Student motivation across borders – an Austrian-Slovak collaboration Erasmus Project

Project Title

Student motivation across borders – an Austrian-Slovak collaboration

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education

Project Summary

The project involved two schools, 49 students from two classes and twelve teachers.

The goal of the project was to motivate the students and for the teachers to share school-specific topics, such as learning strategies, teaching methods, as well as common challenges.
The intention behind the project activities was to increase the motivation of the students and to enable the teachers to share common challenges. These were for example the exchange of teaching methods and learning strategies, or also strategies for the integration of students with different languages, the handling of smartphones in the classroom or similar situations we are confronted with in our daily teaching. Our goal to benefit from each other’s knowledge and the exchange was fulfilled, which is why the exchange will continue after the end of the project.
The objectives of the project were open education and innovative practices in the digital age as well as the social and educational value of the common European cultural heritage. Likewise, the objectives were to combat early school dropouts and to promote foreign language teaching and learning. These objectives were implemented through a common mobility of students, as well as two virtual mobilities and online learning activities.

C1: European Language Day (Slovakia)
The start of the joint project took place on the European Language Day in Slovakia, which had its focus on language learning. In this project, students from both nations worked together in workshops. In the course of the mobility, they also visited local sights, a horse farm and other common cultural sites in order to make the common cultural heritage and the diversity of the European economy visible. These shared experiences also laid the foundation for further constructive bi-national work, in which students from both countries carry out joint work, use foreign languages and exchange ideas.

C2: Social media and digital learning
Due to the pandemic, this mobility had to be postponed and carried out online. The aim of this activity was to exchange innovative practices. In online workshops students were able to share common experiences with online learning and teachers also ventured on new paths by applying new tools for virtual mobility. Moreover, a “mobile phone free day” took place. The experiences were reflected upon afterwards and the students shared their practices. The teachers also shared their experiences in Distance Learning, the problems with the lack of motivation and the distraction of the students at home, as well as the students.

C3: Brussels Project
In the last project year project days on Brussels took place and instead of the common trip, a virtual mobility was carried out. Presentations and online lectures were held. Lectures by diplomats and EU parliamentarians about living and working abroad took place as well as motivation workshops. Cultural sites were visited online and the common cultural heritage was debated. The aim of the project days was to give the students an understanding of the European Union, its purpose and the common cultural heritage, while integratively promoting foreign language skills. Furthermore, they should get new perspectives about working abroad, which should create the motivation for a better performance.
The results of the activities were uploaded on the E-Twinning project page.

The project enriched our schools in the long term and has a sustainable impact on the school development. On the one hand, the project motivated the teachers of both schools to keep in touch and visit each other. On the other hand, both schools had consistently positive experiences with their first Erasmus+ project, so that further projects are planned. New perspectives were acquired during the project, not only on teaching techniques and school organization, but also on the use of digital media and learning spaces for teaching and students. Through the exchange with their Slovak project partners the students were confronted with new challenges, which will shape them in the long term. They had the opportunity to test their foreign language skills in real-life situations and gain new perspectives on their future careers.
The results and outcomes of the project were shared with the school communities, in newspapers and at open house days. Thus, the project was regularly reported in conferences and school community committees. Trainings and in-service trainings, organized and financed by the Erasmus team, were also offered to all teachers and were taken advantage of. Online lectures and workshops were also open to students who are not in the project class, so that they could also benefit from them. In addition, the results and outcomes were published on the homepage and the project page on Twinspace.

Project Website

https://twinspace.etwinning.net/85438/home

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 26321,47 Eur

Project Coordinator

HLW Tulln & Country: AT

Project Partners

• Gymnazium Janka Krala, U. SNP 3, Zlate Moravce