Eramus+ 2020

Introduction

Our institution has continuously played a prominent role in the field of education in the life of our city and region since 1899. This influence can be sustained in the 21st century by combining our valuable traditions with an advanced educational model.

We believe it is vital that our students have the necessary key competencies that enable them to adapt to the rapidly advancing modern world. Our mission is to encourage our students to have a firm grasp of democratic values and become globally minded and independent adults by the time they graduate.

This can only be achieved through successful implementation of our updated pedagogical initiatives that aim to improve student performance while at the same time supporting our educators’ professional development.

Global educational awareness

By expanding our global educational awareness, we will be able to reform and put into practice, the most effective approaches to education, in order to meet the learning needs of all of our students.

Our school has already taken part in several international exchange programmes, and while in the past this opportunity was only available to a select group of students, the Erasmus project will provide our school with the opportunity to develop our international relations through connecting with other EU institutions. Together with our future EU educational partners, using the eTwinning platform, and with our students engagement, we expect to plan new cross-curriculum, integrated unit projects that will enhance lifelong skills.

Curriculum

Teaching foreign languages has always featured prominently in the pedagogical programmes within our school. Being able to communicate in a foreign language provides opportunities for our students to learn about the cultures and values of other global citizens. To become a successful citizen of the greater European Union, young people must have the skills and understanding to connect with other cultures locally as well as globally. In order to do that, one must be equipped with strong second/foreign language skills as well as a highly developed global mindset in order to communicate across languages and cultures, opening doors for further study and opportunities.

Teaching and Learning

We aim to broaden our student-centred teaching methodology throughout all of our pedagogical programs.

The implementation of the teaching strategies by staff taking part in teacher development programs is expected to raise students’ motivation for language learning as well as their interest in other cultures. The direct effect of the language focused teacher mobility programmes will be the improvement of the quality of foreign language teaching and methodology, which will expectedly lead to the increasing number of students taking language examinations.

Educational programmes

We aim to achieve a future-driven educational model by applying innovative educational methodology. This will be implemented through establishing an age appropriate and individualised inclusive student learning environment where students can develop and collaborate with others regardless of social, physical, intellectual, or cross cultural backgrounds.

Through the professional development and collaboration with other educational departments within our school, our teachers will be able to develop diverse programs that promote cross-curriculum integrated units of learning across all key learning areas. By bringing technology into the classroom, we aim to ensure our students will be well prepared for their future. These changes will promote our students to become truly global citizens who will be able to fully participate in our current and future economy, the greater European Union and beyond.

Our Strategies

Learning Environment

Our students come from diverse social, cultural and family backgrounds. They are of many identities and of all abilities.  Inclusive education occurs when all students, regardless of dis/abilities, are able to access and fully participate in learning, alongside their similar aged peers, supported by reasonable adjustments and teaching strategies tailored to meet their individual needs. The creation of an appropriate learning environment and strengthening our inclusive education policy is vital in order to support our students to engage purposefully in learning, and in experiencing academic success. It is vital to develop the students’ intelligence and interpersonal skills while catering to their individual well-being.

Upskill Teachers

By developing our teachers’ competencies that enable them to acquire new perspectives, methods, and the ability for innovation, we can break free of our past outdated teaching practices. In order to achieve these goals, our teachers will have to adopt new innovative pedagogical methods.

This year, we have selected 20 colleagues including our Director, Deputy Director, School Secretary, and a number of teachers - to take part in professional and methodological training programs that will benefit the future direction of our school. Chosen courses will help our staff become more confident in using educational technology, introduce them to creative teaching strategies, and cooperative forms of planning, or the CLIL method. Other courses will assist our staff in acquiring knowledge and skills to effectively promote student-centred learning environments which will emphatically assist our students from diverse social, physical, psychological and cultural backgrounds.

We have plans for five teachers to take part in developing their foreign language skills in order to be able to actively take part in all international projects alongside their language teacher cohort. Taking part in these courses will provide our staff with the opportunity to find new partners for our school which will broaden our international relationships.

Staff taking part in these proposed professional development programs will then pass on these vital skills to their cohort within our school in the form of skill/knowledge sharing. It is anticipated that this program will encourage and motivate other staff to apply for future Erasmus+ training courses in the future.

By encouraging teacher professional development within our school, we hope to promote a positive example of lifelong learning to our students.

Foreign mobility programmes will provide a more intense exchange of experience and transfer of knowledge, not only in the form of educational methodology, but also through the incorporation of collaboration amongst teachers of cross curricular subjects which will promote new connections between integrated units of study.

Global Partners

The development of the teachers’ communication skills in a foreign language allows the realisation of job shadowing mobility programmes. This kind of mobility permits us to complete our theoretical knowledge gained through training sessions with practical experiences and adapt these new practices into our own student-centred didactic model to be newly established.

As a result of our experience with the Erasmus mobility program last year, in 2020 we plan to have two colleagues visit our Polish partners, where one of them will study their up-to-date school management model, while the other will focus on the info-communication techniques used in language teaching.

Our school plans to become not only a sending institution but also a host, and share its own good practices. We have plans to host 2-3 Polish teachers in the near future. Our mid-term aim is to enable our teachers to participate in job shadowing mobility programmes regularly.

We expect to connect with several foreign partner institutions with whom we can effectively cooperate and carry on Erasmus+ activities, within the frames of job shadowing and student mobility programs so that we can accomplish project-based collaborative work.

As a long-term result of the project, the positive image of the pedagogical work of our school will strengthen amongst our partners and shareholders, which will lead to this example being followed by other institutions in the region.