We sought to promote the professional and personal development of the school staff so that, enriched by the experience of international networking and knowledge of European educational realities, we could contribute to improving the pedagogical and managerial practices of our institution. We aimed to: - Develop personal and professional skills of participating teachers and technicians (skills for the 21st century); - More frequent use of innovative pedagogical and didactic practices (innovative methods and strategies, use of digital tools and instruments) over different subjects; - Integrate digital technologies as a systematic resource for the promotion of learning, involving the students in the building of their own knowledge, including students with special educational needs; - Promote the integral development of students (cognitive, physical and motor, ethical and aesthetic) - Develop strategic leadership skills, organizational assessment, motivational, and collaborative work. We also encouraged participants to share their experiences and understandings with their peers, through formal and informal contact, from a logic of sharing and involvement point of view.
The project has been originated from the school's ambition to improve the skills of its professionals as part of the strategy to increase the success rate of its students. The possibility of doing this by using external inputs, namely by attending structured courses in several European countries, allowed the development of new skills, knowledge, strategies, and teaching methodologies while contributing to the stimulus of critical considerations about different European educational systems. Pedagogical training, aligned with the pedagogical and civic goals of the institution in an outdoor and motivating environment, was also taken into consideration as an added value. Also, this training helped to create more collaborative and committed work relationships and an overall satisfaction setting, which had a positive impact on the quality of the work developed, on the variety of resources used, and on the results obtained by our students.