Creative Learning in Action Erasmus Project

Project Title

Creative Learning in Action

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills; Inclusion – equity; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Special and regular schools from Denmark, Portugal, Spain, England and Germany came together for the project “Creative Learning in Action”. They followed the basic assumption that successful and sustainable learning needs the integration of the whole person and should take place in personal significant contexts. Led by this considered opinion teachers of the participating schools started the journey to reassess and develop their planning and teaching work. “Creative Learning” for these teachers meant to think “outside the box”, to leave the stamped out ways, to dare something and to support each other. Because of this work their pupils got the offer of an explorative, action-orientated and interdisciplinary way of learning, which integrated all senses. These lessons enabled them to arouse their curiosity and to develop intrinsic motivation, to feel self efficiently in their thinking and acting and to experience the importance of the learning contents for their personality.

The main goals of this project are defined as working at individual level, as well as at the level of the school development. Beside the personal experiences, which people have made during the project all schools were encouraged to develop a framework for a creative curriculum, which can be implemented in the pedagogical work of the school.

During the project all schools worked on five topics/themes, which were identified through a common brainstorming in the beginning. The topics “Time”, “Flight”, “Challenge”, “Weather” and “Elements” stood as examples for broadly defined topics, you can elaborate with pupils in different ages, levels and with different abilities and needs. For that it is a need and a chance to elaborate these topics in different contexts and aspects, different subjects and with different methods. The schools decided to use a kind of rolling system and worked one after the other on a topic, thus the ideas of the school who worked on the topic before could flow into your own work immediately. The instrument of communication was a blog, designed by the project participants themselves.

A main aspect of the project was collaboration. Groups of staff or/and the whole staff met regularly in all schools, to face up to planning and teaching ideas in a creative way and to come to an exchange about methodology.

All schools evaluated their work regularly and documented their development by filling out the Evaluation forms, which has been developed by the project participants themselves.

During transnational project meetings teachers presented the ideas and the development in their schools, went into an intensive, professional exchange and were able to support each other and to learn from each other. These meetings were visited by different colleagues, who were very involved in the project. They collected their impressions, brought them home to the own school and disseminated them among the staff, who stayed at home.

The participants have carried together a collection of more than 150 posts and more than 50 additional and planning documents, which are published on the blog in an attractive and clear way. While doing that they considered the condition to share at least one idea from another school for the work on each topic and adapt it for the lessons with the own pupils. So you can find ideas for working on same aspects on different levels for very different pupils.

Teachers of the participating schools agree that this project was a very enriching experience for them especially because of the appreciation and motivation of the collaborative work. Pupils love to talk about their exciting experiences, view the photos at the walls of their schools and ask for the next topics. The schools hit the road to continue the way of “Creative learning” and to find ways to implement it in their daily work. Everybody who was touched by this project agrees: Schools who live “Creative Learning in Action” are schools, where learning touches the soul.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 50800 Eur

Project Coordinator

Heinrich-Böll-Schule & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Agrupamento de Escolas de Vialonga
• The Dales School
• Escola Plançó
• Tarm Skole