Some thoughts from co-ordinators, senior university staff & other stakeholders.
Some Thoughts from Co-Ordinators and Senior University Staff
Xanthi, Greece 29/06/2018
Evaluation Erasmus+ 2016-2018
My name is Aliki Michalopoulou, teacher of Physical Education and Sport in 3rd Lykeion of Xanthi-Greece.
As a contact person in Erasmus+ programme with the title “Using Drama Strategies to Learn English Language and European Values through Shakespeare” 2016-2018, I strongly believe that this European programme was highly beneficial in different levels: for the participants, students, school staff, and moreover for the parents and the local community.
Firstly, I would like to refer to the benefits for our students. In my opinion, participating in this programme was a great opportunity for a generation of young students. They had the chance of making new friends and forming relationships that could last a lifetime that helped them to grow up. They gained valuable life skills as working in groups, co-operating, understanding and accepting each other. Furhtermore, they understood the value of hard working by finding inspiration, creativity, joy.
Going abroad helped students to develop their ideas in different ways. More specifically, they developed a real interest in international experiences and appreciation of different cultures. Pupils acquired knowledge in new subjects, discover their talents a guide to the future professions. For their language skills they became fluent. As a result they have broadened their horizons, physically and mentally, gained opened mindeness, enhanced self-confidence and increased motivation to learn. Most importantly they understood that our common European values is our force that unites towards a better future. They became ambassadors of the European Values. Finally, participating to the Erasmus programme had a huge positive impact on students from working-class families. They could never have afforded to be abroad without financial support by the Greek families due to crisis. By taking part in Erasmus+ they have been able to have a range of exciting new experiences.
Secondly, I would like to refer to the positive impact that Erasmus+ had in our teaching staff. A significant number of Greek teachers (10) had the opportunity to visit the countries of our fellow partners. They approached different educational systems and practices, they interacted with each other, discussed different pedagogical views and new methods in teaching different subjects. Τhey improved at foreign language through the communication with and visits to/from partners schools and they acquired new and innovative skills and approaches to the teaching of English as well as other subjects areas. Additionally, they became friends with the fellow partners, created and shared a common educational vision. They also became ambassadors of such European projects, communicating their positive aspect in the classroom.
Thirdly, referring to the impact in school, families, and local community I would like to add that all had their contribution to the programme.
Our whole educational community of the 3rd Lykeion of Xanthi and indeed our parents community had the chance to be a part of our project. Even pupils and staff that didn’t participate in mobilities helped in creating different events for the welcome and the hospitality needed. This concluded to a joyful atmosphere that we always be remembered. Most specifically, the school community became more effective at integrating minorities as intercultural awareness was raised for the whole school.
The families welcomed pupils from different countries creating strong relationships and offering a warm hospitality which was a precious experience for both sides. They have deepened their knowledge and understanding of European issues in order to support their child. Moreover, families learned about every day life, customs and culture of their quests strengthening European identity and bonds as they were more opened and receptive in their response to different cultures and traditions. They accepted the big responsibility of hosting young children with great joy!
Concluding with the impact in our local community numerous other schools and local authorities were invited in our final performance in order to create educational and culture links among the participants countries. The programme established important and deep connections for the participants countries for example: Exchanges between the schools during a Music Festival in Xanthi, the creation of a Short student’s Film Festival (e-Twinning project) and respective visits between the town majors developing strong international relations between Greece and Romania.
In conlusion, I am confident that the Erasmus+ programme with the title “Using Drama Strategies to Learn English Language and European Values through Shakespeare” provided our pupils with a great awareness of what it means to be a European Citizen . Finally, it was an honor for my colleques and myself to participate in this European Programme and I am really proud of being part of it! I realized how truthful is Nelson Madela’s saying “ Education is the most powerful weapon we have to change the world”.
A Headteacher’s View on things…..
The Gaınes of beıng a part of a Erasmus+ Project ıs best looked at, from four perspektıves.
As an organısatıon, as a staff ındıvıdual, as a student ındıvıdual and offcourse from a learnıng perspecıve.
As a staff ındıvıdual ıt’s made a huge ımpact both on a personal level, but also ın the ways I see teachıng. Usıng drama as a tool was a bıt unknown terrıtory for me goıng ınto thıs Project.
The levels of communıcatıon has been a real eyeopener and the dıscussıons ıt’s brought amongst the students, ın terms of values and future has made a huge ımpressıon on me.
