FIVE INSIGHTS INTO RUNNING AN ERASMUS+ PROJECT ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP “MAY ICT BE WITH YOU” Triin Lingiene

FIVE INSIGHTS INTO RUNNING AN ERASMUS+ PROJECT ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP “MAY ICT BE WITH YOU”

Triin Lingiene Coordinator of Erasmus+ projects at Tartu Tamme Gymnasium

The first insight is about unity among Europeans, and how Erasmus+ projects help to build it in a concerted action. The majority of those who have got a taste for transnational collaboration will probably agree that it feeds their professional curiosity and builds bridges between like-minded teachers. The same is true for Tartu Tamme Gymnasium. We carried out our first staff mobility project in 2014 with only three teachers participating, but six years and four projects later, we find ourselves coordinating yet another strategic partnership, which already involves nearly 100 participants. It is a smart language project that revolves around European values and aims to teach language with film and content with language. Not only have five partner schools come together to pursue their stated objectives, but they have also joined forces to help their students and teachers grow as European citizens.

The second insight takes us to the priorities of the Erasmus+ programme and their role in project activities. Quite rigid at first view, those priorities can be adopted with some divergent thinking rather easily. For example, we have decided on “Open education and innovative practices in a digital era”, “Promoting a comprehensive approach to language teaching and learning”, and “ICT ‒ new technologies ‒ digital competences”, which we interpret as the Six-T’s Approach to Content-Based Instruction, soft CLIL and blended learning. Also, we are seeking some good answers to the following questions:

1. To what extent will teaching language with film motivate students to work harder and achieve higher? 2. To what extent will teaching content with language make foreign language instruction more effective? 3. To what extent will combining e-learning with face-to-face instruction encourage teachers to modify their teaching practices, and students improve their learning skills? The third insight allows us to discuss the impact that Erasmus+ mobility flows have on participants. Surely most students (and many teachers) join Erasmus+ projects because of free travel, language practice and new contacts. Some of them soon find out that travelling is hard work and project activities are too intensive; still others understand that flexibility and good humour, as well as thinking outside one’s cultural space, do come in handy. In the end, what matters most is a sense of accomplishment. Students feel it because project work makes them grow in multiple ways, be it intercultural awareness, language skills or transnational teamwork. Teachers feel it because project work enables them to look for a better balance between demanding high and stepping aside. Mobility flows are at the core of any Erasmus+ project as they inspire teachers and students alike, and they certainly add European dimension to the partner schools’ development activities.

The fourth insight looks into European youth and how wonderful it is for them to go and make things

happen together with their peers. For instance, during our first exchange of groups of pupils, we could nothing but admire how good our students were at reading the screen while discussing their film reviews. Also, we were able to take pride in seeing our young Estonians, Belgians, Danes, Germans and Spaniards debating for and against a given motion in English ‒ a foreign language to them all. They got started with lots of scaffolding, but with ample practice, everyone will have a chance to become a more eloquent debater and a more confident English speaker as the project unfolds. All in all, fond memories of other cultures, beautiful places, and making new friends are often mentioned in students’ reflection papers, and so are personal growth along with multifaceted learning experience. What else can we wish for?

Teacher training event in Tartu, 5 December 2019

Finally, the fifth insight puts teachers in the limelight, for without them, Erasmus+ school projects would not stand a chance. When a teacher feels that he or she has a say in important questions, they want to contribute. When a teacher knows that he or she is not alone with their concerns, inspiration is quick to come. Teacher motivation matters, for peer learning, sharing experiences and working on a common goal fosters collegial solidarity. So does teacher autonomy. Knowing that one can choose their own path will make teachers more than willing to transfer their new knowledge and skills back to their daily practices. Being able to make teachers’ voice heard will help everyone enjoy the art of teaching utmost, and that seems to be the very point of running an Erasmus+ project, at least for us.

