Our project “Miracle of nature: inevitable learning” targets students and teachers from five European countries: Italy, Finland, Turkey, Belgium and Spain. This is a two-year long project which has as general goal to implement new methodologies based on non-formal and informal ways of learning outside the traditional classroom using the natural and cultural European heritage that each school is owner of as a lab. We recognize the natural heritage as a source of knowledge and motivation. We will use the surrounding environment of each school as a lab to find new possibilities to enjoy the nature in a respectful way and understanding how environmental characteristics influence each place’s culture. The objectives of this project are to increase the levels of achievement and interest of our students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), to use the natural and cultural European heritage as a source of knowledge, to observe environmental impacts as well as good practices to protect the environment close to our schools, to use innovative approaches based in informal and non-formal methodologies outside the traditional classroom, to enhance ties among of different countries and to reinforce the inclusion of students with specific necessities. The participants will be secondary school students and teachers of the five partner schools. The total number of participants that will join the mobilities will be 137 although more will participate through the eTwinning platform from their own town and also when the activity is held in their own school. Students with social and economic disadvantages will be specially taken into account encouraging their participation. Along the visits at each school, local society as families or local authorities will also be involved in some of the activities. We have planned to carry out eight activities: five short-term exchanges of students, one in each country, two short-term exchanges of teachers consisting in one workshop and a training course, and one long-term mobility of two months for a teacher. Apart from that, virtual mobilities will also be organized for participants through the eTwinning platform. For achieving the proposed objectives, we will use a practical methodology outside the traditional classroom based on informal and non-formal learning using the natural environment as a lab. Learning by doing, observing natural processes and solving problems activities will be organized with the aim that students acquire knowledge based on STEM principles from the natural and cultural heritage that surround each school. Students will join in international collaborative groups to solve specific tasks in an active and motivating way. With the implementation of this project we will obtain different kind or results as a know-how book with didactical guides to learn from the environment outside the classroom, a physical and virtual herbarium with useful plants of each region, logo and song of the project, a multilingual dictionary, a blog, a better motivation for STEM subjects, a wider vision of European cultural heritage, better conscience of local environmental impacts and acquiring new tools to teach in international collaborative situations. We expect great impacts with this project at different levels: school, local society, national and international. These will start from the initial activities of the project till beyond it finishes. Thus, participants will learn STEM subjects in a new motivating way, will understand other European realities first hand better and how culture adapted to specific environmental realities and will observe good practices to deal with local environmental impacts. Other impacts will be learning new teaching techniques to teach outside the classroom using the resources that the natural environment offers us, learning from uses of plants in different countries and enhance ties among European schools. Students will strengthen ties among other mates of other countries. Schools will broaden their European dimension. Families will see Europe closer to them. Towns and regions will know about other European regions and vice versa. Many benefits will be achieved carrying out this project transnationally. It will help participants to learn STEM subjects in new places outside the traditional classroom, use new strategical techniques based on informal and non-formal approaches, discover the natural and cultural European heritage of other countries, develop intercultural communicative skills, learn good environmental practices carried out by other countries and enhance ties among participants working together. After the project ends, results will be accessible from the eTwinning platform, project blog, school’s websites and other European platforms to anybody interested in practical activities to learn from our cultural heritage out of the traditional classroom.
Our project “Miracle of nature: inevitable learning” (MATURE) has been carried out by students and teachers from schools of five European countries: Italy, Finland, Turkey, Belgium and Spain. This is a project that initially had a length of 24 months, but due to different circumstances, it finally lasted 36 months. The main objective has been to implement new methodologies based on non-formal and informal forms of learning outside the traditional classroom using as a laboratory the European natural and cultural heritage that surrounds the participating educational schools, thus recognizing our natural heritage as a source of knowledge and motivation. We used the environment of each school as a laboratory to find new possibilities to enjoy the nature in a respectful way. The objectives of this project have been: to increase the levels of marks and interest of our students in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), to use European natural and cultural heritage as a source of knowledge, to observe environmental impacts and good practices for protecting the environment close to our schools, to use innovative approaches based on informal and non-formal methodologies outside the traditional classroom, to improve links between different countries and to reinforce the inclusion of students with specific needs. The participants were from secondary level students and teachers from the five partner schools. The total number of participants who joined the mobilities has been higher than initially expected (more than 180 compared to the initial 137 planned), in addition to others that joined through digital platforms and those locals who participated during the visits to each country. Students with social and economic disadvantages have been especially taken into account, encouraging their participation. Throughout the visits to each school local society, such as families or local authorities, have also been involved. Despite the difficulties and setbacks, we have managed to carry out the eight planned activities: five short-term student exchanges, one at each country, two short-term teacher exchanges consisting of a workshop and a training course, as well as a mobility long-term course of two months for a teacher. In addition, eTwinning and the new ESEP platform have also been used to complement and disseminate the work carried out in this project. To achieve the proposed objectives, we used a practical methodology outside the classroom and activities have been organized to learn by doing, based on the resources offered by the natural and cultural heritage that surrounds each participating school, using international collaborative groups. With the implementation of this project we have obtained different types of tangible results, such as a know-how book with didactic guides for learning by doing, a physical and virtual herbarium with useful plants from each region, the project's logo and song, a multilingual dictionary and a blog, as well as other intangibles results such as a greater motivation for STEM subjects, a broader vision of European cultural heritage, a better awareness of local environmental impacts and the acquisition of new tools to teach in situations of international collaboration, the learning of uses of plants in different countries and an increase of links between participating European schools. As a result, we have achieved important impacts at different levels: school, local, national and international society. These have already begun before the start of the project, and have continued during its implementation and after its completion with dissemination activities. Thus, participants have learned the principles of STEM subjects in a new and motivating way, have better understood European realities and how culture has adapted to specific environmental realities and have observed good environmentally friendly practices. Ultimately, these impacts have allowed students to strengthen ties with classmates from other countries, schools to have expanded their European dimension, families to see Europe closer to them, and cities and regions to come into contact with other European regions. Once the project is completed, anyone interested in practical activities to learn about our cultural heritage outside the traditional classroom will be able to access the results from the eTwining and ESEP platform, the project blog, the schools' websites and the Erasmus+ Projects Results Platform (E+PRP).