Metacognition in European Teaching: Activating Minds Through the Implementation of New Development Strategies Erasmus Project

Project Title

Metacognition in European Teaching: Activating Minds Through the
Implementation of New Development Strategies

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 Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2015

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; Pedagogy and didactics; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

7 primary/ lower secondary schools from 7 different European countries (IT, DK, GR, LT, PT, SP, UK), supported by higher education researchers from IT and GR as silent partners, have joined in METAMINDS (Metacognition in European Teaching: Activating Minds Through the Implementation of New Development Strategies)
This strategic partnership, created in the framework of the Erasmus + KA2 action, has focused its attention on a series of relevant issues affecting both teachers and learners all over the EU in today’s increasingly complex and challenging education context:
-teachers have difficulties in adapting teaching styles to pupils’ changed attitudes and sometimes experience frustration and a sense of failure;
-pupils do not respond to barely transmissive teaching anymore;
-low achieving pupils do not acquire the necessary basic skills through content-based tutoring, often lack motivation and self-confidence, are unable to catch up with basic attainments, experience repeated school failure (leading in some of the partner countries to grade retention), and are more likely to become early school leavers.
Fostering metacognitive teaching strategies to help teachers become more flexible, making pupils aware of their role of learners and improving trans-curricular skills such as learning-to-learn can tackle the root cause of the problem. To this aim, METAMINDS has developed a two-fold action addressed at teachers and pupils (10-14 years of age) at the same time, with the aim of introducing/enhancing metacognitive strategies in teaching and learning practice.
Acting according to PAR (Participatory Action Research), a pilot teacher training protocol on metacognition(O1) and a pupil learning-to-learn module (O2) have been devised, pilot-tested, assessed and disseminated inside and outside the partner institutions. The teachers’ protocol (O1) is available as an open on-line course on the moodle platform embedded in the website of the project (Teachers’ protocol), while the pupils’ module (O2) with activities for younger kids (METAKIDS) and teenagers (METATEENS) is accessible in the website of the project.
In May 2018 the METAMINDS intellectual outputs were presented in Rome in the international multiplier event “Metaminds at work”. An e-book collecting the main achievements of METAMINDS partnership is currently under publication.
Around 35% of teachers and 45% of pupils (mostly 10-14 years-of-age) of the partners schools were directly involved in the project activities through cooperation at distance and during mobilities. 9 Transnational Project Meeting, 8 Joint Staff Training Event and 5 Pupils’ Exchanges have allowed teachers and pupils to become engaged in learning, training and cultural activities in the different contexts provided by the partner schools. During the mobilities, each hosting school organised a dissemination event involving the local community. The Metaminds blog (http://metamindsproject.blogspot.com) records the events and activities of all the mobilities.
A Metaminds E-twinning project has allowed the pupils of the partnership to interact at distance with their peers from the other partner schools. They have uploaded pictures and texts on the Twinspace platform and they have taken part in forum discussions. A video with pupils’ opinions on positive and negative aspects of learning today is available in the twinspace. Thanks to the continuous interaction among the partners, teachers and pupils have improved their skills in English and ICT.
A newsletter and a brochure have been published to present and disseminate the project.
METAMINDS has increased teacher awareness of metacognitive strategies to be adopted in daily teaching and the METAMINDS outputs will provide useful tools to improve pupils’ learning-to-learn skills and motivation.
The curricula and educational offering of the partner institutions have been enriched by the introduction of the learning-to-learn modules especially aimed at improving learning performance and supporting low achievers and special needs pupils; the METAMINDS teacher’s protocol has been used and is permanently available for teacher training.
The partners have improved relationships with local/national and international institutions and stakeholders in the field of Education and increased capacity and professionalism to work at EU level.
All the METAMINDS results and outputs have been made available as digital/ online resources.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 359167,04 Eur

Project Coordinator

ICS Giorgio Perlasca & Country: IT

Project Partners

• Hillview School for Girls
• INS Aubenç
• Vilties pagrindine mokykla
• 3o GYMNASIO EDESSA
• Agrupamento de Escolas nº 1 de Serpa
• Langelinieskolen