Visible Thinking Routines as a Tool for Enhancing Cultural Proficiency Erasmus Project

Project Title

Visible Thinking Routines as a Tool for Enhancing Cultural Proficiency

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: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development)

Project Summary

The project “Visible Thinking Routines as a Tool for Enhancing Cultural Proficiency” is an Erasmus+ KA2 school partnership project that draws its idea from a common understanding of four schools in Lithuania, Spain, Bulgaria and Poland of the importance of broadening teacher competences that promote deeper understanding of content, development of learners’ thinking and learning abilities as well as increase learners’ cultural proficiency. In order to encourage students to learn, teachers should set an example of life-long learners who are constantly figuring out new ways to engage students and bring quality to their classes. We believe that, by creating learning situations within the framework of the project for teachers where they work interdependently in international teams, we will significantly contribute to the culture of learning among teachers in partner schools.

By implementing the project, we seek not only to learn new methodology but also to create opportunities for a meaningful intercultural experience for project participants. Together with international project partners we want to research sustainable professional development opportunities as we find that the most effective teacher learning comes in the form of feedback from peers, not supervisors, and from peer-to-peer collaboration (not seminars).

By undertaking the project, we intend to expand the use of Visible Thinking routines (Harvard Project Zero) in four partner schools to better impact students’ learning. The project also aims at encouraging participants to inquire into the commonality of human experience as part of a life-long journey toward becoming culturally proficient human beings among a diverse community of learners hailing from Spain, Lithuania, Poland and Bulgaria.

During the course of the project (2020-2022) partner schools will undertake different activities involving teachers, students and other stakeholders. Four learning, teaching, training mobilities will take place during the project in order to boost the participants’ cultural proficiency as well as to practice deeper thinking with partners from other countries by using Visible Thinking routines in practice. Diverse methodology will be used in order to implement all the planned activities: lesson observation, workshops, field trips, debates, reflection, teach-meet sessions, live video conferences, cultural activities.

Between mobilities participants will undertake common monthly or bi-monthly-based tasks on different cultural proficiency aspects. These are divided into 4 blocks based on Habits of the Heart practice (Parker Palmer) that will inquire into the topics of interdependence, identity, appreciation, agency and connection with their peers. Teachers in all partner schools will also undertake to dig deeper into the Visible Thinking routines and learn together how and when to apply them. ‘Think-meet’ peer teaching-learning sessions of teachers will be organised in every partner school to practice different Visible Thinking routines and to exchange good practice examples.

The results of the project:
– By the end of the project teachers in partner schools will apply up to 10 Visible Thinking routines in a classroom context.
– Ultimately, the teachers of all four partner schools will acquire new professional competences by learning and applying Visible Thinking routines that stimulate deep thinking of their students in their everyday work, thus improving the thinking culture of the school community.
– Teachers will create a series of videos on Visible Thinking routines in Spanish, Bulgarian, Polish and Lithuanian to disseminate for free to peers in their home countries. The videos will model the use of the routines followed by a short reflection by the practitioner.
– 60 students (15 from each school) and up to 36 teachers (9 from each school) will participate in international mobilities thus building their proactive attitude, cultural flexibility, and ability to work in diverse, intercultural teams.
– More than 180 teachers and 600 students will benefit from the project as they will experience the VT routines as well as participate in project activities promoting cultural proficiency.
– A wide community of teachers in four countries will benefit from the project by having free long-term access to free photocopiable lesson plans and the video library of Visible Thinking routines explained in their national languages.

All project results will be disseminated within local, national, regional and European communities via social networks, eTwinning, School Education Gateway platforms.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 89064 Eur

Project Coordinator

VsI Vilniaus Tarptautine Mokykla & Country: LT

Project Partners

• Prirodomatematicheska Gimnaziya “Vasil Drumev”
• NUESTRA SEÑORA DEL SAGRADO CORAZON
• II Liceum Ogolnoksztalcace im. ks. Jana Twardowskiego w Debicy