Game-based learning across the curriculum Erasmus Project

Project Title

Game-based learning across the curriculum

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Pedagogy and didactics; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

CONTEXT
One of the main challenges all teachers share irrespective of the education level and the subject they teach is to mobilise students’ interest and engagement. Game-based learning (GBL) is an attempt to address this challenge and facilitate learning process in a way that respects the students’ cognitive, social and cultural backgrounds while addressing the curriculum standards that they are obliged to attain. This project explores the pedagogy of playful learning using the affordances of digital games across the curriculum of science and humanities subjects taught in primary and secondary schools.

GENERAL OBJECTIVE
The project aims at promoting game-based learning in schools as a way to enhance curriculum with motivating content for students.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
– To propose concrete digital games that are accessible and flexible enough to fit selected areas of the curriculum
– To develop exemplary scenarios how to integrate them into different subjects of the curriculum
– To pilot them with teachers unfamiliar with such educational technology
– To elaborate experiences from these pilots in the form of case studies that can motivate new groups of teachers to follow
– To widely disseminate the publication to leverage its wider impact

TARGET GROUPS
The main target groups are Polish and Portuguese teachers from across the regions where our schools are located. This is the primary target group which will be extended further nationwide and in the European countries where the approach may bring innovative pedagogy to school education. The students of these teachers are indirect beneficiaries – an adoption of new teaching methods will impact on their motivation and learning outcomes.

MAIN OUTPUTS
– Case studies of GBL across the curriculum: methodical publication presenting the GBL pedagogy, exemplary cases of using digital games in schools and resources/tools facilitating implementation of the pedagogy in the classroom. Issued in 3 language versions (EN, PL, PT)
– Game-based learning activities in schools: implementation of the GBL pedagogy in the framework of school programme in 2 partner schools from Poland and Portugal in different subjects of the curriculum – maths, physics, biology, chemistry, English, civics and art.
– Teacher training course on digital games for learning: a series of workshops for school teachers from the Małopolska region on how to utilise digital games in teaching curriculum subjects, introducing different technologies (VR sets, platforms, apps and games, mobile device-enabled activities, online multiplayer games, etc.) and exemplify ways of their integration in the classroom.

OUTCOMES AND IMPACT
– For school students: better engagement in learning, better mastery of the curriculum subjects in focus of the project, increased sense of creativity, more positive attitudes to school as opening to their interests and peer culture as well as European projects supporting such learning. These outcomes will result from the students’ participation in learning activities in the partner schools and further in external ones reached through dissemination campaign.
– For school teachers: improvement of their teaching practice through practical acquaintance with the pedagogy of play, enrichment of their classes with cross-curricular themes and use of digital media, creation of more inclusive learning environment taking into account the varied students’ competences, experiences and interests, better understanding of young people’s learning lives in the digital age leading to better relations with students; in terms of professional development – new opportunities for networked learning in a European dimension thus raising appreciation of EU educational projects.
– For partner organisations: introduction of innovative teaching approaches to the Polish and Portuguese schools fostering better student engagement in learning across the curriculum including learners with different abilities, talents and disadvantages, more effective use of digital tech outside of the IT classroom, reinforced capacity for European cooperation, willingness to integrate good practices/methods from other contexts.
– At systemic level: new input to the educational reform debate, strengthened argumentation for interdisciplinary learning paths across the curriculum and use of digital media for learning in the virtual space extending beyond the traditional classroom.

Project Website

https://www.est.edu.pl/gbl/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 79673,64 Eur

Project Coordinator

Centrum Edukacyjne EST & Country: PL

Project Partners

• Szkola Podstawowa nr 5
• Escola Secundária de Camões
• Teachergaming LLC