Newsletter 3

FCS:3 Values NEWSLETTER 3

Joint-Staff Training Event (9-13 March 2015)

CONTENTS

Training experiences

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Training experiences

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Picture from event

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Picture from event

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About training event

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What’s next? 7

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Project’s teachers at Coimbra Üniversity

Family, Community and School: the Troika of my Values Short-term joint staff training event; 9 – 13 March 2015 The Historical Library of Coimbra Universty

It started with »Would you like to go to Portugal?«, a quick question on the staircase in the labyrinth we call »Gimnazija Šentvid«, a secondary school on the outskirts of Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital. Which person in their right mind would say no?

Little did I know what I was getting into – formulating a questionnaire on values for seven different countries, with seven different cultures and traditions, all done by teachers of various subjects with different levels of English knowledge – a task that was challenging, to say the least. Was it worthwhile, travelling almost 2,500 km to Coimbra, sitting in a classroom for hours, cracking our heads with ideas, concepts, vocabulary difficulties, dealing with technology that sometimes fails you in crucial moments?

The answer is absolutely and unequivocally YES!

Student with tradational dress at Coimbra Universty

Firstly, on a late Sunday evening we were warmly welcomed at the train station by Luis, the project coordinator. This warmth, genuine friendliness and willingness to help were extended to us by all the teachers and other staff at the Ferrer Correia School, where our training took place, whether they were involved in the project or not. You could see teaching is truly their vocation, not simply a job.

On Monday morning, a minibus took us up the winding roads to the top of a hill, where the Ferrer Correia School is situated. I was a bit surprised by the location, in Slovenia such big schools are situated in the valley, not on a hill but it turned out to be a great advantage – when Coimbra was shrouded in fog, we were able to bask in the sun. We were warmly welcomed by the youngest students, who prepared some songs and showed us their classrooms; this year they are learning about light, they have planets, spaceships in order to better learn about their topic. .

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During the day we saw some other schools which are also part of the cluster of schools in Miranda da Corvo, I was impressed by the creativity of students and teachers, which makes the rooms and hallways warm and spending all day at school less of a chore. In the evening, we also had the opportunity to meet the mayor before going to dinner at a museum.

On Tuesday, the whole day was spent in workshops on how to compose a questionnaire about family values. I think we would all have been completely lost without the help of Dr Vieira professor at the psychology department at the University of Coimbra. Previously, my only experience with research and questionnaires was in the role of subjects, not examiners. During the week I gained a lot of respect for people who do this regularly. Cultural differences between different countries participating in the project and a foreign language presented an additional challenge for most teachers.

After the whole day of working together and in groups, we had a very rough version of the questionnaire. Fortunately, the energy fuel came in the form of pleasant breaks with local delicacies and Roza’s coffee, without which it would be even more taxing.

Coimbra from night view

On Wednesday, the pace changed again as we stayed in Coimbra to visit the famous University, one of the oldest universities in Europe. The guide, who spoke very good English, took us to the amazing library, lecture rooms, the chapel and other fascinating parts of the campus. After a lovely lunch at the cafeteria we had the afternoon and evening free for sightseeing, shopping or simply relaxing in the warm sun.

The next day was spent on the questionnaire again, we polished the questions and became acquainted with the programme SPSS, which to me, an English teacher who has practically no experience with such programmes, was not the easiest thing. However, Christina’s endless patience and encouragement made things almost pleasant. For dinner, we had chanfana, typical dish which is actually goat stew – it tastes better than it sounds, but you have to order it at the right place as Christos, one of the teachers from Greece, can tell you.

Coimbra , Portugal

Our last day was spent on the questionnaire again, planning the coming exchanges and evaluating the training, with a lovely interlude by the first graders’ performance of a few songs. They were so adorable I wanted to take one home with me.

Farewell dinner took place at a restaurant in Coimbra and some of us stayed on until it was time for Matija and I to leave. The journey back to Slovenia was an adventure, it started with the bus ride to Lisbon at 2:15 in the morning and arrival in Ljubljana almost 15 hours later.

I came back home exhausted but full of new energy and anticipation of the coming exchanges, new ideas for my work at home and with quite a few new friends. We had the chance to see how long the working hours of teachers in Portugal are, how many challenges they face each day and yet, they still manage to keep a smile on their faces and are truly dedicated to their students.

Coimbra , Portugal

Another important benefit of such an exchange or training is the opportunity to informally share our experiences, difficulties and achievements with teachers from other countries, all the coffee breaks were just as valuable as the time spent in the classroom. As for that, it was strange to be on the other side of the school desks again and now I can better understand my students, who find it difficult to sit still for hours.

I am grateful I had the opportunity to go to Portugal and am looking forward to the next exchange.

by Jana Mlakar, Slovenia

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Scientific research about issues related to school environment and SPSS data analyses

Joint-staff training event

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JOINT-SHORT TRAINING EVENT Scientific research about issues related to school environment and SPSS

PROFESSOR DR. CRISTINA VIEIRA EBI / JI PROF. DR FERRER CORREIA YAZI ALT BAŞLIĞI METNİ Bu, kısa ancak etkili bir şekilde ürününüzü veya hizmetlerinizi tanımlamak için iyi bir yerdir.

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international training guided Professor Dr. Cristina Vieira İs from psychology and education sciences in Coimbra University. Professor was training to staff about survey development during joint-short training event in Coimbra, Portugal.

At the end of training we developed a survey about values. The survey will be used next year to parents and pupils to get some datas about values.

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Project Number: 2014-1-PT01-KA201001041

3rd Project Meeting: Kitzbuehel, Austria, 20-24 April 2015

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