Building Bridges through Games Erasmus Project

Project Title

Building Bridges through Games

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

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

Project Summary

Context and background :
“Building Bridges through Games” was a two-year bilateral project between the Comprehensive School of Lyseon peruskoulu in Joensuu, North Karelia, Finland and IES Miguel de Cervantes in Fuenteálamo, Albacete, Spain. The schools had been cooperating in a non-official way since 2013 interchanging students’ presentations on cultural aspects of both countries.
Objectives:
Through this project we aimed to: introduce new pedagogical practices, for example by implementing cross-curricular activities, into our curriculum; encourage team work; reinforce the European dimension in our school curriculum; lay the basis for continuous and more extensive cross-border cooperation; increase the motivation for teaching and learning; increase the professional competences of teachers regarding management of international projects, ICT skills, English language skills; improve the digital competence, English language skills and learner motivation of students; promote students’ awareness and appreciation of cultural heritage and diversity
Number and profile of participating organisations
The various activities during the different stages of the project involved, in one way or another, the whole student bodies (400 + 290 students aged 13-16) of both schools. As for short-term exchanges of groups of pupils the Finnish school included 24 students and the Spanish school 22 students. As regards teacher mobilities, there were two short-term joint staff training events involving 3-4 teachers from each school.
In the Finnish school the project activities were implemented and supervised by three teachers of English, a teacher of History, a teacher of Technical work, a teacher of PE, a teacher of IT, a Teacher of Maths, a teacher of Art and by the deputy head master. In the Spanish school the teachers involved were a Maths teacher (teaching maths in English), two maths teachers (not involved in English classes), two English teachers, three Spanish language teachers, a Classical language teacher and a teacher of Art. /Eva: is this correct?
Description of undertaken main activities:
The project focused on some popular and traditional indoor and outdoor games in both countries.
Students carried out research in various subjects and produced and exchanged presentations on their findings. The games of each country were compared, the background of the games was discussed together with the partner school. New board games were also created. Subject teachers cooperated with language teachers to help students to produce materials in English. Through online sharing and during student mobility events the games of the partner country were learned and played together. The findings, materials and project outcomes were shared online between the two schools but also made public to the whole European educational community.
Results and impact attained
Tangible results:
Extensive blog sites were created, presenting the progress of the project and its outcomes. A great number of different types of games were documented and new board games were created and published online. Students learned to play new games of each other’s countries.
Intangible results: The project inspired teachers to try out unprecedented pedagogical practices, increased the professional competence and motivation of the teachers involved, increased the students’ and teachers’ communicative competence in English, encouraged and facilitated continuing and expanding cross-border cooperation, improved the digital competence of both students and teachers, promoted students’ awareness and appreciation of cultural heritage and cultural diversity and provided an opportunity to familiarize the whole local community, as well as a wider European public, with different cultures.
Longer term benefits:
The project has established new pedagogical practices in the schools’ curricula, and created a basis for continued international cooperation. It may also attract and inspire a wider European network of schools to engage in future cooperation, increase appreciation of and interest in learning foreign languages, have a lifelong impact on the attitudes towards different cultures and towards language learning of all students and staff involved.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 65620 Eur

Project Coordinator

Joensuun lyseon peruskoulu & Country: FI

Project Partners

• IES MIGUEL DE CERVANTES