Let’s learn differently Erasmus Project

Project Title

Let’s learn differently

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

As we were about to finalize a new Human Resource Centre, where optional courses of foreign language, literature and music clubs, handmade workshops as well as training courses for the teachers were planned to be developed, the school Matei Basarab proposed this project with the scope to enhance the basic students’ abilities and the working methods of the teachers. Furthermore, we notice among students a low self-esteem and little assertion of their capabilities and talents despite their excellent results. Many teachers were refractory to participative teaching methods.
The project gathered 2 gymnasium schools, 1 high school and 2 NGOs, ensuring a cross-sectorial dimension. All were experienced partners and the project gained added value by their exchange of expertise. We collaborated with a Spanish NGO with a expertise in youth work and non-formal education that encouraged the active participation of students, especially of those with low opportunities. That NGO had solid experience on different fields: theatre, training, volunteering, workshops, cultural exchanges, etc. The Cretan school was selected based on its experience as it collaborated with the Cretan University on non-formal education. The Turkish school practiced non-formal education at high school level and we could see its impact at different ages. The Romanian NGO together with the school Matei Basarab proved their skills in emotional intelligence workshops, job interviews simulations and foreign languages games.
As coordinator of the project, the school Matei Basarab was the host of the first transnational meeting, where we established the agenda, each partner tasks, the project budget and the agenda for the next meeting – a short-term joint staff training events for teachers in Spain.
The short-term joint staff training event in Spain was organized by the Spanish NGO, that had solid experience in non-formal education and holding training courses. The teachers argued about the concepts and characteristics of formal and non-formal education, similarities and differences, focusing on the role of teachers using personal position. They learnt about games as a tool of non-formal education, its pros and cons, difficulties. Also, the teachers held discussions about creativity, its development and its introduction in daily lives and classrooms.
A short-term exchanges of groups of pupils took place in Romania, where students and teachers interacted in different activities, either extra-curricular or regarding teaching approaches. The teachers had the opportunity to put into practice what they learnt during the short-term joint staff training events in Spain, to debate on how they applied it and what results they obtained. The students were involved in extra-curricular and learning activities, focusing on their will to participate, socialize and improve their practical skills.
We carried out the second transnational meeting in Romania with the aim to assess the developed local and international activities and draft the agenda for the second project year. We discussed about the Intellectual Outputs -one Guide with non-formal methods and 2 Booklets with participative methods on Exact and Human Sciences- that would be coordinated by the NGOs. Each participant, based on the local developed activities, should provide to the NGOs materials for drafting them.
A last short-term joint staff training events was organized in Crete, as the Cretan school was an experimental institution and had common projects on non-formal teaching with regional universities. For 5 days, the teachers and the youth workers taught together, developed extra-curricular activities and elaborated materials for the Intellectual Outputs.
Based on the teachers’ skills on non-formal education, the Turkish school contributed to drafting the booklets by proving materials on Human and Exact Sciences teaching methods.
The last transnational meeting was organized in Romania with the scope to evaluate the project and to prepare the Multiplier Event and the results dissemination activities.
Multiplier Event was planned as a conference where the projects outputs, the booklets on Exact and Human Sciences and the Guide with the non-formal methods were presented to different stakeholders.
During the second year of the project, each institution had the obligation to disseminate the accumulated information, at local and regional level.
The project did not intend to resolve the issues of the education but proposed to succeed in developing among students/youth the capacity to communicate, to work in team, to reduce the verbal violence caused by the exam stress, to exhibit their artistic talents. The teachers had the opportunity to increase their capacity to manage non-formal activities connected with the theoretical side and to use participative methods at the classes. The parents could enhance their interest for a complex students’ development and for the involvement in other activities.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 64276 Eur

Project Coordinator

SCOALA GIMNAZIALA MATEI BASARAB & Country: RO

Project Partners

• Asociatia Initiative si Proiecte pentru Tineret Imago Mundi
• hmmbileydianadolulisesi
• asociación las niñas del tul
• Protypo Peiramatiko Gymnasio Panepistimiou Kritis