SAME GOAL DIFFERENT WAYS Erasmus Project

Project Title

SAME GOAL DIFFERENT WAYS

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Inclusion – equity; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

This project was aimed to work together with other European countries willing to learn from each other and eager to share experiences, methodologies and create a common piece of work. Our schools came from diverse cultural backgrounds, however, we pursued to achieve common objectives.
Four European schools participated in this project from different parts of Europe: France, U.K (N.Ireland), Finland and Spain.

This project was based on three pillars that sustain and make content practical and meaningful:

First of all, we focused on key competences development as our objectives were directly linked to all of them. This project not only contributed to our students’ linguistic competences in mother tongue and foreign languages but it also favoured the digital competence in both students and teachers. We also worked through cooperative learning strategies to promote social and civic competence in our students. The intercultural dialogue and getting to know each other were essential to raise cultural awareness and communicative competence.
Linguistic competence was developed while creating a context where students needed to use the language both orally and in written form. That is why we created different real situations and contexts where languages were promoted. Besides, the digital competence as was a priority in our association, both students and teachers used new technologies to communicate and to create joint products. Researching documentation and learning of customs and cultural identities has been a meeting point between cultures and countries.

Secondly, we all wanted to improve the quality of teaching. Reflection and shared review of teaching practices resulted in a final common product based on the collection of many integrated-teaching-units and some digital books/magazines completed by teachers and students as a resource to be used by other people as they are published. Teachers meetings and training have been essential to achieve this goal and helped us to share common practices, to learn from others, to create project products, to exchange methodologies and follow approaches.

Thirdly, this project enhanced the European dimension by creating a collaborative scenario and cooperation between schools while contrasting cultures and styles. We put the emphasis on tolerance, respect, multiculturalism in a common European space that will celebrate different cultural identities.

This project mainly pivoted on two methodologies as we aim to work through the multiple intelligences approach and ICT (Information and communication Technology).
Taking into account the main role of the key competences in our background, we followed the multiple intelligences approach as this methodology has a great impact on students’ academic performance. Students developed the required skills through activities that focused on different intelligences at the same time. Concerning ICT, we aimed to implement the digital resources to make the necessary step from ICT to Learning & Knowledge Technology (LKT). In order to achieve this outcome, we made an appropriate use of LKT in the classroom. So, we contributed to boost the teaching-learning process, the intercultural Exchange between different countries involved in the Project, the use of interdisciplinary activities and the communicative competence in a foreign language (English). Some strengths of working with LKT in the classroom, we could mention: it improves students´ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, it implies meaningful learning, it enhances active learning and participation, it prompts cooperative and collaborative learning, it favoured inclusion and it allows to communicate lively with other countries, using many digital means as E-twinning. LTK resources used: QR codes, robotics, digital posters, digital books and magazines, videos.
Research, documentation, knowledge and learning traditions and cultural identities has been a meeting point between participating cultures and countries enhanced the social and civic competences and the capacity for cultural awareness and expression. Through all designed activities, students have been able to learn from each other and to compare different cultural aspects.

Finally, we should also emphasize other key issues in the development of the project:
-The importance we gave to teacher training in our first two years within this project. Training in Robotics, special needs, cooperative work and multiple intelligences.
-The purpose of a collection of first-hand experience and lesson plans/workshops developed in order to support other teachers in their daily practice.
-And to sum up, we bear in mind that this project has been a challenge for all of us, but we valued the importance of students’ exchange. Students development, their direct involvement in short-term exchanges allowed them to put the skills into practice in real contexts.

Project Website

https://twinspace.etwinning.net/71138/home

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 84469,3 Eur

Project Coordinator

CEIP SAN JOSÉ DE CALASANZ & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Nopankylan koulu, Ilmajoki
• OGEC Ecole Sainte-Anne
• Edenderry Primary School