The partnership consists of five schools: Croatia, France, Italy, Latvia and Poland, where the students, aged 14-19 years, learn mathematics and sciences (some of them at a high extent).All partners recognize the relevance of situation that PISA and more general didactical results show, that is:1) the formal mathematical tasks are solved more frequently than tasks related to the real life2) the use of ICT can increase students’ motivation to study, allowing them to control the gaining of learning experience.The proposed project is focused to develop in students the capacity to aggregate the learned skills in mathematics and science in a complex skill that will allow the students to read and interpret the world around them. To achieve this objective it is necessary to renew and to develop teachers’ methodological teaching skills. The methodological renewal will be realized by sharing online contacts and in meetings "de visu", in practical activities and also in collaboration with National Universities, other schools and Science Centers to pass on the valuable experience to partnership, during Short-term joint staff training event. Particularly teachers will discuss and will be formed on the methodology "problem posing and solving" even in a multidisciplinary point of view, as required by the analysis of a real situation. One of the most innovative aspects of the project will be to apply this methodology by proposing to students contextualized problems in sports; the chosen topic will allow students to improve their motivation in learning scientific subjects.A specific attention will be paid to creation (by teachers) of different digital teaching tools (i.e. using Geogebra and other free software) and to activities which will be based on different Internet resources and tools. The most important result of the project will be an e-book, created in collaboration with Math and Science teachers. This e-book, step by step, will lead the students to solve on sport based problem exercises. The solution of these problems will require the use of ICT tools, and in some cases, will also be addressed at a multidisciplinary level. The products that will be created during the project will inspire colleagues in Europe to use the new teaching methods, tools and evaluation, focused on the acquisition of general and specific skills in science. Pupils, aged 16-19 years, will play an active role in the project: at all stages of the project they will be involved in project planning and evaluation. In their schools and during the international meetings students will take part in different discussion: how to improve the quality of Math and Science studying; what problems in Sport can be solved through Math and Science subjects, where students will learn how to prove their opinion and find the necessary arguments in a research work. In the development of students’ work and in these presentations different ICT tools will be use. It will be favored teamwork.The final result for the students will be an e-book, written during and between the meetings in collaborative way, of scientific research works and an international conference where students will present the theoretical argument of some kind of Sport through Math and Sciences.During the meeting time teachers and students will be also introduced with other countries’ culture heritage, history, customs and traditions, thus it will enhance a sense of personal, national and European identity.An eTwinning project will be created as the main communication tool for students and for teachers. Communication between teachers will be also via emails, Facebook, Google Drive. All materials developed by the project will be stored on the project's website, the schools’ websites and on the eTwinning platform. The above mentioned websites will be available until this material will be no longer up to date due to technological advancements.The language used will be English and this will develop students’ and teachers’ ability to communicate in other language than their own.
Participants from five countries: Croatia, France, Italy, Poland and Latvia (coordinator) participated in the "Sport Formula" project. This included high school students aged 14 to 19, who are studying mathematics, IT and science. Partners have acknowledged that PISA results are average or below the average level, and general didactic results show that schools: 1) formal mathematical tasks are more likely to be dealt with than connected with a real life; 2) the use of ICT can improve students' motivation to learn by allowing them to control learning outcomes. Therefore, the project was aimed at developing students' ability to combine their acquired skills in mathematics and science in a complex way that would allow students to read and discover the world around them. In order to achieve this goal, it was necessary to renew and develop teachers' methodological teaching skills. The methodological renewal was implemented by sharing online and during our meetings, practical classes, and collaborating with international universities (University of Latvia, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Perugia University, Zagreb University), other schools and science centres (Copernican Science Centre in Warsaw and Futuroscope In France), which helped partners bring valuable experience in short-term joint staff training activities. Teachers also discussed and developed methodological materials on "problem generation and solutions" in various aspects, as required by the actual situation analysis. One of the most innovative aspects of the project was the use of this methodology by offering students the choice of sports problems themselves (such as floor ball, darts, and long-distance), where the themes selected helped students rise motivation to learn science subjects. Particular attention was paid to the development of various digital learning tools (GeoGebra, "Using R" and other free softwares) and activities that were based on the use of various ICT resources. The main result of the project was an e-book “Enjoy Maths and Physics through sport”, which was developed in cooperation with the teachers of mathematics and science. This e-book, step by step, will help students solve their sports-related challenges. In order to solve these problems, it was necessary to use ICT resources and in some cases at a particularly disciplined level. The products that were created during the project will inspire our colleagues in Europe to use new teaching methods, tools and assessments that address to general and specific skills in science. The project also involved pupils aged 14-19 years: they participated in project planning and evaluation at all stages of the project. During their nobilities in partner schools students actively participated in discussions: how to improve the quality of learning in mathematics and science; what kind of problems in sport can be solved through mathematics and science, where students learned to base their opinions and find arguments for research work. Different ICT tools were used to create pupils' works and presentations. Many activities involved teamwork. The final result of a pupil project is an e-book "Sport with Maths and Sciences eyes", which is so formed during the visits and interactions between all of them. At the international conference, students presented theoretical arguments about one of the sportsmen through mathematics and science. During the visit pupils and teachers were introduced to the cultural heritage, history, customs and traditions of other countries, thereby reinforcing the sense of personal, national and European identity. An eTwinning project was created as a main means of communication between teachers and pupils. Communication between teachers was also via e-mail, Facebook, Goggle Drive and WhattsApp (as informal communication). All materials created during the project were posted on the project website at www.sportsformula.eu, on the school homepage and on the eTwinning platform. The above sites will be available until they are no longer valid in the evolution of technology. The communication language was English and this helped to develop the ability of pupils and teachers to communicate in another language. Thanks to successful cooperation, most of the partners worked on developing a new project and submitted an application for the continuation of the Erasmus + project "Mathsbuster", approved by the Latvian National Agency in summer 2018 and the main coordinator is Secondary School of Kalnciems.