We rethink our playgrounds as a learning environment Erasmus Project

Project Title

We rethink our playgrounds as a learning environment

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 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Overcoming skills mismatches (basic/transversal); Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation

Project Summary

Tradition. Play and STEAM
The aim of this collaborative project was to create four ‘Euro’ playgrounds that are bound together with the common aim of encouraging the sharing of traditional games from contrasting European Countries. In addition, we promoted a wealth of ideas and opportunities for children to plan, learn and play within the contexts of Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics for and in their recreation times.

Europe and learning.
Through collaboration in real time and online, the children in our cluster group of schools from the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland and Germany exchanged ideas, learnt through different languages, promoted literacy skills, celebrated childhood cultural heritages and created a sense of belonging within and to Europe. Europe as place of learning, exchange and the appreciation of cultural values.

Students leading students
Children know how to play. They know how to build. They are creative. They learn by doing. They are natural or ‘Creative Architects.’ Our Grade 4 and 5 children led the project, linked with younger and older children across our cluster of schools; the former to embrace and facilitate their ideas in the consultation, planning and building stages; the latter for advice, and support (especially as the older children in most schools had a community and action part of their learning, which they have used in the project).

An Inquiry based approach
We promoted a scientific approach to this project by following the design cycle which has its roots in the scientific method and is also a pedagogical approach that is commonly used in Elementary Schools.

• Making connections to each other
• Fashioning a statement of intent
• Creating an Action Plan
• Establishing the direction we wish to take together
• Investigation: Establishing questions and priorities for the project
• Gathering and sharing tasks and resources
• Presenting and refining
• Reflections
• Taking further actions

Collaboration in a digital world
Technology enabled us to collapse distances, encourage real time communication, afford dialogue and reflection, as well it supported different learners using video, conferencing, collaborative documentation and visualisation apps which helped to document not just the project but also how we collaborated with our partners over time. We used Skype, Google Drive and a series of apps that were useful to support students work on the project. The children were able to post project progress using a Project Blog on Twin Space. They created and published brochures and fliers to advertise what they were creating within their own communities. We also used data handling tools for surveys, graphs and charts to gather opinions from surveys, promote and share these data. Our British partner facilitated the use of 3D printing of the playground models. For presentations students used Kahoot, Power Point and Goggle Slides.

Outcomes
Our children learnt about project based thinking, teamwork, the processes of problem solving and troubleshooting, the different ways one can communicate, to share and appreciate different perspectives: that different cultures can think, feel, live differently than ourselves, but can also be right about how to play and learn in a European context. They also learnt that play involves all aspects of STEAM and that different cultures play different games and perhaps the same games, with different names.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 117055 Eur

Project Coordinator

International School of Stuttgart e.V. & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Direzione Didattica Statale 2 Circolo Gragnano
• Bothal Primary School
• Szkola Podstawowa nr 3 im. Henryka Brodatego w Zlotoryi