Learning through games to keep children at school Erasmus Project

Project Title

Learning through games to keep children at 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 : 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; Access for disadvantaged; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Tackling the problem of early school leaving is the one of the priority targets of Europe. In the Europe Strategy 2020, it has been planned to reduce the dropout rate to %10 from the current 15 %. We aimed to contribute the solution to this problem with this project “learning through games”. Using games while teaching lessons is an effective method to increase pupils achievement and to keep pupils aged 6-10 at school.
The reasons of absenteeism and early school leaving are the low socio-economic level of families, parents’ attitudes towards school, pupils’ feeling inadequate in lessons, pupils’ not feeling belonging to school, the inadequate interest of teachers in pupils, not existing role models around disadvantaged pupils especially in Romanies. Thanks to the project we reduced these disparities in learning outcomes affecting pupils.
We reached pupils by teaching through games which created amusing learning atmospheres.
In recent years it has come out that to provide permanent learning, rather than just to tell the subject, the feelings of a child should be involved. Because it was found that learning consists of 20% mental, 80% emotional. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, the professor of the psychology , recommends that learning environment should be not only disciplined but also fun and added the game is very important for children of primary school age.

Freud defined children’s mental health as “love and play”. Game is children’s most important and serious work. They learn everything in games; they repeat what they learn in games. While children were studying, we found ways to benefit from games.

Taking into consideration this information, games were chosen as an effective way to reach pupils. Thanks to games, we helped pupils express themselves, increase their self-confidence, make them feel themselves valuable, provide them learning environment where the inequality of opportunity in education is reduced, provide comfortable learning environments, encourage pupils use their creativity, develop their problem solving skills and digital skills and provide permanent learning.
This project was based on the exchange of good practices. Each partner shared good practices about teaching through games which makes learning enjoyable.
The number of partners was 6. We had a partnership consisting of Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Italy, Greece and Turkey.
Participants handled these methods and techniques: Games for developing creativity (Turkey); aiming to increase pupils creativity, games in Learning by doing (Romania); focuses on “doing” in addition to the “hearing” and “seeing” that occur in traditional learning, learning outside school (Greece); learning out of the classroom by playing, helping pupils recognize their environment and the world, games in ICT for learning (Poland); improving pupils’ digital skills; games in cooperative learning (Italy) aiming pupils’ work in groups and feeling belonging to the school, developing social skill’ games in extracurricular activities integrated into learning process(Bulgaria).
While applying these defined teaching methods and techniques, activities containing games were performed to make the learning process fun. Basic need of pupils in the 6-10 age group, the game, was met. So the learning atmosphere became more fun and it increased pupils’ desire to come to school.
In the first year there had been 3 transnational meetings and 3 learning/teaching/training activities; in the second year 3 transnational meetings and 3 learning/teaching/training activities were organized.
Our pupils now are happier, more active while learning through games. This project reduced the negative attitudes towards school and provided them an entertaining learning environment. Teachers and pupils got to know the teaching and learning process in partner schools. They understood their situation better by seeing the differences and similarities. They realized the diversity in languages and cultures. They also had a desire to improve English as a common language.
This project provided the opportunity for teachers to see the teaching methods and techniques on the spot, facilitating the sharing of best practices. Teachers have enriched the teaching methods and techniques they use in their schools and help them to develop their career and to meet needs of pupils faster and in a different way.
The project increased the interest of the stakeholders towards the school. The participating schools became an example for the other schools in the neighborhood.
Shared methods and techniques in learning/teaching/training activities were collected on the website and in a manual and the project results are available for everyone.
As a result , this project contributed a solution to absenteeism and early school leaving problem.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 176250 Eur

Project Coordinator

PAMUKYAZI TAMSA SERAMIK FABRIKASI A.S ILKOKULU & Country: TR

Project Partners

• Scoala Gimnaziala Nr. 21
• Spoleczna Szkola Podstawowa STO
• Direzione didattica statale S. Giovanni Bosco
• 23rd Heraklion Primary School
• Osnovno uchilishte “Vasil Levski”