The project ‘Mission-Maths’ is to enhance students’ practical maths knowledge to be applied in other fields of science and everyday situations and to develop teachers’ competence in innovative maths teaching methodology. Students lack basic maths skills, their mathematical knowledge gained at school is too theoretical and they cannot apply it in real life situations, although they can solve problems in exam/test papers. They have problems with interpreting data, graphs and simple databases. However, they are more and more demanding and traditional methods used at school are not effective enough and do not appeal to young computer-hungry minds. Teachers lack innovative and effective teaching methods and find it difficult to show the importance of practical maths in a way which would appeal to or be attractive to young students who live in technology-oriented world. There are few multimedia educational programs that could be attractive for young minds and stimulate them to perceive maths problems practically. The project objective is to introduce and test innovative methods, such as Inquiry-Based Method, SCRATCH programing language and making use of logical games and strategy-based tasks during lessons. Our target groups are 120 students and 24 Maths and IT teachers from schools that are far from scientific centres which could inspire teachers and students. The partner schools are situated in areas where maths education is of great importance. In some areas the unemployment rate is high and young people tend to leave the region because of poor employment perspectives. The project activities will contribute to bigger employment opportunities in the future. The project will make it easier for target groups to exchange ideas and practical experience through transnational meetings, staff training events and short-term exchanges as each partner to the project comes from different economic background, has different facilities but shares the same objective of increasing students’ maths knowledge and enhancing their further scientific education. The international cooperation is necessary as German partner’s already implemented effective educational programmes which other partners can benefit from. Moreover, successful ideas of other partners that have been carried out on local/regional level will be spread internationally. Through mobilities students and teachers will develop and try out most effective, engaging and creative methods and interactive maths games. Students will gain practical maths knowledge that can be implemented in everyday life and boost their self-esteem through peer-to-peer tools and become more aware of the knowledge they have. They will develop skills of creative problem solving through international team work. They will acquire new and improve their existing IT skills. SCRATCH language, innovative computer games or logical board games, encouraging students to ask questions, will facilitate practical application of maths. Great support from the experienced German partner will help to develop teachers’ competence in creative and innovative maths teaching methodology. Through shared experience teachers will work out innovative and effective methods, tools and lesson plans to meet demands of modern technology oriented world. Project activities will be a grassroot initiative triggering off new approach and changes in maths curriculum to make it more practical. The activities will take place at local, regional and international levels. Workshops for teachers and students and cooperation with scientific centres will enhance the participants’ knowledge and become the basis for future cooperation in the field of maths education. Tangible results of the project will be available for partner school communities and will be useful source of information for other students, teachers, parents, other community members even after the project completion. The project results will be disseminated at local, regional and European levels to make sure our ideas are available for everyone. Erasmus+ dissemination platform will help to show the impact and outcomes of the project, sharing good practice and experience within schools, communities and regions, allowing others to learn from it. The project will bring longer term benefits. Activities promoting practical maths skills will be part of school curricula. Schools will continue their cooperation with local institutions and project partners. Project online groups will still be active making background for further discussions and future cooperation. Students will become familiar with culture and natural heritage of other countries. The participants will improve linguistic skills. This will facilitate creating new European Union program projects in the field of education through exchange of good practices and results. Cooperation of international groups will also break down barriers and prejudices between nations.
The project was to enhance students’ practical maths knowledge to be applied in other fields of science and everyday situations and to develop teachers’ competence in innovative maths teaching. According to surveys conducted in 2015, students lacked basic maths skills, their mathematical knowledge gained at school was too theoretical to be applied in real life situations. At the same time teachers lacked innovative and effective teaching methods and found it difficult to show importance of practical Maths in a way which would appeal to young students. Partner schools are situated in areas where Maths education is of great importance - in some areas the unemployment rate is high and young people tend to leave the region because of poor employment perspectives, so the project activities were of special importance to young people from regions neglected economically. Participants in the project were 120 students directly involved in implementing activities, about 30 students from local communities who participated in local activities ,10 teachers from partner schools who participated in workshops in Germany and 5 teachers directly involved in project implementation; representatives of other schools; students’ parents. The project objectives: - to enhance students’ practical maths knowledge to be implemented in everyday life - get students involved in practical maths tasks through innovative and effective approach (logical board games, SCRATCH language) and become more aware of knowledge they have - to make students realize the importance of Maths or its influence on other scientific fields - to help teachers gain competence and tools to teach practical Maths effectively through shared experience. Teachers were to work out innovative and effective methods and lesson plans to meet demands of modern world and both teachers and students were to improve their scientific English language competence. Main local activities involved logical board games and cards, learning Maths by cooking, out-of-classroom games with practical application of Maths, problem solving maths contests for local communities, innovative SOLVE IT! board games, P2P presentations, designing questionnaires and interpreting them, drawing up innovative lesson plans, dissemination conferences. Virtual activities included project logo contest , learning and using SCRATCH language to design maths computer games, online workshops for teachers by German partner on how to implement inquiry-based approach in Maths classrooms, exchanging videos prepared by kids showing how they solved a problem in a creative and innovative way, exchanging questionnaires and videos. Internationally, there were conducted workshops and seminars for teachers combined with study visits at scientific centres and observing lessons conducted by German teachers; there were organized City Game, survival and Maths Chef event and other field games; there were tested Maths board games. Students worked on MathManiac comic strip, improved their scientific English vocabulary and learned about other cultures. The following results were achieved: Logo, website, presentations showing creative ways of solving problems and practical application of maths knowledge, 3 Solve It! maths board games, MathManiac comic strip presenting maths in everyday situations, 24 innovative lesson plans; DVDs presenting project activities and events. The following impact was attained: Innovative lesson plans were shared among teachers and within local communities, uploaded on project website and Erasmus+ dissemination platform. Maths board games and comic strip show that innovative method is effective and they could be used as new teaching aids for all stakeholders and the compilation of the said products extended the participants' knowledge of practical application of Maths. Students learned and used SCTRATCH language to design maths computer games and thus acquired new IT skills, learned practical application of electronic gadgets and newest technologies and can use them more consciously and creatively. They also increased their problem solving skills through out-of-classroom games and developed competence in scientific English. Teachers gained new competence to teach Maths and science-oriented subjects in innovative way. Project enabled mutual exchange of good practices in education of pupils at primary school level, strengthened their position in regional education market and facilitated cooperation among countries and institutions taking part in the project. Long-term benefits: - schools’ curricula will be supplemented with innovative ways of teaching Maths and scientific subjects, emphasizing active forms of learning and practical application of knowledge - students’ active involvement in project activities will lessen school failure possibility - schools will continue their cooperation with local institutions and project partners -project will be background for further international cooperation.