No Problem, Only Solutions! Erasmus Project

Project Title

No Problem, Only Solutions!

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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills

Project Summary

No Problems, Only Solutions!
“A problem is a chance for you to do your best” Duke Ellington.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them” Albert Einstein.

The six partner schools in this project have worked together successfully in a number of Comenius, Erasmus+ and eTwinning projects. The motivation for this project arose when we identified the common priority in our schools of improving problem solving skills in our pupils.
Our partner schools have identified this area as crucial for the continuing progress and development of our pupils. We recognise that within the current curricula of our schools the opportunities to develop problem solving skills are underdeveloped. These skills include: reasoning, using logic, developing strategies, improving language skills, critical thinking, creativity, perseverance, patience and using life experiences. As staff we need to learn more about the theory and processes of problem solving and how to develop these in our pupils.
The primary goal of our partnership is to strengthen the European dimension in our schools, to increase the networks and partnerships between our schools, our capacity to operate at transnational level, and to share and confront ideas, practices and methods. We wish to continue to develop the effective use of digital technologies within and between our schools.
A School Exchange Partnership Project is an ideal medium that will provide opportunities for pupils and staff to participate in international learning experiences with a combination of both virtual cooperation and physical exchanges. Our key eTwinning project site will be used for communication, ideas, questions, problems, examples and resources. It is intended that this project will be as inclusive as possible with activities planned for the range of pupils, a project that will deepen the curriculum, not just an add-on!
Our six partners are all town or city schools including pupils and families from a variety of circumstances, backgrounds and cultures. The main participants will be pupils aged from 9 to 12 with the staff from our six schools. However it is intended that pupils throughout our schools will be also be able to take part in and benefit from many of the activities.
During the two years of the project we have planned two short term staff training events. Staff will participate in joint training, using visiting ‘experts’ and a series of workshops, learning about the process and stages of successful problem solving, the skills needed, and how to develop these in our pupils.
We have divided our work on problem solving into six areas:
Language and Mathematical problems and puzzles, DT construction problems, Group problem solving, Programming and Board games.
Schools will work on all six areas throughout the project. Problems to solve and examples of possible solutions will be uploaded to our project eTwinning site. There will be six short term pupil exchanges, [workshops], one in each partner school. Each workshop will focus on one of the six areas. They will be attended by six pupils from each of the partner schools. Activities will be organised by the host schools using problems and situations devised by the school as well as those uploaded to our eTwinning site. Online video conferencing meetings are planned during these workshops linking visiting pupils with pupils in their own schools. These workshops will provide a unique opportunity for staff to observe in detail and discuss the processes of how pupils tackle problem solving.
We envisage that the results of this partnership will include the strengthening of the networks and partnerships between our schools. Staff in our schools will have developed a greater understanding of the processes of successful problem solving and how to develop them in their pupils.
The project will lead to the curricula of our schools becoming more challenging and exciting, increasing pupil motivation and success. The pupils and staff who have taken part in the mobilities will have had the unique opportunity to learn about the schools, life and culture of their partners, as well as establishing long term relationships and taking part in a series of challenging activities.
A very important outcome of our project will be establishment of a large bank of problem solving questions and activities especially suitable for primary age pupils. These will be made widely available through our project and school websites as well as the Erasmus+ Project Results platform. During the second year of the project we plan to create an online interactive platform linked to our eTwinning site where pupils from all schools can set and solve problems. This will continue to be used beyond the project.
The results and findings from our project will be disseminated as widely as possible throughout our schools, to parents and the community and to teacher and head teacher groups beyond our schools.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 196079 Eur

Project Coordinator

Birchfield Community Primary School & Country: UK

Project Partners

• Agrupamento de Escolas Júdice Fialho
• C.E.I.P. LA CAÑADA
• Ecole Saint Roch
• I.C.S. C.Santagata-5° C.D.
• Hagalundskolan, Dalby/Torna Hällestad, Lund Öster