The main objectives of our project are improving pupils' learning abilities through MADD: music, art, drama and dance. We also want to provide tools for our teachers to make lessons more dynamic. We will broaden our knowledge of art and making art through the different cultures of our partners. By art we mean visual art, drama, music and dance. Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited while imagination embraces the whole world. (Albert Einstein) Since earliest times when humans drew images on the walls of the caves, the arts have been our means of recording our human experience and of making sense of our world. The arts give expression to our understanding, our imagination and our creativity. As the world we inhabit becomes smaller, faster and more competitive, these qualities are increasingly important. The arts are an integral part of a complete, successful and high-quality education. Study of the arts enhances young people's intellectual, personal and social development. It would be easier to achieve significant educational achievements if everyone learned in the same way, but not everyone does. In schools today there is a growing diversity of students from a variety of cultural, social, and economic backgrounds with very different ways of thinking, learning, and behaving. Children of various abilities and disabilities are in the same classrooms. The arts offer especially valuable tools to facilitate learning for those who are primarily visual and kinaesthetic, in addition to making it possible for all students to learn more effectively, retain what they have learned, know how to apply what they have learned in a variety of contexts, and feel more positive about learning. The creative skills children develop through the arts carry them toward new ideas, new experiences and new challenges, as well as offering personal satisfaction. This is the intrinsic value of the arts and it should not be underestimated. With this project we aim our pupils to develop an awareness towards art and to exposure to art by performing a drama,composing music, dancing, singing ,preparing picture stories, drawing, colorin, painting,visiting galleries and exhibitions etc. Children can explore their own experiences, stories, drama, music, or activities though making and creating art, either working on their own or collaborating with others, using a range of media, materials and processes. Children are also afforded opportunities to experience the work of artists and to appreciate the visual world through looking and responding to art, both within the classroom and by visiting galleries and exhibitions. With these activities we plan to *enhance learning by creating a positive learning atmosfere. *Encourages alternative thinking *Builds self esteem and fosters self worth *Enhances learning across the curriculum *Nurtures creativity and imagination *Allows children to experience success *Makes school more enjoyable *Develops skills, understanding and dexterity *Encourages problem solving through cooperation *Affords children the opportunity to express themselves differently The second aim of this project is to find new tools and collect good used tools for using MADD (music, art, drama and dance) in the classroom, especially in the science lessons. Teachers need more tools to make the lessons dynamic and motivating. We will study and try to find inovative ways to use arts in the classroom to inspire the pupils and make learning interesting.The partners are given all tasks to be completed according their own interestes and strenghts. These tools will be available on our website for all who is interested in them. On this project will work seven countries, who will provide a huge variety of cultures, handicraft, music and dance: Finland (coordinator), Turkey, Romania, Spain, Portugal, Croatia and Greece. Some of us are well experienced project workers but the schools from Greece and Turkey are for the first time involved in a EU-project.
Project summary “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” Albert Einstein Since earliest times when humans drew images on the walls of caves, art has been our way of recording our human experience and of making sense of our world. Art gives expression to our imagination, our understanding and our creativity. As the world we inhabit becomes smaller, faster and more competitive, these qualities are increasingly important. The study of art enhances young people’s intellectual, personal and social development and is an integral part of a complete, successful and high-quality education. It would be easier to achieve significant educational achievements if everyone learned in the same way, but not everyone does. In schools today there is a growing diversity of students from a variety of cultural, social, and economic backgrounds with very different ways of thinking, learning, and behaving. Children of various abilities and disabilities are in the same classrooms. Art offer especially valuable tools to facilitate learning for those who are primarily visual and kin aesthetic, in addition to making it possible for all students to learn more effectively, retain what they have learned, know how to apply what they have learned in a variety of contexts, and feel more positive about learning. The creative skills children develop through art carry them towards new ideas, new experiences and challenges and also offers them personal satisfaction. This is the intrinsic value of the arts and it should not be underestimated. The first main objective of this project was to improve pupils’learning abilities through art, art meaning here visual art, drama, music and dance. The second main objective was to provide tools for our teachers to make lessons (MADD-lessons) more dynamic through art. We also wanted to broaden our knowledge of art and make art through the different cultures of our partners. The project was planned for primary school students and teachers. There were seven schools involved with very different cultural, linguistic, religious and geographical backgrounds. There was one school from each country: Finland, Turkey, Spain, Greece, Romania, Croatia and Portugal. The schools from Greece and Turkey were involved in a EU project for the first time. We learned to know each other through video-presentations these were presentations of our school, our environment, our country and even about our student’s and teacher’s school day. But during our visits we created a real bond within the partnership and learned a lot about each other’s culture, habits, school and local art. Each country presented a typical art of their region, which all partners learned to do. Our pupils developed an awareness towards art and were exposured to art by creating it on the one hand, like performing a drama, composing music, dancing, singing, preparing picture stories, drawing, coloring, painting etc. They learned not only to work on their own but also to collaborate with others, using a range of media, materials and processes. On the other hand they explored art and learned to appreciate the visual world through looking and responding to art, both within the classroom and by visiting galleries and exhibitions. There were also afforded opportunities to get to know artists and experience their working. Our teachers got new tools for their lessons and learned to use music, art, drama and dance in the classroom, even in science lessons. They carried out innovative lessons as an example during the mobilities in the partners’s school, which was a great experience. We collected these lessons on our website in a MADD lesson file so all teachers can benefit from our new methods and ideas. Our project’s activities had a positive impact in many ways: they enhanced learning by creating a positive learning atmosphere and so made school more enjoyable. They helped to develop skills not only of dexterity but to express themselves differently and to understanding. The activities encouraged pupils to alternative thinking and problem solving through cooperation. The most important it allowed children to experience success, builds self esteem and foster self worth.