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Learning to learn in the UK
Learning to learn in the UK
Start date: Jun 1, 2014,
End date: May 31, 2016
PROJECT
FINISHED
IES PRINCIPE FELIPE is a public educational centre in the north of Madrid that provides compulsory secondary education, Bachillerato and Vocational Training. One of our objectives is to improve the linguistic, social and cultural competences of our students and facilitate the access to the knowledge and communication tools necessary in an interconnected, multilingual and multicultural world.
With this goal in mind, our centre has developed numerous Erasmus and Leonardo programmes. Currently we hold the Erasmus Charter for Higher Education and the VET Mobility Charter. In order to expand the European project into the educational sectors of our school we have started two programmes, academic in nature, that provide a European orientation for our students:
1. The implementation process of the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBDP) which will begin in September of 2017
2. The implementation of a bilingual programme since September of 2015.
Our project is geared towards the teachers and coordinators of both programmes with the goal of enhancing their personal and professional qualifications through the participation in language courses and job shadowing at participating schools in the United Kingdom. The fundamental goal was to improve the organization of our school according to these new programmes, focusing on linguistic competence and renovation of methodology and didactic strategies, and to solidify the links with teachers and students across Europe.
NUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS
19 teachers which make up part of our bilingual didactic team and future coordinators of the International Baccalaureate Diploma have participated in this project. They all have a Bachelor or Master degree in diverse subject areas and are between the ages of 30 and 60 with teaching experience between 5 and 30 years.
A) 10 mobilities of teachers focused on job shadowing at Barton Court Grammar School in Cantebury, UK: 2 English teachers, 4 teachers from other IB subjects (History, Biology, Maths and Philosophy), 4 coordinators (Director, IB Coordinator, CAS Coordinator, Theory of Knowledge Coordinator). The teachers update their teaching methods, and observe the organization and function of a school specialised in languages and IB. The mobilities were organized in 3 waves of 5 day durations: 1st wave- October 2014, 2nd wave October 2015, 3rd wave- February 2016.
The activities carried out during their stay consisted of observation and analysis of the educational system, and school organization and teaching methods. These activities were performed through the active participation in classes for 6 hours a day and interviews with the school board and the IB coordination team. As a result, our teachers wrote three reports, one per wave, that were presented to the school community and are accessible on our website.
B) 9 mobilities for structured language courses related to the teaching and learning of the English language and its culture, CLIL methodology, and literature. 5 English teachers and 4 teachers from other subjects (Music, Biology, Early Childhood Education and Visual Arts)- certified, or in the process of being certified, to teach their subjects in English- participated. The mobilities were organised in two waves of 15 days: 1st wave- July-August 2014, 2nd wave- July-August 2015.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RESULTS AND THE ACQUIRED IMPACT
The activities developed during and after their stay have allowed us to improve our school's organisation, to facilitate the implementation process of the IB, to introduce new methodology and learning strategies, to develop models of collaboration, to improve the linguistic competence of the participants, to stimulate European identity, and to establish links with teachers and institutions in the U.K. for future collaboration.
Furthermore, this experience has given our centre clear improvement in the ability to organise and develop projects within the Erasmus+ Programme.
Thanks to this project our teachers and students are in contact with other educational realities and contribute to the expansion of the European identity within our surroundings; strengthening the friendship and collaboration bonds with neighbouring countries.