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Thinking Globally, Learning Together
Thinking Globally, Learning Together
Start date: Sep 1, 2015,
End date: Jul 31, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
Thinking Globally, Learning Together project unites a group of seven European special needs schools sharing the same need of reviewing the curriculum for their SEN students. Staff in all partner schools are very interested in how personalized learning can fit into the education of children with severe and profound learning difficulties across Europe. The students in our partner schools do not have equal access to a wide curriculum, due to their SEN. In all our partner countries inclusion is a very important issue, which can be interpreted very differently from school to school. We will study and learn from these different European educational systems and pedagogic approaches for the benefit of the SEN children in our schools. Also , our children which until now had their horizon limited by their disability will have the opportunity to travel, to meet their peers outside their own country, to widen their knowledge on European culture, to gain autonomy and new life skills etc
The main project objectives are for staff to learn and implement innovative approaches to personalized learning from partner schools; to improve student's learning outcomes within their schools, through personalized learning, to be supportive in the work of the special needs schools, to increase understanding and awareness of different education systems in partnership countries, and learn from these various approaches, to develop and explore cultural awareness, to include SEN students of in collaborative project work e.g. art display, improving the use of ICT within all the partner schools for both staff and pupils.
The participants in this project will be the staff from all 7 partner schools and 450 SEN children involved in the project. The project will also benefit parents and school Governors (will be invited to attend host schools activities and social events),local schools ,local community (by means of this project, the local community will have the opportunity to be known in the partners’ countries, to participate in different Project events (conferences, workshops, lessons, meetings, etc.)
The main activities in the project will be the training/learning activities organized by each school : a work shop on multiple sensorial disability approach and early intervention techniques (in Romania) a workshop on self-dependence training and another in autism (in Belgium),a training in Intensive Interaction (a communication approach for students with very early development communication skills) and Outdoor Learning (in UK), a work shop on biofeedback usage and therapies in SOSW (in Poland) , another training on logopedical Management in voice and fluency disorders and the Montessori method(in Bulgaria) , the work-shop ways of working with SEN students (in Spain) , horse and dog therapy for children during students visit to Poland etc.
The main results of the projects (in terms of attitude, knowledge and skills) will be that staff will be trained in European innovative teaching methods for SEN students and they will be able to train staff in their home schools in this area and will be able to trial new methods with their own pupils after producing them or learning about their use at training sessions. They will gain attitudes of tolerance, understanding and mutual respect generated by the work in an international group: the students will gain new life skills which will improve opportunities for future enterprise initiatives, they will improve their cultural awareness and expression.
The project will also produce intellectual outcomes created jointly (a sensory book, a joint guide on innovative approaches to personalized learning from partner schools) or by each school individually (brochures, power-point presentations, DVD-s etc)
The project will have also multiplier events one during the Blended Student Mobility of students from partner schools in UK( a SEN Festival - celebrating and exploring a wide range of creative arts in the outdoors) and a conference in the final visit to Turkey as a form of final evaluation and dissemination of project results.
The impact of the project will reflect on different levels : pupils will develop their skills and knowledge about arts, music, food, sports, cultures, customs, life styles etc. in different European countries, organization and communication skills with new friendships , increased self-esteem ; staff will improve their professional knowledge by learning through training of new approaches of personalised learning ,different experiences and concepts of teaching SEN pupils ,different pedagogical methods of active learning and therapeutic approaches ; the schools will benefit from an extended curriculum of new adapted methodologies and a portfolio of best practice - including approaches, methods of active learning, they will tighten the relationship with family and local partners , the wider community will gain tolerance and respect towards SEN children.