While keeping up with the school curriculum, meeting up parents and operating daily routine classes, we can have difficulty in saving time for creativity in our classrooms. However, even in such little time, even with a little touch to create effective classrooms provides an undeniable atmosphere and environment where students are more likely to express their ideas, think outside the box, challenge problems and learn more actively and effectively. The environment stands for a lot of things when we think of learning. Since it can influence students’ motivation, attitude, memory, and concentration, and we, as teachers, want our classrooms to place students look ahead to coming every day not to leaving early, and places which make them feel welcoming, safe, nurturing, and fun we look for every opportunity to motivate, encourage and increase student’s willingness and attendance, and to meet learning objectives in a positive way. The more students feel positive about their environment, the more they’ll also feel positive about what they’re doing and be eager to engage with their teacher, the material, and also each other. Since students and teachers spend the majority time in classrooms which need to inspire both of them it is our responsibility to foster this environment and atmosphere. This atmosphere should have beautiful spaces with art and music where appropriate, various living plants where students can take care of them on their own, comfortable seating, and fast internet access etc. which make students and teachers feel good and secure to be at school. We know that creating a favored classroom environment starts with responding students’ learning preference, needs, and diversity, and that process starts with organizing physical space, having students cooperate, creating a communicational environment, and maintaining a positive classroom climate. Based on these, we, as partners, applied a questionnaire to 150 students from our schools, how they can define the school, or what the school means to them. From the results of this questionnaire came some surprising results, such as that of about 80% of them are saying it is tedious for them and also for their teachers. The rest 20% of them are saying a school is a nice place not during the classes and evaluations but the moment for a break. After these remarkable results, we want to break this belief with the aim of having the students value the school and develop a willingness to learn with quality in an environment where they feel secure and eager to attend regardless of classes and break. The project will last for 2 years and involves schools from The Czech Republic, Iceland, Austria, Turkey, and Spain, and activities will be performed with the students aged 11 to 18. We would like to achieve those welcoming the feelings, living healthily and never thinking of dropping out of school while meeting our outcomes which are to; -Create a more desirable school environment, -Develop positive attitudes towards school environment, -Be involved in learning in its broadest sense, beyond the classroom and formal curriculum, -Enable people to be global citizens in terms of moral values such as tolerance and diversity respect, -Strengthen communication between cultures and nations, -Enable participants to share good- education exercises, -Make a bridge between the students with and without SEN thanks to activities in the project like peer-work and team-work -Have the students work together and collaborate, -Increase the students’ motivation, confidence, self-esteem, and aspirations to succeed, -Enrich the students’ childhood years, -Open the way to new opportunities, adventures, and possibly even future careers with methodology; peripheral learning areas, games, drama, learning by doing, enriching the atmosphere. We believe that involvement in our international project's activities is aimed at educating children so that they can better integrate into social life. To reach the objectives of our project, we will organize an Erasmus+ Day, make street interviews and surveys, organizing an Entertainment Day, watching films, fun activities, social and sports activities in school garden by creating of an Erasmus+ team, create of logo and slogan, website, e-Twinning - Facebook page, prepare of Erasmus+ corner in each school, hold seminars or workshops, exhibitions and form various materials such as booklets, brochures, posters with EU and project logo for the dissemination. The schools will have a chance to become a model for other schools in important areas such as digital practices, online safety, innovative and creative pedagogy approaches, the promotion of continuing professional development of teachers and the promotion of collaborative learning practices among staff and pupils. Therefore, the school will enjoy both recognition at county and national level as well as at the European level to take advantage of this project for long term effect.
During 3 years of duration of this project it was done many activities and despite of international problems of covid restrictions and war in Ukraine, all planned activities and also physical mobilities were fulfilled. Many students and teachers were involved to this project and it influenced all of them. In first half of the year we managed first mobility in Iceland and we could make all planned activities. But the covid came and our work on this project was stopped. No other physical activities could be done and most of the schools we closed and all education were done virtually (distance education). Also one of the partners Austrian school decided to leave the project. So we had to re-write it and involved activities that should be done in Austrian to other mobilities. Then during next 18 months we had to deal with covid restrictions and we could not managed any physical mobilites. We decided to try our best and to plan physical mobility as soon as possible. We didn’t want to do virtual mobilities because their impact is only very small and weak. During this period when some schools were closed it was also difficult to done all activities but we manage to them either virtually or later in some schools. And then we were successful, after 18 months we could manage second mobility in Czech Republic. Unfortunately some partners could not come so we did this mobility partly as blended. And in last 6 months we manage to do last 2 mobilities in Turkey and Spain. All activities between mobilities were done, for example, adorning classrooms, street surveys, conferences, organizing of Tolerance and Empathy Day, presentations about important people growing up in disadvantageous areas, making a time capsules, preparing games, sports tournaments at schools, drama-play, organizing Erasmus+ Day, etc. The main target of this project was to make a contribution to the greater happiness of pupils, we believe that children that feel better in school are the best results of this project. But furthermore, after the completion of the project, the competences, experience, personal and educational skills gained by our students and teachers will be permanent for all. The learning methods and methodology that they learned is already used in educational settings. The teachers continue to use the experience that they gained during the project for different classes and they try to convey to their colleagues. The teachers and students now know how to use a variety of methods such as checklists and rubrics for creativity, critical thinking, problem solving, collaborations, communication, self-direction, speaking, electronic publication, print publication, reports, video, multimedia presentation, persuasive presentation, role-play, conferences held by students and teachers, observation made by students and teachers, classification charts, prioritized lists, sequencing activities, questionnaires, etc. The outcomes of the project, the designed classrooms, greenhouses, videos, teaching materials are available in schools. Project website, Facebook, Youtube channel, Instagram, Twitter and e-Twinning is available to the schools and the local, national and international communities. Also all exhibitions of Art, music, corners and plays are highlighted in our schools to reach newcomers. Furthermore we ensure that they will be used by others too, so the staff from different departments can use as a visual material in the context of their lessons.