Seniors in the city, seniors everywhere: Unterrichtsmaterial zur Lebenssituation älterer Menschen in Bologna, Köpenick, Mokotów und Roeselare Erasmus Project

Project Title

Seniors in the city, seniors everywhere: Unterrichtsmaterial zur Lebenssituation älterer Menschen in Bologna, Köpenick, Mokotów und Roeselare

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 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Demographic change is one of the great changes in society that European states currently face, however, in schools’ curricula this topic hasn’t been very present yet. There’s still a lack of current teaching material permitting a European vision of the topic. Before we started our project, we did a survey among teachers and students of the project schools about this problem: less than 50 percent of the students surveyed had already delved into the senior topic, 80 percent of the teachers said that the topic didn’t appear often enough in the classroom. So the teachers of the project schools defined and focused on the topic “Elderly people’s life“, the project focused on the rising awareness about the problems and challenges associated with the topic, the reflection on a possible and common teaching approach for the classroom and the elaboration of teaching material as a framework for the conception and the realization of the project. Given this background, we defined the aims of the project: 1. Make learners and teachers aware of seniors, promote the feeling of intergenerational justice as well as social tolerance, active citizenship and open-mindedness for social, linguistic and cultural diversity and challenges related to this diversity. 2. By doing research and by interviewing seniors, responsibles for seniors in care facilities and other specialists for seniors (scientists etc.) the participants in the project acquire knowledge about the following topics: self- and external perception of people in the “third phase” of life, care offers, socio-economic situation. 3. Learners and teachers improve their language skills and motivation to learn languages, their digital skills and media literacy, they acquire intercultural knowledge and a more positive attitude towards the European project. 4. Thus, learners discover possible career prospects in this sector and inform themselves about the reality of everyday working life. Initially conceived by four schools, the project had to be realized by three schools: shortly after the project’s start the Belgian partner quit and the remaining partners had to modify their “road map“ and adapt the distribution of tasks. The project coordination was under the responsability of the “Evangelische Schule Köpenick“ (D), characterized by fairness and tolerance with one another. The “Szkoła podstawowa nr 157 im. Adama Mickiewicza“ (PL) – the former, in the meantime completely reorganized “Gimnazjum nr 1 im. Roberta Schumana“– has a European profile and aims to promote interdisciplinary courses. The “Liceo scientifico Augusto Righi“ (I) is characterized by its rich experience and expertise in the field of school exchanges. The local project manager is a computer expert.
In the two years following the start of the project, the local teams concentrated on:
– regular meetings with seniors
– took portrait photos of seniors. The exhibitions based on the photos shown were a great succes at different places (project schools, nursery homes, municipal library, centres proposing older adult activities) (cf. attachment).
– interviews with seniors und people in charge in nursery homes
– workshops with researchers at university (e.g. Prof. Kuszak from Poznan University, Dr. Kubicki from the Warsaw School of Economics, Prof. Gräske from the University of Applied Sciences in Saarbrücken, Prof. Mignani from the University of Bologna)
– make contact and keep in touch with the local network (e.g. D: ˮSeniorenheim Müggelschlösschenweg“, PL: ˮDzienny Dom Pomocy Społecznej na Ursynowie“,I: ˮCentro sociale Rosa Marchi“)
– research of information (statistics, further reading, films etc.)
– dissemination of the results at regional level (e.g. during the ˮEuropean afternoon“ at AUL1 and AUL C3)
– create and disseminate the created teaching material on the MOODLE platform (lsrighi.com/moddle16/) and the web site (https://www.seniorsinthecity.eu)
– preparation of the AUL: especially as a host
The studying technique was the so-called peer-to-peer learning involving teachers and students, favoring interaction between all participants.
As results and products and long-term benefit of the projects should be mentioned
– several successful photo exhibitions in the project towns (cf. attachment)
– the web site (providing all the created teaching material) and the MOODLE platform (also providing the created teaching material)
– regular intergenerational meetings, providing increased knowledge about the project’s topic in the country the participants come from and the two other participating countries, improved language skills and an increased motivation for further language learning, improved digital skills and media literacy, greater understanding and learn to be more tolerant towards elderly people’s needs and other social and cultural contexts

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 64490 Eur

Project Coordinator

Evangelische Schule Köpenick & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Gimnazjum nr 1 z Oddzialami Dwujezycznymi im. Roberta Schumana
• LICEO SCIENTIFICO AUGUSTO RIGHI
• Instituut Onze Lieve Vrouw van Vreugde