On the Wings of Europe Erasmus Project

Project Title

On the Wings of Europe

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: Environment and climate change; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

The project On the Wings of Europe was a 2-year project in which five partners cooperated. The priority of the project was using innovative methods and achieving better results through more effective teaching methods. To achieve the planned goals, we chose a biology project – the migration of birds. This project gave teachers the opportunity to practise new, innovative ways of teaching and gave students the opportunity to learn a team work and learn about an interesting biological topic. We suppose the project also contributed to the awareness of the preservation of environmental diversity and deepened the awareness of unity in Europe.
The participating schools differ in number of students, age of students, national curricula and school problems they deal with but the project gave all of them the opportunity to learn from each other.
Stredni prumyslova skola chemicka Pardubice in the Czech Republic is a secondary technical school which provides secondary education for almost 900 students aged 15-19.
Malpils novada vidusskola in Latvia acts as a county high school for almost 400 students. There are primary and lower secondary education programmes, special education programmes for students with mental and learning disabilities. IES Virgen de Guadalupe in Spain is a public institution where about 450 students attend classes of Compulsory General Education, High Secondary Education and Vocational Training. The school also holds Specific Integrated Teaching for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, special needs and severe behaviour disorders. Prva gimnazija Varaždin in Croatia offers three national programmes (General, Scientific and Languages), bilingual programme in English/Croatian and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IBDP). The school is a member of the UNESCO’s Associated Schools, working on the projects of promotion and protection of the national and global, cultural and natural heritage. Ignalinos r. Dūkšto mokykla in Lithuania provides primary and basic education for 110 pupils in grades 1-10; 20 of pupils are children with special needs.
At the first transnational meeting in autumn 2015 we shared the first experience. We provided methodology for the students´ observations, made observation sheets and discussed how to cooperate effectively. We planned to issue the results of the biology part of the project in a brochure, to create a map of bird migration and to design a calendar. In the educative part of the project we started to collect methodology tips and to prepare an interactive presentation for biology teachers.
All these materials were successfully created during the following 2 years of the project work.
During short-term exchanges of groups of pupils we presented the results of the previous period in particular countries and we visited many bird areas with local ornithologists. Students gave their presentations on selected migratory bird species which they prepared in their teams. We often divided students into mixed groups for the workshops.
Between the international meetings we organized competitions, visited nature reserves and bird areas. We met with students many times in afternoon lessons. We wrote articles about the project events for the school web pages and we displayed posters at schools.
The short-term joint staff training event contributed to teachers´ knowledge in the field of counselling and coaching. The teachers worked together in a workshop, which focused on using new methods in lessons based on peer learning activities, and they exchanged examples of good practice.
The second transnational meeting in spring 2017, as the last international event, focused on presenting the project results. We evaluated the project products, in both biological and methodological parts, and decided about efficient dissemination activities. We observed and evaluated warm-up and ice-breaking activities which our students and teachers prepared and which were recorded in the collection of methodology tips. We observed the work of the students done in the creative workshops. We compared the project links on different school web pages and planned the last simultaneous bird watching held in all countries at the same time. We discussed the possibilities of future cooperation.
In all countries, we encouraged students of various social and economic backgrounds to take part in the project. In Spain autistic children and their assistants also participated in many project activities.
In this project, students developed their ability to find the information they need, work in a team and make deadlines. They benefited from the pleasure of discovering new things. They developed their computer and language skills.
Teachers benefited from sharing ideas, exchanging learning and teaching materials, and learning new teaching approaches.
We hope we increased a positive public perception of our schools and raised the reputation and attractiveness of involved educational institutions.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 85710 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stredni prumyslova skola chemicka Pardubice & Country: CZ

Project Partners

• Prva gimnazija Varazdin
• Ignalinos r. Duksto mokykla
• Malpils novada vidusskola
• IES Virgen de Guadalupe