"B.R.A.N.D. N.EU. - Building strategic practices iN Designing in New EUrope" is a Strategic Partnership promoted by 4 European Schools: I.P.S. "JB Beccari" from Italy (Coordinator); “Jonava Senamiestis Gymnasium” from Lithuania; “Jelgavas 5. Vidusskola” from Latvia; “51 Secondary School Elissaveta Bagriana” from Bulgaria. The project aims at generating concrete objectives and results by following a double thread unifying the participating countries to strengthen, on the one hand, their socio-cultural link(which needs to be "protected" against the uncertainties generated by events such as that of the Brexit) and, on the other, their didactic innovation and promote equal training standards and high quality teaching techniques. Therefore, for each priority identified, the project pursues the following objectives: (HORIZONTAL: Open education and innovative practices in a digital era) -favoring, through transnational mobility, the contact among learners and teachers of different nationalities to open them to intercultural dialogue and expand the school’s local educational dimension towards European horizons. -encouraging teachers and learners to use digital tools in their daily teaching/learning routine. (HORIZONTAL: Social and educational value of European cultural heritage) -promoting learners’ greater curiosity and awareness about the different socio-cultural facets existing among their peers and, at the same time, directing them to the positive acceptance and promotion of the different European traditions; -stimulating pupils’ language acquisition through direct exchanges with other European peers. (SCHOOL EDUCATION: Strengthening the profiles of the teaching professions) -enhancing the knowledge and use of practical teaching methods, such as that of Project Based Learning, through the organization of a training activity destined to teachers, that will be able to share resources, experiences, ideas, etc. with the subsequent objective of creating a Community of Practice that will discuss new teaching methodologies beyond the project duration; -promoting deeper knowledge of European funding mechanisms. The structure of "B.R.A.N.D. N.EU” will follow the development of no. 5 Learning Teaching Training Activities: - a Staff Training Event (LTTA C1) for 6 teachers (2 from each partner school will travel to Italy while no limitations will be applied on the number of Italian teachers attending C1) will allow the didactic exchange and stimulate educational research, encouraging the updating of modern educators’ professional skills; the focus will be on deepening the PBL methodology (strictly connected to the practical character of the following LTTAs) and discovering the benefits deriving from the application of practical and participatory teaching methods; - LTTA C2, C3, C4 and C5, for the exchange of practices among pupils (aged15-18), 18 from each school, for a total number of 78 students, will encourage the investigation of the cultural heritage, tangible and intangible, of each of the Countries represented within the partnership, encouraging students’ greater awareness of the European cultural identity; in order to make young students aware of the objectives of the Agenda 2030, sustainability principles will be incorporated into the final creation of the expected project output (students, through a guided path, will create a product - from a tourist itinerary, to a concrete object or a traditional recipe, etc. – that will become a hybrid representation of Italian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian and Latvian cultures). Among the impacts and results expected in the short-medium-long term, the partnership foresees that: -90% of participants (both teachers and students) will declare the acquisition of new didactic, linguistic and digital knowledge and skills, as well as soft skills such as problem solving, teamwork, stress management and intercultural dialogue; -60% of participating pupils will improve their school performance; -the creation of at least no. 2 eTwinning projects promoted by each partner school in the year 2022-23; -the promotion of at least no. 2 new Strategic Partnerships, as Coordinator and partner, promoted by each partner School in the year 2022-23.
The project "B.R.A.N.D. N.EU. - Building stRategic prActices iN Designing a New EUrope' - established as a Strategic Partnership promoted by 4 European Schools, namely I.P.S. 'J. B. Beccari' from Italy, Jonava Senamiestis Gymnasium from Lithuania, Jelgavas 5. Vidusskola from Latvia and 51 Secondary School Elissaveta Bagriana from Bulgaria, set and concretely recorded the following results: strengthening of the socio-cultural link between the different European countries, and enhancement and dissemination of educational innovation. The partner schools were able to compare and collaborate to equalise educational standards and overcome the traditional educational paradigm. Specifically, the project pursued and achieved the following objectives: (HORIZONTAL: Open education and innovative practices in a digital era) -to foster, through transnational mobility, contact between learners and teachers of different nationalities to open them up to intercultural dialogue, and broaden each one's local educational dimension towards European horizons with which to inspire new practices; -encourage teachers and learners to use digital tools in their teaching/learning routines; (HORIZONTAL: Social and educational value of European cultural heritage) -promoting learners' greater curiosity and awareness of the different socio-cultural facets existing among their peers and, at the same time, directing them to the positive acceptance and promotion of these through the study and investigation of different European traditions; -stimulate learners' language acquisition through exchanges with peers of different nationalities; (SCHOOL EDUCATION: Strengthening the profiles of the teaching professions) -enhancing the knowledge and use of workshop teaching methodologies such as Project-Based Learning through the organisation of training activities for teachers only; -fostering knowledge of the funding mechanisms of the Erasmus+ Programme. The structure of "B.R.A.N.D. N.EU" supervised the realisation of five LTTAs: -one Staff Training Event (LTTA C1) dedicated exclusively to teachers (each partner school sent two teachers to the coordinating institute in Italy). This allowed a didactic exchange and stimulated educational research, strengthening the figure of the modern teacher/educator; in particular, the focus on the in-depth study of the PBL methodology (closely connected to the practical character to which the LTTAs intended for learners were geared) highlighted the benefits deriving from the application of a workshop and participative didactics; -LTTAs C2, C3, C4 and C5, intended for the exchange of practices between small delegations of learners: six students from each school for each LTTA, favoured the investigation of the cultural, material and non-material traditions of each of the countries represented within the partnership, thus fostering the acquisition of a greater awareness among the new generation of the varied European heritage and the knowledge of various common elements. To make young students aware of the goals of Agenda 2030, principles of sustainability were also incorporated into the creation of the products planned at the end of LTTA C2, C3, C4 AND C5, such as recipes, and tourist itineraries. Each output was intended to be a hybrid representation of Italian, Lithuanian, Bulgarian and Latvian cultures. When the project activity was completed: -90 % of the LTTA participants (both teachers and students) stated that they had acquired new knowledge and teaching, linguistic and digital skills as well as transversal skills such as problem-solving, teamwork and intercultural dialogue; -75 % of the participating pupils improved their academic performance; - an eTwinning project has been developed. Finally, two new Strategic Partnerships, initiated by each partner school, are expected to be established in the school year 2023/24.