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LEARNING FOR LIFE BY PBL PROJECTS

2016-1-ES01-KA201-0250912016Strategic Partnerships for school educationfinalized
Countries: ES|RO|PT|IT|PL · Grant: €118,079
Early School Leaving / combating failure in educationKey Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) - basic skillsNew innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project summary

The context:In the last years new education methodology approaches have been developed, such as Problem Based Learning (PBL) and Multiple Intelligences (MI). Thanks to those methodologies students will learn by trying to solve real life problems. Learning will be boosted by the need to solve the problem. At the same time all the students are different and following the MI theory, although all of them are intelligent, the way they learn is different. So thanks to these methodologies we will address the problem of motivation towards learning, improvement in learning results and early school leaving.As in real life, various subjects will be involved in each problem, but the core subjects of the projects will be Maths, Science and Literacy.Projects will be designed also with the aim of developing other values, which are and will be the skills required in the present and future society, such as solidarity, ethics, honesty, social entrepreneurship and environmental responsibility. All these goals are a priority, as can be found in the Erasmus + Programme Guide October 2015, “prevent violent radicalisation by promoting common European values, fostering social integration, enhancing intercultural understanding and a sense of belonging to a community”. The objectives::• Develop 12 didactical units, and PBL projects focussed on Maths, Science and Literacy curriculum goals, with activities that will take into account MI theory. Activities for all types of students / all types of intelligences.• Develop training material for teachers explaining the PBL methodology and MI theory. The target groups:• Secondary Education students between 12 and 16, since this is the age when students most suffer from underachievement in Maths, Science and Reading mainly due to the teaching methods of the schools. • Secondary Education Teachers of Maths, Science, and Literacy.Activities: Different activities will be carried out throughout the project:• Analysis of the National Curriculum requirements and decision about the skills and targets to be covered by each Learner Task.• Definition of guidelines for teachers about PBL and MI methodologies: development of training material about PBL methodology and MI theory.• Design and development of the Teaching Package: development of 12 learner tasks including curriculum targets. • Dissemination activities of the project including news, social media, website, presentation of the products and final conference. Results and impact:This project involves creating an educational product based on National Curriculum requirements. Twelve didactical units based on PBL will be developed together with a training material for teachers in order to be able to use the units properly applying the PBL methodology and MI theory. This project will positively influence on the skills of participants: on the one hand, students will improve their academic skills and results in the core subjects Maths, Science and Literacy. On the other hand, teachers will improve their skills in leading teams and also in assessing the degree of improvement that the students have experienced. The final product will be released to all associated centres but at the same time, teachers from other schools will be encouraged to follow the product in their teaching programmes. Benefits:In the long term this project will contribute to:• Teacher’s education training. Teachers will get better education training on PBL and MI theory and thus will be able to acquire and include the basic principles stated by these theories in their teaching programmes. Moreover, they will have the means for enhancing their students’ motivation towards learning and encourage and support them on their education. • Improving students’ results especially in Maths, Science and Literacy. Applying PBL and MI theories students’ motivation and attitude towards learning will increase. As a consequence, they will be able to get better marks. • Reducing early school leaving and the number of drop-outs: more motivated pupils and better attitude towards learning will make for more engaged and determined students.

Final report summary

CONTEXT In the last years new education methodology approaches have been developed, such as Problem Based Learning (PBL) and Multiple Intelligences (MI). Thanks to those methodologies students will learn by trying to solve real life problems. Learning will be boosted by the need to solve the problem. At the same time all the students are different and following the MI theory, although all of them are intelligent, the way they learn is different. So thanks to these methodologies we will address the problem of motivation towards learning, improvement in learning results and early school leaving. As in real life, various subjects will be involved in each problem, but the core subjects of the projects will be Maths, Science and Literacy. Projects will be designed also with the aim of developing other values, which are and will be the skills required in the present and future society, such as solidarity, ethics, honesty, social entrepreneurship and environmental responsibility. OBJECTIVES The Learning for Life project aims at developing: • report on the competences and skills of European curricula covered by the projects. • Training material for teachers explaining the PBL methodology and MI (Multiple Intelligences) theory. • 12 didactical units and (Problem Based Learning) PBL projects focused on Maths, Science and Literacy curriculum goals, with activities that will take into account MI theory. Activities for all types of students / all types of intelligences. PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS The Learning for Life project involved: • 6 contractual partners including training agencies, universities, and schools • 19 schools • 125 teachers • 19 school directors • 1 719 students • 33 associated partners including associations, companies, no profit organisations, non-governmental organization, public bodies, schools, school associations, universities, youth organisations. The target groups were directly involved in the carrying out of the project activities. The Learning for Life project had a relevant impact on their needs as it produced tools and methodologies to support teachers in using PBL methodology and MI theory in order to enhance science teaching and make the students the main actors of their learning process. ACTIVITIES Different activities have been carried out throughout the project: • Analysis of the National Curriculum requirements and decision about the skills and targets to be covered by each Learner Task. • Definition of guidelines for teachers about PBL and MI methodologies: development of training material about PBL methodology and MI theory. • Design and development of the Teaching Package: development of 12 learner tasks including curriculum targets. • Dissemination activities of the project including news, social media, website, presentation of the products and final conference. IMPACT As far as the impact of the project is concerned, the Learning for Life project provided: - Secondary school teachers' with a new methodology to teach scientific subjects and tackle low achievements in the same subjects - Students with a new approach to learning that raise their interests and consequently their results and school retention

Project partners (6)