From the students’ poınt of vıew, they explaıned ıt so wel ın theır evaluatıon, but knowıng them well, and seeıng how theır grown throughout thıs Project has been a prıvıllıge. In terms of seeıng educatıon ın a new way ıs a forever ınspıratıon that wıll make a unıque ımpact on our organısatıon.
As a headteacher I can truely say that thıs Project has gıven ınvaluable ınspıratıon to our school. Drama ıs here to stay J
- Frank Kejlberg, Headteacher Soendervangskolen Denmark.
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Reflections on my involvement in 2 mobilities: MMU Senior Tutor in English
It gives me great pleasure to share my reflections on my experience of taking part in the Erasmus Plus project and specifically, joining-in on the mobilities to Denmark and Romania.
As the course leader of English, I have witnessed in a number of ways, the impact of the project on the learning and development of the teachers involved. Not only was the collaboration between the English and Drama teachers of enormous benefit to them in terms of development of understanding and knowledge of Shakespeare but there were multiple ways in which all teachers’ pedagogical range, skill and confidence gained breadth and depth. Being given opportunity to work closely with text without the principal consideration and prioritisation of assessment, meant that they were liberated to explore the true impact of language, text, poetry and performance on young people.
In addition, I believe that what was most transformative for this group of professionals, was the experience of working with young people from across Europe who were not necessarily united by their common knowledge of English. Nevertheless, relationships and bonds were developed in a short space of time with and through Shakespeare’s themes, concerns, morality and values. The contribution to the teachers’ understanding of the wider pastoral aspect of being an effective teacher was invaluable, as well as experiencing, how out-of-classroom learning, project-based and discovery learning can yield some quite staggering results. The concluding performance on both mobilities articulated brilliance and emotion, reflecting a week-long journey of engagement with Shakespearean drama.
I am hugely grateful for the opportunities given to me through this project. As a practitioner of 20 years’ standing, I feel I also have learned a great deal about the many possibilities to develop an understanding of learning and the sheer vitality of narrative and storytelling in providing a force of communication, understanding and friendship.
Joe Barber
20/6/18
From Team Denmark………….
Beıng part of the Erasmus + Project 2017-2018 wıth the maın focus on a modern understandıng on a number of Shakespeares world famous plays has been a terrıfıc experıence personally and professıonally.
As a teacher I have seen my Danısh students grow from theır experıences wıth ınternatıonal frıends, I have heard them speak Englısh almost lıke natıve speakers ın a way they wouldnt have been doıng otherwıse, I have seen them do drama and act beautıfully ın varıous ways and most ımportantly I have seen the smıles on theır faces durıng the entıre Project.
As an ındıvıdual I have learned a lot on school culture, dıfferences and sımılıratıes between European countrıes and I have made a lot of new ınternatıonal frıends. I thınk beıng part of the Erasmus + Project has been a tremendous success.
- Morten Frost, Internatıonal Coordınator & teacher ın Denmark
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Thank you Erasmus Plus
Great project. Great achievement. I am Mrs. Laura Robe, the Romanian teacher coordinator within the project entitled “Using drama strategies to teach English language and European Values through Shakespeare” also the contact person for British Concil.
My opinion as a teacher is that there are many positive constructive points in my students as well as in my profession that we acquired throughout the first year of the project. I consider this experience another type of school that we all attended, one more productive, more authentic, more helpful in forming characters for our future, more relaxing with a better interconnection among students that come from different systems of education from all over Europe.
First of all I want to mention the fantastic co-operation among all of us through our coordinator, Mr. Mick Boyle, that kept us in contact e-mailing hundreds of texts about every single step and detail that we are to do ,so that the things went perfect. I really appreciate the very good communication with all the partner schools within the project. I myself couldn’t do it without being guided by the project coordinators. Every time when I knew what am I supposed to do I did it successfully.
Secondly, I admit that I had the opportunity to learn many new things in a very professional manner concerning the drama strategies using Shakespeare from professors that teach at Manchester Metropolitan University. I totally agree that I enriched and developed my way of teaching for my whole students not only for the ones involved into the project. The dissemination worked best among my colleagues, students, media, the entire community within my small town and suburbs with a very positive feedback, everybody being curious about the project. More and more teachers and students wanted to participate within the project. For many of my students it was for the first time to go abroad. Some of them cannot have this possibility without the project. This is fantastic: to give to teenagers such a chance to travel ,to adapt into a new culture, to talk in English as a second language(Romanian students are non-native speakers),to learn from other students(trainee-teachers from MMU),to make new friends, to keep best relationships within a multinational and multicultural circle, to have fun together, to tell to their other school what was going on,to exchange other types of education, to socialize and be happy.
