ERASMUS + project

Tasting the European Art and Science

2019-1-PL01-KA229-065128_4

Project Description

Priorities and Topics

HORIZONTAL: Social and educational value of European cultural heritage, its contribution to job creation, economic growth and social cohesion.

HORIZONTAL: Social inclusion SCHOOL EDUCATION: Promoting a comprehensive approach to language teaching and learning.

Creativity and culture Teaching and learning of foreign languages ICT – new technologies – digital competences.

Description

We collaboratively chose priorities which are common for all the partners. We exchanged emails comparing the needs of each school. All the schools analysed their documentation like school trips and parents meetings reports. It showed students’ lack of experiencing art in person. We are aware that a school should familiarize pupils with art, give them a sample of pleasure which they would chase later on. Schools located on the outskirts of a city are less privileged in participating in cultural events. Financial situation of parents is another obstacle and the children who travel abroad with their families usually visit popular resorts and do not pay much attention to local objects of culture. The project will increase students’ knowledge about other cultures. They will have a chance to experience a cradle of theatre in Greece, classical music in a conservatory in Portugal, science in Romania, in Italy they will get to know some dance, and in Poland – famous painters’ art. We hope our project will be a seed of culture planted in our students. It will then sprout and fruit in the better and happier future lives of the students. Spending too much time in front of a screen, in a virtual world, is a common problem. Students need direct, real time experiences. The project will be a chance for building relationships and shaping proper attitudes. There are schools in our partnerships having problems with students from immigrant families. The project will give them opportunities for integration. They and the other students will have a good lesson of tolerance, getting to know others. The project will prevent the attitude of prejudice and excluding. Participating students will learn how to change differences into complementary features, they will create paths towards transnational citizenship. We carried out the diagnosis of the students’ needs. We analysed register books and tests. We learnt that the students’ weakest point is speaking in English. School curricula in Poland, Portugal assign too little time for practicing spoken English. Teachers will also improve their linguistic competences. By witnessing different school systems they will be able to reconsider their teaching methods and possibly implement observed practices. The Portuguese curriculum gives priority to subjects like Maths and Science. Other subjects like history and geography have few hours per week and the goals are not very high. So, we need to enhance the European culture with extra activities. This project could be a good chance to enhance cultural goals in our educational community. The objectives of the project will be achieved fully and most effectively through transnational cooperation of the group of schools. The reason for implementing the project trans-nationally is the fact that the project objectives would not be achieved with only local activities. Sharing experiences would not be complete without direct contact and the motivation it causes.

The main objective of the project is increasing students’ knowledge on the chosen areas of cultural heritage. We aim at presenting cultural works of every partner country with examples of great Europeans, and then enabling students to experiment in every of chosen areas of art and culture. Through the contact with various elements of the heritage, students will get to know the diversity of Europe, they will strengthen their national and European identity. They will develop their key competences and skills. They will be more sensitive to works of art and spectacles, and take chance to express themselves with the use of numerous means. Understanding of one’s own culture is the basis for respect and openness for others’ ones. The increase in level of key competences of students makes possible to adjust to the changes and to face the challenges of globalization. Participating in the project will boost students’ motivation for learning foreign languages, especially English which is the common language of the project. The project participants are the students of mostly older classes of primary schools who will take final exams in the near future. Overcoming the fear of speaking a foreign language will be noticeable both in students and teachers. Students will practice the skill of team work, taking advantage of team’s diversity, sharing skills and experiences. A significant part of activities requires co-operation of students from different countries working as a team to produce a result. They will develop the attitude of respect, openness to fighting prejudice, working towards compromise. They will prepare for agreeing on a decision in a democratic way, that in a longer perspective will lead to building European citizenship. The project will impact the teacher staff of every partner school. It will strengthen their professional competences and motivation for ongoing learning, especially foreign languages and culture. It will also openness for international co-operation, sharing and trying new methods and tools. For the schools, the project will be a chance to be more attractive in their region and it will impact the schools’ international collaboration capacity. Both students and teachers will learn new technology tools for a meaningful use. The project will influence the awareness of European citizenship of local communities of all the participants, teachers, students and their families. It will impact social cohesion through collaboration on the common European heritage.

In order to increase the awareness of European citizenship and knowledge of the heritage, we planned collaborative activities resulting in building schools’ capacity for international co-operation. During the preparation phase, all partner schools will focus on research, selection and presentation of significant representatives in a given field from their countries. Those activities will enable better understanding of their own county’s works of heritage, increase their sensibility for other countries’ cultures and will increase their attitude of appreciation and pride for belonging to the joint European culture. Getting to know the chosen fields of culture and the possibility of individual experimenting in those areas will increase their aspirations, open their minds, prompt them for learning. Learning during team work and play with the peers from other countries, students will develop social skills, gain the attitude of openness and tolerance, understanding for different cultures. They will gain a new perspective for assessing their own learning process. They will see evidences for the usefulness of the school work, will learn through experience, go beyond coursebooks which is rarely the case at school. Activities are based on a team work. During performing joint tasks in smaller and bigger groups while working in their respective schools and in a bigger international group during people-to-people meetings, students will have a chance to practice the skills of learning in a group, benefiting from the group’ diversity, sharing skills and experience. Participants, students and teachers will strengthen and develop language skills. The need for communication will be the best motivation for learning, and the mobilities will be a chance for real use of English for conveying and obtaining information. The ICT competences will increase significantly in participants. New technologies will be used during the process of research for gaining and presenting information, exchanging data, as well as for maintaining contact between schools and participants, for designing and completing websites, creating products and their dissemination. Teachers from every school will have a chance to work in a transnational project. That will provide them with new competences, experience sharing, observing schools operating in different school system, different surroundings and other culture of partner countries. Undertaking a project of transnational dimension, each school’s prestige will be raised. The schools will develop their recognition in their regions and they will be more attractive for prospective students.