Could you teach me something? Teachers FieldTrip

Our teachers went on a field trip to the Sloboda Zvierat pet shelter to walk dogs and try teach them simple commands. Divided into smaller groups, each teacher tried to teach something new to their dog or at least get an animal’s response to a simple command. By doing this, participants are to reflect on their teaching styles and to connect such experience with everyday work.

Sloboda Zvierat Animal Shelter is a pet shelter where rescued animals are noumerous. The concept of the shelter itself, from the barking of dogs to the round-the-day work of volunteers, presents an immense activity area. The green space around gave ample opportunity for walking and spending time playing with the dogs

Grouping and Dog’s Assignment:
Teachers were divided into small groups, each group being assigned a dog, some highly trained, others eager and ready to learn, timid, stubborn, or energetic-posing different challenges for teachers

Each group took their dog for a walk around the shelter grounds and observed what their dog did, deciding after what to focus on-be it basic commands like “sit” or “stay,” or simply just being walked calmly on a leash, or even just responding to their name

Teachers used collaboration to think of methods through which the dog learned these actions. They utilized basic techniques, such as reserving treats, light praise, concise signals, and patience, changing techniques wherever they were shown to be incorrect by the animal’s responses.
During this exercise, the teachers were required to do some on-the-spot thinking, try various approaches, and collaborate with each other, just like they must do during lessons with students

This practical session gave new insights to the teachers on their teaching practice, reminding them that all learners, whether human or animal, learn better with understanding, patience, and positive thinking.