May ICT be with you

 A strategic partnership (2019‒2021) between Tartu Tamme Gümnaasium (Estonia), C.E. Rivas

Luna (Spain), Wilhelm-Leibl-Realschule (Germany), Maria-Goretti-Sekundarschule (Belgium) and 10 I Campus (Denmark)

21 months of local, transnational and interactive project activities Three short-term teacher training events: in Tartu, Bad Aibling and Brussels Three short-term exchanges of groups of pupils: in L’Eliana (Valencia), Sankt Vith and Varde Three central themes: “Human Dignity & Freedom”, “Humanity & Democracy” and “The Rule of Law & Human Rights”. Three films: Wonder (2017), Keeping Mum (2005) and The Breakfast Club (1985)

Exchange of student groups in L’Eliana, Spain, March 2020

Abstract

The title of our project directly refers to a legendary film series we greatly admire, but it is also true that we see ICT as the driving force behind our ambition. We intend to pursue wisdom and skilfulness by capitalizing upon our strengths and building upon our limitations, just like the aspiring Padawans and their devoted Jedi masters in Star Wars did. Besides, it will take six Episodes (transnational learning, teaching and training activities) to track our progress in doing so. Essentially, we will be using film to improve our students’ English skills in parallel with using the English language to enrich their understanding of European values. Promoting critical thinking and creativity along with intercultural awareness is substantial for us, and so is synergy between like-minded teachers.

The homepage of the project can be found at https://griterasmusplus.eu/

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Horseshoe Falls is the Canadian side of Niagara Falls with the highest flow rate and beauty. Horseshoe Niagara Falls becomes a holiday spot for millions of people every year. Horseshoe Falls is a great source of hydraulic power for the province of Ontario. The FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre is a new cultural complex located in St. Catharines, Ontario, the result of a partnership between the City of St. Catharines and Brock University. The Centre hosts a variety of international and local performing artists in its recital hall, dance/theatre, and film auditorium. The photo includes Mayor Walter Sendzik and the Art Centre architects. Brock University is a public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada’s Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. Brock offers a wide range of programmes at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including professional degrees. Brock was ranked third among Canadian universities in the undergraduate category. The university bears the name of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812), a British Army officer assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. He was promoted to major general and became responsible for defending Upper Canada against the United States during the War of 1812. When the war broke out, Brock’s actions, particularly his success at Detroit, earned him accolades including a knighthood in the Order of the Bath and the sobriquet “The Hero of Upper Canada”. His name is often linked with that of the Native American leader Tecumseh, although the two men collaborated in person only for a few days. Brock died at the Battle of Queenston Heights, which the British won. Wind machines are protection against radiant frosts. They work by directing warmer air from above the inversion layer downward around the vines, and at the same time, they displace the colder air on the ground away from the vineyard. After more than $25-million worth of grapes were lost in 2005 when temperatures plunged to -25 ο C in the Niagara area, the Ontario vineyard industry was swift to adopt wind machines. There are now over 500 in the Niagara Peninsula alone. Ice wine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The frozen grapes are then pressed, resulting in a smaller amount of more concentrated, very sweet wine. With ice wines, the freezing happens before the fermentation, not afterwards. Welland Canal is a ship canal in Ontario, connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. It forms a key section of the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes Waterway. Building began in 1824. The canal enables ocean-going ships to ascend and descend the Niagara Escarpment and bypass Niagara Falls all the way to Chicago. About 3,000 ships that transport about 40,000,000 tons of cargo pass through the canal each year. It was a major factor in the growth of the city of Toronto, Ontario, as well as several heavily industrialized areas of the United States. Dundurn Castle is a historic neoclassical mansion in Hamilton, Ontario. It was built by Sir Allan MacNab, a millionaire politician and was completed in 1835. The 40-room castle featured the latest conveniences of gas lighting and running water. It is currently owned by the City of Hamilton and has been restored to its original grandeur. Costumed interpreters guide visitors through the home, illustrating daily life from the 1850s. The Duchess of Cornwall, a descendant of Sir Allan MacNab, is the Royal Patron of Dundurn Castle.

Map of the Niagara Region. The Niagara River (on the right) flows from Lake Erie into Lake Ontario. It forms the border between the province of Ontario, Canada, and New York State, US. The river branches into two and flows around Grand Island. There are several smaller islands in the river, including Goat Island, which separates the Canadian and American parts of Niagara Falls.