During the week from 17 October 2022 to 21
October 2022 Școala Gimnazială Romanu hosted an international meeting with
students and teachers from partner schools 25. OU “D-r Petar Beron” and Osnovna
škola Odra. We enjoyed very dynamic and interesting activities that allowed us
to explore education as a topic. After months and years which prevented us from
meeting in person, we managed to carry out another physical mobility. The
students were as excited as always, as the meeting inspired them to appreciate
all the good things in their education, but also to recognize the problematic
ones.
This
is the list of activities by days:
Day
1
Welcoming
ceremony:
-headteacher’s
speech
-Romanian
team gave two presentations: Schools in the past and Schools in Victorian
Scotland
-artistic
moments – each country presented its culture through a form of art – dance,
music, visual arts…
–
each country presented a short play to show how the relationship of all
participants in the teaching process had developed in the given periods
(1960-2022)
Erasmus+
fair and lunch -each country brought local food for tasting
Brăila
city tour
Day
2
Workshop:
Healthy mind, healthy body:
-a
Tai Chi instructor offered participants a better insight about what it means to
have a healthy mind and a healthy body. Some karate techniques were presented
and students learnt different self-defence exercises.
Traditional
children’s games – each country presented how children spend their free time in
the past.
Braila:
city game – non-formal education was the working method for this activity. An
outdoor activity was designed to help students interact and discover the city
as a team. The students were divided into small teams and were handed in a list
of tasks that needed to be solved by exploring the city. Students were asked to
take photos to illustrate they solve the tasks. There were Romanian students in
each team to provide guidance and support to the guest students.
Day
3
Attending
lessons – the whole group was divided into teams, one team attended an activity
organized with the students from primary school while the other group attended
an activity organized by the English teacher. In the first group students
taught each other about their countries. The second group had a warm-up activity
and then a lesson about the goals of contemporary education.
Our
cultures – each country brought materials such as 3D puzzles, regular puzzles, worksheets
etc. The participants, including teachers, were divided into groups in which
they worked to solve the brought tasks and therefore learn about another
country’s culture.
Day
4
Boat
tour in Galați
Visit
to the Botanical Garden – students attended a session about Birdwatching. They
were familiarized with what means birdwatching, birdwatching techniques,
details about migration of birds, names of migration birds, basics of migration
and birds behaviour. Students also visited the Botanical Garden observing
different species of plants. In order to make their exploration more engaging
they were handed in a paper with a list of tasks asking them to tick the box if
they observe different things. This activity cultivated mindfulness and love
for nature.
Day
5
Workshop:
Learning is fun – students visited the House of Experiments where they
developed learning by discovering. They observed a series of experiments aiming
to increase their interest in science and technology.
Bucharest
city tour
OUTCOMES:
The
students have recognized the differences in education in the past and present
(the presentations education in the past and on the contemporary goals of
education)
The
students have identified different sanctions for student behaviour (the short
plays on Day 1).
The
students have demonstrated the changing relationship between the actors in
education: teachers, students, parents (the short plays on Day 1).
The
students have identified the current trends in education (the contemporary
goals of education)
The
students have experienced the current trends in education by participating in
cooperative learning, learning by discovering, combined development of mind and
body (workshops on Day 2, attending lessons and Our cultures on Day 3, visit to
the Botanical Garden and House of Experiments).
The
students have identified the changes in children’s leisure time (traditional
children’s games).
The
students compared the Romanian educational system to their own (spending time
with teachers and students, observing the school practice).
The
following additional outcomes have been achieved too, as it has been
demonstrated by students’ successful completion of the project activities:
-The
students have successfully cooperated which improved their intercultural
competence.
The
students improved their English and their social skills.
The
students have developed attitudes regarding education which will enable them to
participate in it and evaluate it more successfully.
The
students have learned new skills for successful teamwork.
Text author: Ana Serenčeš
