Running Nature into School Erasmus Project

Project Title

Running Nature into School

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Health and wellbeing; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

RUSH sheds light on Outdoor Activities as a holistic and inclusive approach to teaching and education, determinant of functional autonomy and quality of life. This project aims at supplying students with the appropriate tools to become active agents and critical consumers, able to identify healthy practices related to their lifestyle and surrounding environment: the way that their habits are viewed can shape their perspective of health and wellness for the rest of their lives. Considering and recognizing that actively living their environment intersects with aspects of public health and equity, students will become not only informed consumers, but also citizens who can engage in many facets of the social system, from taking sports for fun to advocating for policies. It is prominent to undertake different approaches to Outdoor activities principles to bring intuition and awareness and guide the most profound principles of instinctive acting and health. Most of the school partners have already participated in Erasmus+ projects, hence they can strongly contribute to this proposal with their expertise. In addition, they are Mediterranean countries which will allow them to unify criteria and establish comparisons as regards the lifestyle culture. Likewise, the associated partners’ heterogeneity widens the project scope and becomes the perfect opportunity to enrich both, the activity contents and each student’s individual experience, above all the ones involved in the mobilities that are challenged with economical obstacles or learning difficulties. The target of this project is to empower our students to effectively engage with health issues through active problem solving, developing questions and investigating to find solutions, not only as a local problem but as a global European necessity. Habits, health and wellbeing, environment and social equality are the topics involved in the project in order to comply with Horizon 2020 challenges. It is intended to develop STEM subjects’ furtherly integrating them in active European citizenship, health, demographic change and wellbeing. Beyond the scientific approach, Literature and Arts will be conductors of detailed diachronic analysis of outdoor activities patterns in diverse cultural backgrounds. Other goals of RUSH are the acquisition of key competences, the promotion of innovation and creativity and training through transversal skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, initiative and problem solving. The relevant horizontal primary concern is social and educational value of European cultural heritage, and there are two additional priorities which are open education and innovative practices in a digital era and skill and competence acquisition. Consequently, all the activities have been designed for this purpose and will be distributed and shared on the Etwinning platform. Key contents are integrated within the current curriculum using alternate methodological procedures, such as cooperative learning, learning by doing, individual assignments and the development of cross-curricular activities. Tools are tailored to the activities and the objectives, offering space to student initiatives, implementing educational practices that purposefully stimulate structural meaningful cross-group interaction. Students are challenged by the life skills that are indispensable to become responsible and committed European citizens.They will acquire an innovative outlook towards learning and motivation thanks to European relationships. They will acquire scientific literacy and key STEM skills focusing on the connection between their lifestyle, health, society and the environment. Furthermore, the English language competence and the use of ICT tools will be improved. They will increase their own cultural awareness and expand their horizons by mobilities and experience. As regards the impact on teachers, it will implement new creative teaching methods and international European links will be established. For the whole educational community the project can help promoting wellness, a healthy lifestyle and above all entrepreneurship under a sustainable perspective and it can be a stimulus for a more active and European teaching. We will disseminate project results to the local communities, students’ families, local authorities, bodies of professionals, Ministries of Education, City Councils, NPO’s, university representatives and the wider public at a national level. Moreover, collaboration of the five partner schools will maximize exposure of the project’s activities and results internationally. The sustainability of the project will be guaranteed by means of the professional-social bonds created through RUSH. Also it will continue through communication and further cooperation on Etwinning, the blogs and other exchanges of ideas affecting correlating issues such as protection of the environment and prevention of social disease, including it all in a more general health education.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 134474 Eur

Project Coordinator

ISTITUTO COMPRENSIVO STATALE DI PAESE & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Esenyurt Bilim ve Sanat Merkezi
• Gimnazija Svetozar Markovic
• SOU Gimnazija “Goce Delcev”
• OSNOVNA SKOLA KRALJA ZVONIMIRA