People in Need: Digital teaching units enforcing European citizenship

Project summary

Today's Europe is facing major challenges. The influx of millions of refugees requires us Europeans to show tolerance, acceptance, empathy and assistance with the integration. But also disadvantaged people in each region need the support of those around them. In each region, there are people who are marginalized because of poverty, loneliness, mental disorders and physical handicaps from society.To draw attention to these European problems, our project group has been formed. It consists of a southern Italian vocational school, a southern Spanish and a north German secondary school . All three schools can contribute significantly through their different experiences with various groups of people to the project "people in need" : The Italian school will contribute its direct experience with the integration of refugees in this project, while the German school adds the perspective on economic migrants and German refugee policy. The Spanish school will be responsible for dealing with inclusion in school and in the region.The aim of this project is to create digital teaching units for three main topics of "people in need" and make it accessible for English learners aged 14 to 16 years old and English teachers.For this project the students work before and during each of the five planned project activities in three international small groups each consisting of two Italians, two Spanish and two German students. In these groups they create digital learning materials on the subject units "refugees in our country", "dealing with handicaps" and "making a difference in our local community. " During these phases, students take on direct contact with these special groups of people and deal with their needs. We deliberately chose four groups, as the materials are designed for students on different learning levels and each unit focuses at least at two foreign language skills.In this project the focus lies not only on the interdisciplinary subject of "people in need" with simultaneous foreign language support, but also at the use of digital media to be trained. By using new digital learing tools his project offers the students in the project and the users of the platform to experience a new and more motivating way of learning. Moreover, a teachers' manual will be created at the end of the project, which enables inexperienced teachers to teach digital lessons.The lessons drawn from the students during the project will be available both on the school's website and via eTwinning and another Internet platform for other schools for five years. Furthermore, the units will be integrated into the English curriculum of the participating schools and reports on the project to the General Conference of the individual schools will be given.At the local level the communities are informed about the project through a Fundraising Day as well as the social involvement of pupils in their regions. "People in need" will have a very positive impact on teachers, students and other stakeholders. With regard to the students, this project will broaden their horizons and encourage them to follow the teaching content with greater enthusiasm. Our goal is that our students become more more open-minded and interested in other cultures and other people. We want to show our students that helpfulness, tolerance, empathy and responsibility are international values that should be practiced by all European citizens of a united Europe. Moreover, this project trains further competences: The students improve their digital literacy, foreign language skills and their communication strategies. They develop social skills such as teamwork, work creatively and project passed.Also for the participating teachers the project work and the meeting with the partners is a versatile profit. Colleagues may have different teaching methods and new digital tools to meet and expand their educational spectrum. The project also boosts the local reputation of the school and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration. The experience with digital media and new didactic concepts contributes to the development of teaching in the participating schools.