The idea for this project was developed during a job-shadowing visit in Nordland in April/May 2016. The idea is to build on the existing cooperation between a school in Norway and AHS Rahlgasse, Vienna and to intensify cooperation and activities. Aims and Objectives Intercultural encounter and exchange for students and teachers Getting to know school systems Exchange on the level of teaching of foreign languages (didactics, best practice, challenges, …) Exchanging teaching materials Using creativity for learning Working on a research question connected to the schools' focus or interest areas (gender, environmental and social issues) Activities School-based activities on relevant topics (cultural diversity, European citizenship, gender, environmental and social issues, issues important to the participating students) International project work (using eTwinning as a tool) bilateral student exchange (Norwegian students come to Vienna, Austrian students go to Norway), students stay in host families working meetings for teachers in the course of the student exchanges: getting to know partners' (educational) reality In Norway the project will be organized with Deutsch 3 students. One of the activities will be the visit in Vienna, where they will stay with host families. In Austria we will carry out the project with students who attend the “Modul Go International“. A Modul is a subject which students can opt for. It is, once chosen, compulsory. Schedule Project start in September 2017 School based activities both in Norway and Austria according to curricula and needs. Themes: intercultural competencies, cultural diversity, European citizenship, gender, environmental and social issues, issues important to the participating students First virtual contact and exchange of project ideas (via eTwinning) finding a common project, defining its scope, agreeing on next steps (via eTwinning, TwinSpace and other social platforms) continue working on their respective project tasks Visit of Norwegian students in Vienna (March 2018): Travelling to Vienna Meeting in Vienna (Austrian students, Norwegian students, teachers); getting to know each other, program, visit of town, excursions, … Attending school at AHS Rahlgasse Participating in language courses Working on project Staying with host families Farewell and evaluation meeting before traveling back Visit of Austrian students in Nordland (April/May 2018): Travelling to Nordland Meeting in Nordland (Austrian students, Norwegian students, teachers); sight-seeing, excursions, … Attending school together Participating in a language course Working on project Staying in schools, host families Farewell and evaluation meeting in Nordland before traveling back to Austria
Context of the project The idea for this project was initially developed during a job-shadowing visit in the Norwegian province of Nordland in April/May 2016. It intends to build on the existing link between the two participating schools, AHS Rahlgasse and Sortland VGS in order to intensify co-operation and activities. During the preceding years, a few select students had the chance to travel to Vienna for two to three days. The idea was to offer a somewhat larger, yet manageable group of motivated students the chance to participate in a bilateral exchange and regard themselves as European citizens. In an increasingly globalized world this is a valuable experience to have made for one’s future. Aims The top priority of this project was to foster the intercultural dialogue of the youth and to strengthen their sense of being part of the European community. As concerns the teachers, the goal was to get to know the other school system, i.e. to facilitate the exchange of ideas and best-practice examples on the didactics of second language teaching. This intercultural dialogue was not intended to be achieved solely by the exchange visits, but especially by the students’ work on the research questions they specifically designed for their chosen topics. These revolved around the school’s focus: gender, environment and social issues. The students worked in small groups of 4-6 people, in which they compared Austria and Norway as regards the following topics: Political system Gender Fashion and society Youth culture Social structure Ecological footprint Furthermore, the project was supposed to develop and train students’ organizational skills; i.e. on the one hand the ability to work in a team; on the other hand taking responsibility in planning and executing specific tasks in the context of working on the project itself as well as planning the stay of the guests. Number and profile of participants The participants were those 15 Austrian students who attended the module „Go International“ and those Norwegian students who take higher German classes, respectively. The Austrians were between 15 and 17 years of age, while the Norwegians were slightly older, between 16 and 18. They all showed the willingness to host students from another country and to participate in the intercultural exchange. Activities carried out during class and the two weeks spent together Introduction to the topic Preparation of the stay in Vienna and Sortland regarding content and organization Defining the topics to be worked on in small groups (see above) Developing questionnaires and conducting interviews to collect empirical data Researching background information on the topic Continuous evaluation during school meetings Preparation of presentations (working with ICT) Presenting the final results during the last two days in Sortland Creating a blog (gointernational2018.blogspot.com), working on the TwinSpace, creating an exhibition Cultural activities (Volksoper, Schönbrunn, reindeer farm, visiting an agricultural school etc.) Staying with host families Results and achieved impact The results of the project are to be found not only on the TwinSpace but also on a blog created specifically for that purpose: gointernational2018.blogspot.com. Concerning the teachers, there has been a short-term co-operation, which will continue to exist for further exchanges. Another finding is that Norwegian schools have a far larger budget at hand, which means that Norwegian colleagues have a much better infrastructure they can work with (support personnel, ICT etc.). What stood out was the use of a software designed to detect plagiarism, which in Norway is common also in secondary school. This would also be desirable for Austria. Last but not least, real friendships have developed over the course of the co-operation, which in turn positively affect the people surrounding the participating students. It enforces intercultural exchange and thus promotes understanding for different values, ways of thinking and realities of life. It also enhances the sense of being part of the European community. Some students stay in contact, they visit each other regularly and travel around Europe together, which clearly reflects the European spirit.