Project SummaryIn the course of this project pupils from 3 European schools ( France, Germany, Ireland) will dive into the history and influence of ancient monasteries /religious institutions which have formed and shaped the area where the schools are: in the case of Glenstal in Ireland and Münsterschwarzach in Germany the schools belong to a Benedictine abbey which runs the school. Whereas Münsterschwarzach can look back on 1200 years of Benedictine life (founded in 816 - 2016 marks the 1200th anniversary!) Glenstal Abbey is a younger foundation in Ireland. We want to raise awareness among our pupils - who will carry out the work - for the long tradition on the one hand, for the historical ups and downs of the institution, but also for the present day activities which are performed by the monks. This will without doubt also include a critical view on how the abbey made its way through history as the foundation of an abbey in the Carolingian era was certainly also a political act. On top of that the pupils will find, describe and try out itineraries to nearby sites that owe their existence to the religious life of the nearby abbeys or monasteries. By doing so, they will try out new ways of learning by leaving behind the classroom walls and doing some research in the real world. What is more, it will be interesting to trace the tracks of Irish monks who originally had brought Christian faith to lower Franconia.As the French school is a collège run by the state, it will be interesting to work on sites that document the separation of church and state caused by the French Revolution, but also other sites that document religious life in the area.We intend to collect data, documents and other material relevant to the subject in order to enhance the students' understanding of the institutions. The teams will be composed by an equal number of pupils from each country so as to ensure cross-cultural learning, the use of the foreign languages and to enhance European contacts and thus transversal learning skills among the pupils and the staff. The project work will help to give new inspiration and motivation also to pupils who show signs of school fatigue and risk to leave school at to early a stage.This work will be pursued and documented both during the planned plenary meetings via personal contacts as well as in the intermediate periods via ICT, specifically via the use of eTwinning. This ensures that the material the pupils are working on is constantly accessible for all participants.By performing this work, the pupils will gain more self-confidence and independence in their learning as they experience their teachers rather as coordinators, as a living and competent helpdesk than as the "boss in the classroom". They will take on responsibility in their teams and learn the efficiency of group work.The following end products are envisaged: - Putting together the itineraries (bike routes/ footpaths) in a guidebook ready to be used by other people who want to follow those traces in the area.- Producing illustrations of the sites visited that may accompany the guidebook or be exhibited in the schools.- Publishing the material on a website.In this project the following schools with groups of about 14-16 members each will take part:Glenstal Abbey School, a boys only boarding school. For this school, it is the first time that they are in touch with partners from different European countries and cooperate in an ERASMUS+ project and thus the pupils and their school will experience the enlargement of horizons. - The school in La Chapelle en Serval in France is situated in the metropolitan area of the French capital Paris, but offers easy access to nearby monasteries, abbey church, perpendicular architecture that correspond to our plannings. - Egbert-Gymnasium, a Benedictine School in Muensterschwarzach, is situated in the heart of Europe in an area rich in testimonies of religious life in the past and the present. The good infrastructure of the Benedictine abbey (printing press) will be of use when it comes to producing the end results. The project will also integrate a small number of the war refugees that are momentarily hosted by the abbey of Münsterschwarzach.Collaborative work in the course of the whole project as well as during the pupils' meetings will enable students to learn from each other and share their experiences of learning through different learning styles and approaches and enable creative and innovative approaches to be developed and shared. This will also support teachers in the delivery of project work that will lead to improved pedagogy and practice and and facilitate more creative approaches that will support learning for all students.Through focussed project activities with identified staff and students we will be able to monitor and evaluate project progress and impact and ensure that outcomes are met and sustainability for beyond the initial timescales.
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