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WATER AROUND US
Start date: Sep 1, 2014, End date: Aug 31, 2017 PROJECT  FINISHED 

The idea for "Water around us“ (WAU) was based on an investigation done previously among possible partner schools. Here are the common issues everybody agreed upon: • raise of students' intrinsic motivation for school activities; • use of more innovative teaching/learning methods; • improve the school results; • improve the involvement of the students' families in schools; • use of activities to complement academic curricula and help students practise and develop work skills as well as explore creative thinking; 7 schools from 6 countries apply for the project. The theme WAU was picked deliberately. It´ll enable us to accomplish the mentioned common objectives by working on a concrete topic which is represented to a good extent in every school´s curriculum: WATER. Thus „WAU“ is ideal for an innovative pedagogical approach to improve teaching and learning. It is a cross-curricular study theme which offers a variety of issues that reinforce key competences and basic skills. It also has potential to encourage creative thinking. WAU will boost our professional profile, promote use of ITC, OER and involve more parents and associated partners in school activities. The partner schools epitomize a great variety of school types: The age of our students varies from ten to early twenties. We have comprehensive schools, lower and upper secondary schools and also vocational branches. Students from special education level up to very high academic levels are involved. The staff is highly motivated and experts in subjects like science, languages, art, PE, ITC and special education. This multiplicity of experiences and competences is intentional for its great diversity of skills which in return contribute to the successful implementation of the project activities. Roughly 200 students and teachers are designated to go on trips abroad. The number of actively involved students will exceed some hundred. All relevant stakeholder organisations will probably add up to several dozens. • We work on basic scientific concepts connected with water, doing a comparative analysis of the regular curriculum in all school partners about the theme WATER. • Exploration of natural water supplies, the importance of water near our schools and what it has to offer in terms of recreation, mental & physical health, sport and tourism. • Installing and celebrating Water Day in all three years • Creation of a project website (Virtual Learning Platform) and innovative educational units • Development of a new, more student-centred pedagogical approach that will lead to a useful advanced outcome in the field of learning and teaching activities. • Our project work will enforce key competences connected with basic skills in science and technology, fine & performing arts, as well as crafts, music, foreign languages and ITC. We hope to accomplish the main objectives set out above. Besides the specific curricular and extracurricular scientific knowledge our students will acquire, our agenda is to improve teaching and learning for students of different academic and age levels. Teachers will take more advantage of open educational resources and ITC based learning. Innovative methods of teaching will inspire our students to develop intrinsic motivation, leading to increased effort at school and a more positive view towards lifelong learning. Students´ basic, transversal and digital skills will be boosted as well as the command of their mother tongue and foreign languages. Strategic cooperation between relevant stakeholders will take advantage of the entire range of all learning providers, using synergies to improve the intended outcomes like positive changes regarding future curricula. Our disseminated results will help all school types across Europe, ensuring the money granted by the EU is spent in a most sustainable and effective way. Elaborated learning modules and products will be used in the years to come at partner schools. Most outcomes will be downloadable from our website to be exploited by others. The Virtual learning platform will be constantly maintained and updated for dissemination of our results, as a source of information and exchange of experience and good practice. Periodic celebration of future „Water Days“ at participating schools to keep the idea alive. Participants will have learned multiple ways to enjoy the nature in accordance with the rules of sustainability. We aim at sharpened global awareness. To work in a European-wide multilateral project is a unique and precious experience for everybody involved which will make a difference in the participants' lives. We are positive that the established contacts between participating schools, staff and young people all over Europe will outlive the project.
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