Mythomania in Open Air Museums Erasmus Project

Project Title

Mythomania in Open Air Museums

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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

Mythomania in Open Air Museums (MYTHOM) is a project focused on pupils in the age range of 13-15 years old launched by schools from Turkey, Spain, Poland, Croatia, Estonia and Slovenia. Mythomania aims to raise awareness towards natural environment and cultural heritage, both material and immaterial, by the myths and legends that explain its origin relating to natural environments, preferably of high cultural heritage value. Methodology to be used is experiential outdoor learning supported by mobile digital technology.

Open air museums often create more interesting teaching situations for both teachers and pupils through the appropriation of our three-dimensionality or, as it has been called ”reality-based learning”. The three-dimensional nature of the work of open air museums can be stimulating to learners as it appeals to several senses and can provide an enhanced learning experience for some pupils. Outdoor education contributes to learning in a range of areas, facilitating cross-curricular insight, but is often seen as an isolated experience, even as a prize at the end of the school year not taken very seriously. Our schools also need innovative approaches to motivate English learning among our students and to preserve our cultural immaterial heritage, our traditions.
Students quickly forget irrelevant information that has been inadequately presented or perceived as repetitive/boring. Augmented reality, mobile devices and continuous improvement of data connections outdoors, alongside a gamified, enjoyable approach to learning may foster the cultural experience and to leverage the differences in technology equipment in our classrooms. Open air museums also offer many chances for physical activity and environmental awareness.

All partners share the need for solid pedagogical resources to get the most of the many educational benefits of education outside the classroom. There are even less resources related to the use of digital tools in open air settings related to cultural heritage. Quality teacher training is a vital aspect to achieve outdoor education full potential. Wide evidence supports outdoor learning to foster personal and social development, problem solving skills, to enhance teamwork and to develop a deeper understanding of natural environment. Roots of modern outdoor education were early set by prominent scholars like Comenius, Locke, Rousseau or Pestalozzi. Outdoor education diminish the perception of underachievement and benefits pupils with attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity.

Mythomania addresses the EU priority Educational and Social Value of Cultural Heritage. We aim to foster the awareness of common cultural heritage, both material and immaterial, especially heritage listed on UNESCO rankings, and the sense of belonging to a shared culture and citizenship based in common european roots by a digital game supporting questions related to the places visited. This will raise awareness about traditions, culture and links between the natural environment and history.

A secondary objective is Innovative Practices in a Digital Era by the use of mobile technology to support learnings and the use of methodologies promoting active personal and collaborative engagement of students in their learning processes like Designed Joint Engagement with Media (DJEM) learning approach: shared experiences where students interact while simultaneously attending to a media artefact. Joint attention or focus on the same phenomena, is a condition for joint engagement fundamental to learning in classroom settings. This will be in the core of our learning activities. In DJEM, media is a powerful resource that provides room for social interactions that lead to learning, so media can support learning by providing a means of exposure to new ideas that can be explored more deeply in conversations.

Mobiles and apps also will leverage the lack of specialised equipment, especially to record an animated cartoon composed by puppets made of plasticine in motion to represent myths and legends, and also will be supporting a digital game made of questions and answers related to the places visited. Activities based on 3D mirror mental construction processes according to constructivist theoretical framework, fostering learning.

Promoting a comprehensive approach to language teaching and learning is the third objective, by the use of Contents and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) to use English as vehicular language in cross-curricular project activities, always based in a collaborative and group approach. A natural approach will be provided by the team composition: local and foreign teachers work together on activities, and students mixed all the time trying to balance lesser and better English performers.

We expect a permanent impact in pupils, teachers, schools and families involved, and to transfer our learnings to schools, museum preservation associations or educational advisors of councils in charge of them

Project Website

http://www.mythomania.eu

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 197225 Eur

Project Coordinator

Institut El Palau & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Osnovna šola Lenart
• Tallinna Mahtra Põhikool
• OS Vinica
• Szkola Podstawowa nr 5 im.Polskiej Macierzy Szkolnej w Czeladzi
• Çukurova Sanayi Ortaokulu