GIVE ME FIVE Erasmus Project

Project Title

GIVE ME FIVE

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Pedagogy and didactics; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development)

Project Summary

The project aimed at creating an European social skills curriculum for pupils aged 3 to 14 years, built in different modules, and with a mix of didactic techniques, according to the age of children. The curriculum is  a web based tool box containing:
 -educational trails (the toy library, the library, the museum, the library, the stadium, ) diversified according to the stages of development of pupils’ social skills. Within these paths , there are virtual and real activities  carried out in collaboration by all pupils of the partnership, during the school time and the meeting for learning activities;
-the post office: a space dedicated to communication between project partners
-the chemist’s: a section containing social relationships issues identified by pupils and possible solutions
– the schools: a space dedicated to the schools of the project.
– the agora: a virtual space where teachers draw together the curriculum ( goals, contents, activities, methodology, expected results and evaluation) that is  the result of virtual and one-to-one collaboration (during short term training of trainers) among teachers in the 6 countries.
– the 
The tool box will be made OER (open educational resource) and available for other schools.

The idea of ​​the social skills curriculum arose from the analysis of our schools and from  the necessity to respond to the discomfort in which pupils and teachers find themselves.
Pupils, especially the ones belonging to foreign families or with some specific needs, experience situations of frustration starting from early childhood and for this reason we thought convenient to involve schools of different grades.
Teachers operate in multiproblematic classrooms. Teachers try to support and interact with little success with children characterized by low study motivation,  with inexistent interest in disciplines, who are perpetrator or victims of bullying (even more cyber bullying), who show great difficulties in communication not only with adults but also with peers, who are  confused  about values and hardly respect rules since they do not see their legitimacy and usefulness. Children seem lost when it comes to positively managing conflict or frustration. It is  increasingly difficult for teachers to manage such situations, despite the commitment and the passion for their work. The first step was to recognize that the problem of managing a classroom is never single, but a complexity of them and that children have their own resources, always, that must be sought and valued with different methods. 
We thought that the creation of a curriculum of social skills from childhood to secondary school degree could be an effective tool to meet the needs of teachers and all students including those with disabilities, special needs, immigrants and  potential school dropouts.

Through a focus on developing social skills,  pupils improved several skills: 
to understand and control their emotions, use different communication strategies, know their strengths and weaknesses, cooperate by providing their talents (that are therefore recognized, even if not the traditional ones related to strong disciplines), ask and accept help, respect themselves and others, give reasons for their choices.

Through targeted training on the development of social skills teachers  acquired  information, tools and methods needed to respond appropriately in the various stages of development, to  promote the  wellbeing of the child and the development of social skills ,so pupils, future citizens, can participate actively and constructively in social life.

Co-designing and applies innovative teaching methods and learning materials starting from a renewed understanding of the fabric of social dynamics promotes the ability of the school to meet its continuous and profound social changes.

The discussion and sharing of experiences from different European countries helped each school to acquire and consolidate a common European perspective.

Lastly, the construction of a vertical curriculum with European schools belonging to different levels of education has made it possible to share development processes and paths that have had a positive impact on the school communities of each partner country.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 162030 Eur

Project Coordinator

ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO STATALE N°1 “don Lorenzo Milani” & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Ecole élémentaire publique la gardiole
• ECOLE MATERNELLE ET ELEMENTAIRE MISTRAL
• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI GENOVA
• AGRUPAMENTO DE ESCOLAS JOSÉ RÉGIO – PORTALEGRE
• Col·legi Mare de Déu de Montserrat
• Isokylän koulu – Kokkola
• VRTEC GALJEVICA