Learning math and languages through research and cooperation Erasmus Project

Project Title

Learning math and languages through research and cooperation

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 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Teaching and learning of foreign languages

Project Summary

MatLan built on the experience gained by the French partner in the MATh.en.JEANS (MeJ) workshops (http://www.mathenjeans.fr/historique-mej), which is currently being implemented in 224 schools in France, aiming to valorize students’ creativity and innovation by inviting them to discover and research mathematics. Mathematics in the classroom is too abstract for the students to feel attracted to, but in the workshops they get to mathematically investigate issues that no-one has an answer to yet. MatLan added to the MeJ experience a series of new dimensions:
– the assessment dimension: we created guidelines for assessing students’ competences developed through mathematical research in the MeJ workshops;
– the intercultural dimension: we encouraged intercultural exchanges around mathematical issues;
– the multi/pluri-lingual dimension: we created opportunities for language learning through collaboration in mathematical research activities;
– the formal education dimension: we promoted the inclusion of MeJ workshop (non-formal education) into the school curriculum (formal education).
The project objectives have been:
– to provide opportunities for high-school students to develop their mathematical skills through conducting mathematical research and collaboration with students from an EU country;
– to improve language learning (French in Romania and English in France);
– to create guidelines for assessing students’ transversal skills and mathematical competences developed through mathematical research conducted in the MeJ workshop;
– to include the MeJ workshop into the school’s curricular provision as an elective course;
– to provide opportunities for mathematics and language teachers to share experiences and practices of supporting students in learning mathematics and languages and to collaborate with European colleagues to improve their teaching practices.
The project participants have been 90 students from upper secondary schools and 15 teachers of mathematics, foreign languages and ICT/ technology from the two partner schools in Cluj, Romania and Briancon, France.
The project activities included:
– 4 transnational project meetings (2 in France and 2 in Romania)
– 2 short-term student exchanges (one in France and one in Romania)
– weekly MeJ workshops facilitated by teachers and professional researchers, run in both partner schools throughout the full academic year;
– production and validation of pedagogical tools for mathematics teachers: Guidelines for assessing students’ skills developed through mathematical research; Curriculum of the elective/ optional course: Doing math as researchers do it.
The methodology of the project included a stage of literature review concerning the mathematical and transversal skills formation during mathematical research. Based on the findings and on the MeJ facilitator teachers’ observations, the teachers’ project team decided to develop assessment instruments for the following competences: collaborative problem solving, written and oral skills for communication about the research results, and making use of aids and tools (IT included). Then the instruments were developed and sent to experts in the field for feedback. After the instruments were finalized, they were piloted and validated in the course of action research conducted by the teachers included in the project. In the course of the action research, the teachers a) tested the assessment instruments; b) collected evidence about the students’ skills formation during MeJ workshops. The curriculum of the elective /optional course was developed by the mathematics teachers based on their MeJ experience and incorporates the assessment methodology developed in the project.
The results of the project have been: the participating students’ enhanced research skills, foreign language skills, transversal skills and intercultural competences; a set of assessment tools and procedures of mathematical and transversal skills and guidelines for teachers who use the assessment tools and procedures; a jointly developed elective course curriculum for secondary schools (Doing Math as Researchers Do It); teachers’ improved action research skills; teachers’ improved collaboration with colleagues from the partner country; enhanced capacity of the schools to engage in European projects. In the longer term, the expected impact is that more students would find mathematical research attractive and develop mathematical and transversal skills while engaging in such research; teachers are going to be more innovative in their methods of teaching and assessing students’ skills; more MeJ teachers would establish the effectiveness of the research workshops by assessing the students’ learning within the MeJ workshops; more young Europeans would choose a career in research; schools are going to adopt more attractive and innovative approaches to teaching/ learning; the formal education system is going to be better prepared to develop a broader set of transversal skills in their students.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 54445 Eur

Project Coordinator

Colegiul National Emil Racovita & Country: RO

Project Partners

• Lycée d’Altitude