The Comenius Project

WELCOME

Welcome to the Comenius blog for ‘Our Europe, We Can Make A Difference’.

We are glad to announce that over the next two years (2013-2015) 4 infant and primary schools from across Europe will be taking part in a Comenius Project. The countries involved in this project are UK, France, Spain and Sweden. Over the course of the project the schools will use this blog to share information and work related to their project work.


OVERVIEW
Within our project, young children (3-9 years) in all our partner schools will develop a sense of understanding of the diversity of place - by exploring similarities and differences between the environments, cultures and languages in all partner countries.  The children's work within the project will centre on 'Learning in the Outside Environment'. 

The children will learn together through their investigation of the geography, climate, eco-systems and environmental issues (re-cycling, renewable resources, exploring and developing animal habitats, growing plants, saving energy, reducing traffic pollution) which affect their own locality.  They will then share their experiences with each other, using various technologies, (video conferencing, e-mail, power points, message boards, school websites and blogs).  The partnership will establish a project wiki, within which all the communications technologies will provide access for all. Children will work together to talk about their learning, find solutions to problems and establish an awareness of the importance of conservation, protection and environmental development.  By collaborating with our partner schools throughout Europe we will share expertise and experiences already in place to enhance the teaching and learning of all stakeholders in our schools. 

Pupils will become aware of how they can be involved both at home and in school in looking after our world through eco-education.  This will include 'Forest Schools' learning, recycling projects in school and the local community and joint investigations about 'Saving Energy' in our Schools.


RATIONALE
All the schools involved in the project want their students to gain a greater understanding of the similarities and differences in learning in an outside world.  In addition to this we wish the children to explore and investigate their environment and share their learning amongst themselves and the project community.  Communication will be an important part of the project, and children will learn how to use new media technologies to support this process effectively.  The project will foster rich opportunities for all children to learn to communicate clearly across linguistic and cultural boundaries - both in their mother tongue and learning key words and phrases in the languages of the partner countries.  The project will ensure that there are equal opportunities for all pupils in planned activities.

Children will become effective independent thinkers and good team players sharing their learning with other children in all partner countries. 


PROJECT OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY
To work collaboratively on important issues which will affect all school pupils in the European Community by exploring similarities and differences across Europe and to work together and learn from one another.

The project will be pupil-centred and allow students to be involved in goal setting, planning and team building through increased cooperation with partner schools.  They will be involved in decision making, deciding what information is relevant to report to all stakeholders in the project.  They will review progress made within the project and contribute to evaluations of activities.

Pupils will develop a greater awareness of eco/environmental issues and solutions through the exploration of habitats and eco-systems. The project will be fully inclusive and will allow for the individual needs of all pupils to ensure equal opportunities.

Partners, (including all members of the school community) will communicate via an intranet/interactive website/ Skype/ email/ blogs with pupils being encouraged to add their own digital images and comments from school and home to keep the learning environment as active as possible.

Staff will communicate across different languages about improving educational practice and pedagogy to enrich the teaching and learning experience. Staff will work across the union to establish curriculum objectives regarding environmental issues and outside learning. Develop good practice in school which is sustainable over time leading to life-long partnerships.

This project supports the aim of increasing the understanding and appreciation, particularly among young people, of the environmental, social, and educational potential of plants and animals in our local environment. Each school will work within a local community group made up from the education sector, environmentalists and other members of the local community who are committed to creating environmental awareness.  


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