Freedom without Chaos Erasmus Project

Project Title

Freedom without Chaos

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Access for disadvantaged; Pedagogy and didactics; International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

Background and context to the project comes from the lead school’s visits to and experience of, the schools in Holland that follow the Dalton pedagogy. A rationale was drawn up prior to the project application by the lead school which identified the plan and enthusiasm to promote a more independent and self-reliant learning and teaching ethos in our schools. Schools from all areas of
Europe were consulted via E-Twining.
Objectives:
1. Enable the exchange and dissemination of ideas, pedagogies and practices from different European schools in order to improve children’s learning outcomes in all partner schools.
2. Form a key alliance between different partner schools in order to foster research based innovation and creativity to fully impact on, and improve children’s and teachers’ knowledge and learning outcomes.
3. Ensure wider and more effective professional development for teachers and all school staff.
4. Ensure that all children are included in the learning process and that they are all able to plan, fully participate in, and assess their own learning opportunities and successes.
5. Enable the children to have a better understanding of themselves as learners and to appreciate the need to be to be tolerant of others.
6. Encourage children and teachers to have a more international outlook and to appreciate that global issues do have an impact on their lives both in and outside of their own schools, communities and countries.

Project Participants
Partners have been selected from 5 different nations throughout Western, Eastern and Southern Europe. All of these schools are committed to the project rationale of promoting a more self-reliant, independent learning pedagogy in their organisations, building on key strengths and best practice that they already have in place.
Schools have mixed profiles ranging from state, religious ethos and full or partial Dalton pedagogical schools.

Activities:
A series of trans-national meetings will be held to:
• Look at specific pedagogies which promote independent and self-reliant learning such as Dalton and to share best practice in each of the partner schools
• Visit each other’s schools and other schools in the geographical area to ensure best practice is observed in practice

We will also ensure:
• Ongoing and regular use of technology to immediately show case project successes and to help develop ongoing practice in partner schools
• A project website is built early in the life of the project to enable a knowledge bank to be accessed, and to ensure we can archive project successes and results beyond the life of the project. A cultural exchange platform for parents and children will form part of the website.

Project Methodology:
A fully supportive and cooperative partnership in which partners are able to express their views and challenge those of others. Working together to reach the goals of the project and to form an international cooperative working alliance between leaders and teachers, promoting more independent and self-reliant learners in our schools.
Social media and eTwinning and the project website, will play a massive part in our methodology for ensuring immediate communication not only with partnering schools but also with all schools across the international spectrum. This will also be key for disseminating the successes and results of the project.

Results:
• Dalton pedagogy used in conjunction with other strong practices to embed independent learning strategies in partner schools
• Career professional development opportunities for all teachers in partner schools are improved and international communication between teachers is improved and used to impact on their teaching methods
• Multi-lingual website created and used by teachers, staff and parents use in order to exchange ideas, draw upon knowledge banks and show case success.
• Stronger and sustained international relationships between all of our school communities to ensure more active participation in the wider international society during and beyond the life of the project.

Longer term benefits:
• Children in all partner schools will be more self-reliant and better independent learners as this will be embedded in all partner schools
• Targeted teachers in all partner schools will develop their professional skills and knowledge and act as envoys for self-reliant and independent learning with all other colleagues in their schools and beyond.
• Project successes and results will be disseminated widely across the international community via E-Twinning, website, and other social media platforms.
• Wider professional bodies such as Greenwich University (UK), Saxion University (Netherlands) and the National Association of Primary Educationists (UK) will act as avenues for publishing and promoting the longer term benefits and and successes of the project so that a wide audience of future professionals can learn from and use the project findings to inform their practice for many years to come.

Project Website

http://freedomwithoutchaos.com

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 73662 Eur

Project Coordinator

West Minster Primary School & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Rose Street Primary School
• Kbs De Dolfijn
• Centro pradine mokykla
• AGRUPAMENTO DE ESCOLAS JOSÉ RÉGIO – PORTALEGRE
• Przedszkole nr 240 im. Polskich Olimpijczyków