T&D Stories – Theatre and Digital Storytelling for Teaching and Training Development Erasmus Project

Project Title

T&D Stories – Theatre and Digital Storytelling for Teaching and Training Development

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 adult education

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; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

Our consortium aims to support adult educators (teachers, trainers, but also social workers etc.) by developing teaching/training programmes and pedagogical materials for special groups of adults – groups at risk of social exclusion.

From the wide range of such groups we will focus on the three target groups mentioned in one of seven flagship initiatives of Europe 2020 Strategy:

– deprived (underpriviledged) communities,

– people with disabilities,

– migrants.

The first group – young, poor adults, who often, for economical or sociological reasons had to leave their educational paths, and still remain in initial conditions Enabling them to exploit the full potential which they have will help not only them, but also will have influence of a level of the whole society.

The second group – deaf people, due to lack of oral communication with the (hearing) others, they preferably shut themselves in clubs and associations solely for the deaf, thus maintaining their own identity and culture but at the same time deepening isolation and increasing the distance from the mainstream of life. Parallel, the hearing persons often have the feeling that they have to protect themselves from people who are “different” and are talking differently, so they set social borders.

The third group – migrants, especially when visiting countries different for their origins, due to many cultural differences very often (if not always) are in a danger to be treated much more below their value as potential community members. They cannot express their skills and potential in the new society, they cannot enter it in a full, normal way, so they remain in a bad position in all social relationships – from contacts with neighbours to a place in a job market.

All those three groups of learners, have at least one common need in order to gain or maintain a chance to be fully-fledged part of society – need to be understood. They need an opportunity for successful communication of their real situation with everyday obstacles, cultural misunderstandings, fears and other problems.

In a situation when there are people who need to communicate, but ironically, in most of their cases verbal communication is something what rather causes more problems in interactions than helps, we propose them tools of communisation focused mainly on non-linguistic skills – theatre and digital storytelling. We believe, that expression through images, gestures, sounds, where words are only small part of a message is a great solution to bring these people closer to society, to help them present themselves and also to help them understand surrounding world.

To provide complex support for these groups of final beneficiaries we decided to develop educational tools for adult eduators, in particular teaching, training or working with people representing groups at risk of social exclusion, which are:

– a handbook which:

• describes digital storytelling and theatre storytelling as tools for education and all 3 groups of beneficiaries with their situation and pedagogical needs,

• contains examples of best practices on theatre and digital storytelling, trainers reflections and summary

– independent pedagogical resources such:

• learning paths – ready to use pedagogical scenarios on digital and theatre storytelling as tools in adult education

• exemplary digital stories of teachers/trainers and beneficiaries,

• movies on exemplary theatre techniques used in adult education

– VLC platform containing all the materials, and experience sharing area for teachers, trainers and representatives of supported groups of beneficiaries

– PocketNews pedagogical programme on how to manage online educational content produced in the project with mobile devices.

All the materials are available in 4 langugages: English, Polish, Italian and Icelandic.

Development of the project results is supported by joint staff training on digital storytelling, theatre storytelling and marginalised groups issues, and by multiplier events in all partners countries, where the project and its results are presented and discussed.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 240938,49 Eur

Project Coordinator

BIELSKIE STOWARZYSZENIE ARTYSTYCZNE “TEATR GRODZKI” & Country: PL

Project Partners

• Centrum Edukacyjne EST
• DUN LAOGHAIRE INSTITUTE OF ART, DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY
• FONDAZIONE NAZIONALE CARLO COLLODI
• Alþjóðastofa