Comenius project
 Belgium |
 Iceland |
 Norway |
 France |
 Czech Republic |
 England |
Aims of the project
Through this project we hope to develop pupil’s language skills both in mother tongue and in additional languages. We would hope to raise their international awareness and awareness of linguistic, environmental and cultural diversity through sharing information and collaboration with activities. This would promote tolerance and understanding through improved attitudes and knowledge. Pupils would develop skills in communication, including use of ICT.
As for the pupils we also want to raise the international awareness of the staff. We would hope that participating staff would share information about their various curriculums and pedogogies which would be transeferable to their own settings. Staff could also improve their skills in communication and co-operation through collaborating in this project.
We hope that also the parents will benefit from this project. We hope that it is a chance for them to get to know more about other cultures.
Activities
Activities during the first year
Introduction videos
The playgound multilingual dictionary
Activities during the second year
Folk stories (Norway - Czeck Republic - Iceland - England - Belgium)
Songs
Activities during the third year
Card game
A book of international folk stories
Board games
Evaluation of progress
Throughout the project the pupils will respond to shared activities and make suggestions which will be shared by email with partner schools. Participating staff will keep diaries or logs which reflect on the work done.
The project will be a regular agenda item on the staff meetings of project schools to give a broad feedback. There will be regular communication between participating staff.
Transnational meetings will be arranged to give participants the opportunity to share and evaluate experiences.
Questionnaires to assess the attitudes and knowledge of pupils, staff and parents will be completed before, during and at the end of the project.
Dissemination
Information will be shared between participating schools by regular email and mail communication, the web site and through the regular transnational meetings. The results, experiences and end products will be shared with other local schools in each country through consortium and network links. Each school will set up a Comenius notice board to ensure that the whole school and parents are kept up to date with developments. Local Education Authorities will be involved through reports to link advisors. Opportunities will be found to bring the project to the attention of the local media.
Specific measures
Activities will be chosen to ensure access by pupils at all levels, including those with special educational and physical needs, and to give equal opportunities for participation of female and male staff and pupils. The activities will build on and communicate the cultures and backgrounds of all participants to encourage reflection and understanding by others.
Roles/Effective co-operation
The schools will communicate with each other in English. The major task of the co-ordinating institution will be to initiate the regular flow of information and ensure that effective communication and collaboration is maintained between partner schools. They will co-ordinate activities according to deadlines agreed by all participants. The Icelandic partner will organise the setting up of the web site. The Norwegian partner will organise the collection and compilation of the Outdoor Activity Calendar. The English partner will instigate and oversee the compilation of the Outdoor Dictionary. Other partners will take on roles and responsibilities through discussion and agreement as the project develops. Partner schools will be updated regularly by the co-ordinating school as to deadlines and agreements. Each partner school will email a short monthly report on project work. Information will also be posted on the web site. Participating staff within schools will meet regularly to discuss project matters. Transnational meetings will be organised for the first and last terms of each project year
Use of ICT
Email will be the main means of communicating information between staff and pupils in partner schools. Pupils and staff will make use of still and video digital cameras to record activities and responses and to share progress. Publishing programmes will be used to develop shared products and resources. 9. Pupil participation These young pupils will be encouraged to be actively involved in the planning, evaluation and development of the project through regular discussion with their teachers. Opportunities will be planned into the schedule to allow them to do this. For example during the Summer term of the first year pupils are asked to evaluate the activities covered during previous months. All the activities will take place during the school day ensuring that all pupils have the opportunity to participate.
Integration in the curriculum
All the participating schools are either Primary Schools or Kindergartens so that the development of language skills is a primary concern. The planned activities will fit naturally into the curriculum as they focus on this aspect. The activities will also draw on many other areas of the early years curriculum, such as physical development, environmental studies, art and design, and design technology. Activities will be planned into the normal course of the school day and will also cover requirements of each national curriculum.