Shaping my lifestyle Erasmus Project

Project Title

Shaping my lifestyle

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: Environment and climate change; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Teaching and learning of foreign languages

Project Summary

Background
These four schools have joined forces for cooperation:
• Secondary school Freising, Germany
• Saltsjöbadens samskola, Sweden
• Collège Alex Mézenc, France
• Education Center Álvaro Yáñez, Spain
All of us shared our different experiences in education, because education is the best prerequisite for a successful life. In a globalized world, intercultural competence is becoming increasingly important as a key qualification for all children and young people. Cultural education strengthens the abilities to be perceptive, to shape your own life and interact with others and thus the basis for social participation.

Objectives
We used the project as offering a multi faceted opportunity for our students to both provide and receive learning through various subjects and skill sets. More specifically we suffered opportunities for learning and development in subject specific areas (Humanities and Social Science, English Language), through the real life experience of a cultural exchange, for our students to both be exposed to and reflect upon their own and another culture, and for us to exchange best practice and professional development opportunities with our international colleagues.
Learning and working together in our multicultural schools was great and every-day life for students and teachers alike. With this project we strengthened this experience by working, learning and living with students and teachers from different national backgrounds and thus school systems. Climate protection as a global phenomenon went well together with the Erasmus idea of international cooperation. The objectives of our project were:
• Mobility, intercultural encounter
• Increase skills and competences in the field of climate change
• Promoting involvement in decision-making (The students will learn how to share their opinion, how to convince others but also to accept different opinions)
• Innovative thinking and creativity based on tradition and custom

Participants
The project involved the whole school family of the respective cooperation schools, e.g. pupils, parents and teachers. We achieved that more than 30 students and 10 teachers per school participated in the trips despite the Corona-related limitation. Parents and teachers took the visiting pupils/teachers into their homes and provided a private glimpse into their living conditions.

Activities
We focused on do-it-yourself activities to start on the path to proactive action against global warming. The basis was the acquisition of intercultural skills. Practical workshops were held at the different schools with up to six students from the partner schools. This internationally composed group produced sub-results, tasks for the next workshop, teaching elements for the schools and in some cases products were created. Back home, the students shared their experiences, communicated results to their school or exhibited products (multiplication role). In addition to the workshops, whole classes or groups worked together in projects.
Workshops:
We hold one-week workshops in Freising (Education for sustainable development), Salsjöbaden (gender and climate change) and Bembibre (water), the last two workshops in France (energy) and Germany (5R´s) were not feasible due to corona. The work was divided into three phases: Preparation (selection of students, matching home students and guest students, teaching material and design, organisation of activities, press work); Implementation (team building, project-oriented approach and work, class visits, museum and excursion, closing celebration); Follow-up (publication, sharing of results, documentation).
Projects:
Seven interactive projects (P1-P7) were carried out.
The casting and application procedures at the cooperation schools activated the pupils and produced small contributions (e.g. video). In addition, the schools carried out individual activities (spreading the idea) or informed the school family about the Erasmus+project and the possibilities of participation.

Results and impacts
– The pupils became more confident in communicating in a foreign language.
– Their willingness to go abroad has increased.
– The pupils have knowledge and concepts against global warming. They are more climate-sensitive and take responsibility for their own actions regarding climate and environmental protection.
– They recognise the European and global dimension of the issue and begin to get involved.
– Friendships are formed.
– Pupils developed into responsible bearers of European values.
– Corona showed us the sensitivity of the effort and the importance of perseverance.

Longer-term benefits
– The accumulated experience in intercultural education.
– Exchange of information on didactics and pedagogy in neighbouring European countries.
– Contacts with colleagues abroad.
– Further project work with the partner schools has been developed and applied for.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 88127 Eur

Project Coordinator

Realschule Gute Änger, Staatliche Realschule Freising II & Country: DE

Project Partners

• IES ALVARO YAÑEZ
• Collège Alex Mézenc
• Samskolan