CONTEXT: The Erasmus+ project “Awareness of European cultural heritage through innovative and active methodologies” had an approach based on the need of gathering active and innovative methodologies that had proved to be successful in different schools and shared the implementation of neurodidactics. It was based on innovative methodologies to raise awareness of the European cultural heritage and also on active learning to motivate the educational updating of teachers and the interest of pupils by giving them the role of active subjects The project was based on the following OBJECTIVES, which didn’t change throughout the project despite the setbacks that arose since March 2020 which brought about that some scheduled activities had to be changed: -To learn how each partner implemented innovative teaching methods using active methodologies and ICTs, to promote innovative development based on an active and collaborative approach and to improve the teaching-learning process through collaborative and active strategies and exchange of good practices. These three objetives were fully fulfilled due to the numerous activities in the different mobilities that were implemented. The RESULTS that the achievement of these objective generated were: the setting-up of methodologies based on neurodidactics and of proposals into the methodological approaches of the participating schools; the pupils got more motivated in their learning process and to use ICTs, which was (and will be in the long-term) key to their performance; teachers as well got more motivated to use ICTs and more willing to implement innovative methodological strategies; due to the thorough use of CLIL methodology, pupils and teachers improved their competence in English; pupils and teachers’ awareness about European cultural heritage raised; education for pupils with fewer opportunities was promoted by the transference of good practices and their participation at some stages of the project. - To strengthen the links between education and the labour world by stimulating entrepreneurship. This objetive was not completelly achieved because we couldn’t implement some of the initially planned activities but the RESULT that the project provided was that the pupils were aware of the relationship between employment and European cultural heritage, got motivated to relate their learning to employment opportunities and acquired skills that will be important to ease their access into the labour market. From what we learnt from each partner we improved (and will improve in the long-term) the learning and teaching process in our schools. Not only were The RESULTS important during the implementation of the project and were related to its objectives, also the expected long-term benefits will be be higher since teachers and pupils learnt skills, methodologies and approaches that will be useful to them, their schools and their educational community in the future. The PARTICIPANTS in the project were pupils and teachers from Italy, Germany, Poland, Spain and Sweden. About 160 pupils aged between 13 and 16 and 50 teachers participated directly in the project, but more participated throughout the project, including 30 pupils with fewer opportunities. The ACTIVITIES comprised a wide scope of areas of knowledge (literature, history, music, science, arts, photography, ICTs, English) and the topics of the activities were very diverse: ruins in Italy, Polish musicians, the Enigma code, history of Toledo and Valencia, robotics, fairy tales and German castles, social networks, the Vikings, . There were also workshops on different issues: Maths and CLIL, edpuzzle, methodologies, eTwinning, refugees, ASD pupils, digital products, etc.; some activities were held in the schools and others out of them (day trips, visits to museums and landmarks or leisure activities) Due to the Covid outbreak some physical activities initially planned were turned into virtual activities The IMPACT of the project on the target groups was: Pupils: They developed interpersonal skills and creative thinking; acquired long-term learning strategies; used innovative methodologies through collaborative and active strategies, improved their language competence in English, got to know the importance and variety of the European cultural heritage and understood it as a cohesion factor, students with fewer opportunities got more integrated Teachers: They got aware of the importance of team-work with teachers with similar expectations. Their methodological, linguistic and digital competences improved through the cooperative work in innovative methodological strategies Educational community: Families benefited from hosting foreign pupils. Teachers and pupils not directly involved in the project also benefited by their participation in different activities Schools: They got proposals for changes in their methodological strategies and got more appreciated by the community as innovative schools focused on the needs of their pupils
The Erasmus+ project “Awareness of European cultural heritage through innovative and active methodologies” was born at the end of a previous project after having analised the needs and strengths of each of its partners. It was then it was decided the approach of this project, being its major motivation based on the necessity of bringing together a number of active and innovative methodologies that are successful in each partner and which share a common basis: the implementation of neurodidactics to education. The current problems in education come from ignoring the learning mechanisms. Boosting the awareness of the European cultural heritage requires the implementation of innovative teaching methodologies and constant renewal. It is necessary to bet on challenges of learning as a factor that motivates the educational renewal of teachers and the interest of pupils. The challenge is to offer pupils a learning in which they become active subjects. To address the need detected, the project is focused on these OBJECTIVES: - To learn how our partners implement innovative teaching methods using active methodologies and ICTs - To improve the process of learning and teaching through collaborative and active strategies and exchange good educational practices - To strengthen the links between education and the labour world by stimulating entrepreneurship as far as possible from the educational environment - To promote innovative educational development based on an active and collaborative spirit The expected RESULTS of the project are: -Setting up methodologies based on neurodidactics -Incorporation of appealing proposals into the methodological strategies of schools -Improvement of the students’ motivation that will affect their performance -Motivation to use ICTs -Promotion of inclusive education for pupils with fewer opportunities by the transference of good practices -Fostering of teachers’ willingness to educational innovation -Promotion of the acquisition of skills to ease students’ access into the labour market -Stimulation of a culture of relationship between employment and European cultural heritage -Motivation of students to relate their learning to employment opportunities -Improvement of communication in English by using CLIL methodology -Raising of awareness about European culturalheritage The PARTICIPANTS in the project will be pupils and teachers from Italy, Germany, Poland and Sweden. About 120 pupils aged between 13 and 16 and 40 teachers will participate directly in the project, although a much bigger number of them will do it throughout the project, even pupils with fewer opportunities. The planned ACTIVITIES comprise a wide scope of disciplines and areas of knowledge, such as literature, history, music, science, photography, ICTs, English. The topics these activities address and are very diverse: ruins in Italy, Polish musicians, the Enigma code, Don Quixote, renewable energies, fairy tales, Swedish nature, the Vikings. There will be also workshops on different issues: different methodologies, eTwinning, refugees, ASD pupils, creation of digital products, catalogues and guides; some activities will be carried out in the schools and some others out of them, such as day trips, visits to museums and interesting landmarks or outdoor leisure activities The IMPACT of the project will be different depending on the profile of the target groups On the pupils: They will: learn to learn; develop interpersonal skills and creative thinking; acquire learning strategies to use along their lifetime; use innovative methodologies through collaborative and active strategies to boost their learning process, improve their language competence in English, have better employment expectations, get to know the importance and variety of the European cultural heritage and understand it as a cohesion factor between Europeans. The implementation of cooperative approaches will facilitate the school success of students with fewer opportunities On the teachers: Raising awareness of the importance of team-work with teachers from other countries with similar expectations. The implementation of cooperative work in innovative methodological strategies between teachers of their own school and from others will promote their educational development and will strengthen their methodological, linguistic and digital competences. On the educational community: Families will benefit from hosting students from different countries. Students and teachers not directly involved in the project will also benefit for the changes that may be introduced in the methodological strategies in their schools On the schools: Changes in their methodological strategies, lower early leaving school rates, better appreciation by the community as innovative schools and focused on the needs of their students On external agents: Make other schools interested in working internationally aware of different approaches in the educational field