The project "JOIN US, Support Me! - Join Opportunities of Inclusion through Sport and Music! "Is presented by "Egidi" Comprehensive Institute and addresses the need to develop a model of inclusive education, as described by the guidelines launched by the European Commission and, above all, by the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. The focus of the project is centered on two disciplines, which are well suited to the adoption of inclusive methodologies: Music and Sport. The general objectives are: - Improve the inclusive profiles of partner organizations, gain experience in international cooperation and strengthen their ability to produce innovative high quality results - Create strategic cooperation between operators in the sector of formal and non-formal / informal education in order to develop experimental tools of social innovation and inclusion - Implement new forms of learning for students with special needs, thanks to virtual mobility, OER and better use of ICT - Develop new tools and methods for the professional development of teachers and Headmasters, for better initial and lifelong education The specific objectives are: - Implement a inclusive, learner-centered teaching approach, where personalization starts from the needs and interests of all students, with focus on music and sport - Directly train 30 teachers and 5 Headteachers of partner schools and get them to the profile of "Inclusive Teacher" - Codify two new profiles of inclusive education for teachers of music and PE useful both for initial and in-service training (big-OER), that one would get by attending two elearning training courses (small-OER), both Intellectual Outputs of the Project - Establish a permanent mixed staff composed by school staff / experts / stakeholders to organize the functional structure for an effective inclusive education and lay the foundation for a continuous structured dialogue with parents and political/technical institutions To achieve these ambitious goals, the project is being developed by a very large and heterogeneous partnership, composed of five schools (Italy, coordinator, Slovakia, Estonia, Romania and Turkey) and 5 scientific private partners (Italy, Lithuania, Belgium, Sweden and the UK), lasting 36 months. The schools will involve a group of 10 students - including 5 SEN - aged between 11 and 13 years, three teachers and one headmaster, while the private partners will involve two trainers and various researchers. The planned activities are manifold: 1. Research, processing and coding five Intellectual Outputs: 1.1. A training course in e-learning mode for learning inclusive methodologies using music, aimed at developing skills and abilities for all teachers (working with students aged 11-13) and wishing to enrich their lessons with musical elements to reach the inclusion of students with disabilities. This product will be made available as "small-OER"; Scientific Management: Lithuania; 1.2. A training course in e-learning mode for learning inclusive methodologies using sport and movement. The scientific management is leaded by Special Olympics and it will be made available as "small-OER"; 1..3. Data collection and processing, through the use of structured and semi-structured questionnaires, interviews and online surveys about the benefits arising from education inclusive. Scientific Management: IC Egidi; 1.4. Profile of Inclusive Teacher - Music, made available as "Big-OER". Scientific Management: UK 1.5. Profile of Inclusive Teacher - PE, made available as "Big-OER". Scientific Management: Belgium These intellectual products will be presented during two events multipliers, to be held respectively in Italy, in occasion of the 2017 Special Olympics, and in Brussels at the European Parliament. 2. 8 mobility activities, of which: - 2 joint staff training events, in the UK and Sweden, supporting the development and exchange of good practices concerning the inclusive methods through music and sport - 5 blended mobility for learners (virtual and physical), which will aim primarily to allow also students with special needs to participate and teachers to experiment methods learned - 1 short term exchange of groups of pupils to be held in Brussels, at the European Institutions with the involvement of the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. Impact will be achieved at the local, national, European and international level; the project will bring long-term benefits as it aims to build a structured dialogue with stakeholders and policy makers, framed in a Council for Inclusive Education born in all partner countries; moreover the longer term benefits will deploy from the investment on the learning processes and capacity building of the school staff.
The project "JOIN US, SupPORT Me! - Join Opportunities of Inclusion through SPORT and Music!" was presented by the Egidi IC and born from the need to develop an inclusive education model, as described by the guidelines set by the European Commission and, above all, by the European Agency for Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Education. The focus of the activities was centered on two disciplines, which are well suited to the adoption of inclusive methodologies: Music and Sport. The general objectives were: - improve the inclusive profiles of partner organizations, gain experience in international cooperation and strengthen their capacity to produce high quality innovative results - achieve strategic cooperation between operators in the formal and non-formal / informal education sector in order to develop experimental tools for social innovation and inclusion - implement new forms of learning for SEN students, also thanks to virtual mobility, OER and better use of ICT - develop new tools and methods for professional development of teachers and Heads, for better initial education and continuing training The specific objectives were: - implement an inclusive learning approach focused on the learner, where personalization starts from the needs and interests of all the students, with music and sport as focus - directly train 30 teachers and 5 Heads from the partner schools - codify two new profiles of inclusive teaching for music and PE teachers, useful for both initial and in-service training (big- OER), which can be obtained through attendance at two training courses (small-OER), both IOs of the project - launch a permanent mixed operational task force composed by school / experts / stakeholders that organize the internal functional structure and lay the foundations for a constant structured dialogue with parents and institutions The project proved to be a substantial success and the achievement of the objectives was guaranteed by a very broad and heterogeneous partnership, composed of 5 schools (Italy, coordinator, Slovakia, Estonia, Romania and Turkey, the latter leaving the project at the end of the first year due to force majeure causes) and 5 scientific partners from the world of private social (Italy, Lithuania, Belgium, Sweden and UK). For the duration of the 36 months, schools have involved pupils - also SEN pupils - aged between 11 and 13 years, teachers and Heads, while non-school partners have participated with their own trainers and researchers. The following activities have been implemented: 1. Research, elaboration and codification of the 4 Intellectual Outputs approved by the National Agency: 1.1. An e-learning training course for the learning of inclusive methodologies through music, designed to transmit skills and abilities to all teachers (working with students aged 11-13) who wish to enrich their lessons with music elements aimed at the inclusion of disabled students. It is be made available as a "small-OER"; 1.2. An e-learning training course for the learning of inclusive methodologies through sport and movement. It is be made available as a "small-OER"; 1.3 Profile of the Teacher Included - Music, made available in the form of "Big-OER". 1.4. Profile of the Inclusive Teacher - Physical Education, made available in the form of "Big-OER". These intellectual products have been the subject of two multiplier events, held respectively in Italy (26/05/2017) and in Brussels (26/09/2017) at the European Parliament, with the participation of the Czech European Commissioner Věra Jourová and Petra Goran, Member of the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the EC and editor of the report "Structural Indicators for Inclusive Systems in and around Schools". 2. 8 mobility activities, of which: - 2 joint training events for teachers in the UK and Sweden, leading to the development and exchange of good practices on inclusive methodologies through music and sport - 5 blended mobility for learners (with virtual and physical parts), which have had the main purposes of allowing students with special needs to participate and teachers to experiment the methodologies learned - 1 short term exchange for pupils that took place in Brussels, at the European Institutions with the involvement of the highest representatives. An important impact has been achieved at local, national and European level; the project has brought and will bring long-term benefits as it aims to build a structured dialogue with stakeholders and policy-makers and focused on the learning processes of the school staff.