit a first-grade classroom.
The classroom was beautifully decorated; with colorful letters, timetables, coat racks, and even a handcrafted tree! Shortly after, we had the chance to sit in a Harry Potter-themed English lesson with eight fifth graders. The entire class was conducted in English and the students worked on spelling, sentence formation, and vocabulary exercises. We were all very impressed by the pupils’ excellent command of English at such a young age.
After a short break, during which many of us enjoyed watching a PE lesson in the gym below, we observed a mathematics class. This lesson was particularly interesting, as it was taught entirely in Hungarian. It was again a fourth-grade class, this time with around 25 students. The topic was large numbers in the thousands: ordering them correctly, rounding to the nearest thousand, and performing addition and subtraction with big numbers. Fortunately, we received an English lesson plan beforehand, which helped us follow along.
Next, we visited another classroom where the eighth graders were waiting for us. One of the students had prepared a lovely presentation about Ráckeve and its history. Afterwards, we took part in a speed-friending activity: the students asked us questions, and we could ask them some in return. It was great fun and gave us the chance to chat with Hungarian school students in a relaxed way.
We then left the school and took a short walk to the Ráckevei Kolostor, an old Orthodox church. A guide told us about its fascinating history while we admired the frescoes and artwork inside.
The day ended with a stroll on the Danube bank and a delicious lunch at a local restaurant before we took the train back to Budapest – tired but full of new impressions and inspiration.
We are truly grateful to the ELTE TÓK and this course for giving us this unique and enriching experience!
Julia Stoffelsen and Lea Sophie Weitendorf
