Outdoor learning -The Green Extended Classrooms! Erasmus Project

Project Title

Outdoor learning -The Green Extended Classrooms!

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Environment and climate change; Creativity and culture; Health and wellbeing

Project Summary

Four primary schools from Finland, Sweden (2x) and Germany are involved in the “The Green Extended Classrooms” project.
A total of six AUL meetings are planned over a two-year period, during which one to four teachers per partner school will participate. Both short-term student exchanges involve between 10 and 16 pupils per participating institution aged 9 to 12 years. Through the project, the participating schools want to explore and use the near-natural terrain of the immediate and wider school environment. Our goal is to make teaching, learning, playing and outdoor activities tangible and to provide space for innovative, open, creative forms of learning.Aspects of environmental protection, sustainability and health education are given special attention. During the course of the project, four theme-specific boxes filled with learning material will be created and, in addition to the original, will be made available digitally via eTwinning to partner schools and other interested schools. The boxes are designed in such a way that they can be seen as a pool of ideas which will be continuously expanded at the respective schools and will also be available to teachers and learners in the future. Each of the four partner schools is responsible for creating and publishing a box which will then be tested by the other schools.
In order to best prepare joint activities with heterogeneous groups of pupils during a short-term exchange, we want to concentrate on the joint exchange and the creation of the first two learning boxes in the first project year. In joint meetings in Espoo, Bonn and Berlin we will work on the content of the boxes (Box 1: Getting to know and exploring the school environment, Box 2: Creating positive experiences of nature/ dealing with plants and animals typical for the location).
In Espoo, we also want to invite a speaker who is an expert in the field of Seamless Learning to give us topic-specific advice. In Berlin, in addition to a joint excursion on outdoor learning in English, all participants will have the opportunity to visit the science and future museum, Futurium. We hope to gain ideas for the creative design of the learning boxes on the topics of sustainable forms of life in everyday life or appreciation of the natural habitat etc. in order to use them for action-oriented, self-directed outdoor lessons. During the first student exchange in November 2021, participants from all partner schools will meet at Aspenäs- and Östadskolan/ Sweden to work together on the contents of Box 3 (environmental protection and sustainability). During the second student exchange in April 2022 in Espoo/ Finland, the focus will be on getting to know, testing and comparing country-specific outdoor games and experiencing nature with all senses.
This corresponds to the contents of Box 4 (creating a collection of games and activities typical for the country). In order to ensure the participation of all those involved in the project, photos will be taken, short videos and tutorials will be made and distributed through eTwinning or DIY products will be brought home. Especially given the different starting points in terms of space, participating institutions will exchange, inspire and learn from each other. Furthermore we will improve our skills in inclusive and integrative learning and teaching within the project idea of “Green Extended Classrooms“ by exchanging methods, ideas about the use of resources and possible support measures.
Participating pupils will develop intercultural skills by breaking down language barriers through the playful content and the use of initial foreign language elements, through an expected open-mindedness towards the new and foreign and a resulting increase in empathy. Their own personality will mature. The project will also contribute in the long term to the appreciation and use of the potential of extracurricular learning places as well as a deeper awareness of nature, the environment and the climate. We hope to compensate for urgent, unfulfillable needs of the participating institutions (e.g. lack of space, lack of financial means) and thus provide important stimuli for further school development.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 95488 Eur

Project Coordinator

Grundschulverbund Marienschule-Nordschule Bonn & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Aspenässkolan
• Karamzinin koulu
• Östad skola