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Improving the quality of teaching methodology
Start date: Sep 1, 2014, End date: Aug 31, 2016 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Our school's development plan was devised to comply with the demands of the latest education reforms in Italy, according to which the English language is taught in secondary schools as the means to teach contents related to non-linguistic subjects through the use of CLIL methodology. Therefore, our school mobilities were planned to enable the teaching staff to acquire the innovative teaching techniques aimed at implementing the above-mentioned methodology as well as to better their language competences. Moreover, our development plan also envisaged a refreshing course tailored to foreign language teachers , who found it essential to learn more appealing strategies in order to improve their learners' language awareness and communicative competence as well as their ability to use the foreign language in real-life contexts, for both social and professional purposes. Hence, 15 teachers of our institute had the chance to attend two-week training courses abroad, thus enriching the linguistic, pedagogical and educational competences which have highly contributed to improving the students'school performances and motivation. Furthermore, the mobility has shaped an international teaching perspective thanks to our acquaintance with European colleagues coming from diverse linguistic and cultural realities. These meetings have resulted in exchanging teaching ideas and experiences as well as in establishing international contacts which have paved the way for ongoing partnerships. Currently, our institute is benefiting from the approval of two KA2 projects which have been the successful outcome of the constant cooperation with the European teachers met during our KA1 mobility project. The 15 teachers were selected in accordance with the criteria outlined by our Collegio docenti, while giving priority to those members who had always shown a keen interest in new methodologies, training activities, international exchanges, experimentation and had constantly displayed their motivation in improving their competences and skills. The project team constantly coordinated and supported the participants in the mobility: firstly,they drew up a timeline of all the mobilities throughout the two-year project; secondly, they helped the participants choose those training courses which best suited their needs and thirdly, they kept contact with the receiving organisations. After coming back from their mobilities, our teachers disseminated the newly acquired innovative methodologies both in our school and in our neighbouring institutions through the setting up of workshops and the publication of all teaching materials on the school's official website. Moreover, they were also eager to experiment with the new strategies in their classes, thus arousing an increasing interest and a better self-awareness of the students involved in the teaching/learning process. The innovative methodological activities proved successful since the students showed greater motivation for learning, while actively taking part in the tasks and suggesting original tips for discussion and consideration.All the different stages of the project were monitored and the corresponding results were published . When it comes to considering the long-term benefits provided by our school's particpation in the KA1 project, we will definitely mention a broadening teaching international dimension , a growing number of methodological experimentations, as well as a network of international contacts with European partners which have contributed to the development of new forms of collaboration and partnerships
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