Thirdly, I am happy that in Athens at the end of November 2017 I could be myself a student again for the great teachers Mrs Rebecca Paterson and Ms Alison Ramsay that through their workshops enriched my knowledge about using drama strategies through Shakespeare masterpiece. Also, in Denmark at the Elsinore Castle I gathered much more didactic materials for each year from now on whenever I teach “Hamlet”. This will help me to make my classes more attractive. The main themes chosen from “Hamlet” and “Romeo and Juliet” are a huge contribution in our students formation as valuable citizens in a better world. They are helped to understand much easier what are the true universal values of life. There are many pictures and video about this wonderful work within this project that really speak more than my words.
In conclusion , I would like to thank to everybody that was involved in this Erasmus + project because they really did a memorable thing for many students that became more motivated ,many happy parents , grandparents, brothers and sisters ,also teachers around Europe. Bravo!!
Laura Robe
Erasmus Plus Report.
MMU Project Co-Ordinator.
Milan:
Milan was the first transnational meeting and it was here that I first met the group. They already knew each other and I was tasked with leading the workshops for the exploration of the ‘Tool Box’. I designed a series of exercises to a) help the group to work together creatively, and b) to begin to think about working with drama strategies as a means of exploring the texts we would later use during the mobilities.
I talked about the idea that because we were in Milan that it might be fun to look at the Tempest and to imagine what it might have been to have been her in the 17th century and to have me the Duke of Milan. We walked around the city with our eyes open to the possibility of walking through history and to notice things that we could then take back to the workshop space. This is the gift of the Erasmus Plus project in that we are not just sharing knowledge of stuff like the plays of Shakespeare with the young people we work with but we are able to travel and to share in new cultural experiences that will often resonate with the other stuff but this is more accidental than planned.
During the time we spent together I could see the teachers were responding well to the idea and they could see how the ideas could be taken back and tried out with their students. There were some very different practices in terms of approaches to the teaching and exposure to Shakespearian texts and few of the teachers had experiences the types of drama I was offering which might be considered commonplace in many UK high schools.
I also noticed how well we all got on and how playful we were all prepared to be around each other. This is a theme I will keep coming back to and something that I think is a crucial element of the success of the project - our willingness to share our time, our knowledge and skills and our lives with other. For us and for the students we have worked with in all of the countries we have visited, the friendships we have made are the most important part of the legacy.
In May 2017 I was lucky enough to go to Xanthi with the group. Here we were looking at Romeo and Juliet and it seemed to fit perfectly with the surroundings and the temperament of our friends there. The weather was beautiful and the hospitality was wonderful. We worked outside for much of the time and were inspired by the traditional dancing and music that we were met with most days at school.
A memorable experience was when we tried, as a staff to create a five minute version of the play to give those who did not have a clear idea of the plot an opportunity to see the bare bones. It transpired that all our memories of the play were slightly clouded. It was also a case of too many chiefs and not enough Indians - everyone wanted to be a director. We laughed a lot and the students thought it was hilarious.
The teachers worked very hard to bring the disparate groups together as many were nervous and hesitant. Again, like their own teachers, this was a new way of working and this meant that nearly everyone was having to step out of their comfort zone in order to participate. The teachers began with games and exercises designed to help the larger group bond and these were taken back to the working spaces and scaled down. There was lots of physical work being done that overrode the need for spoken language and this helped with those who were also having to work hard to think about speech and translate in their heads. We were in awe of the levels of understanding of English language and as always, it was a humbling experience to see them flit back and forth from one language to another mid-sentence. I say that there was a lot of physical work but I don’t say this lightly as I am also aware that for many this does not come naturally and it can be very inhibiting if this is a new experience. It was to the credit of the teachers largely that the students were able to overcome their anxieties and very soon there were lifts and twists and lots of laughter as stories began to be told through the none-verbal and verbal creative exploration of the play.
Here is Xanthi the end performance was beautiful. It was strong and meaningful and we were all very proud. I was responsible for the sound and the backdrop of the power point which was a scary task as I could have easily let them down. But it is this sense of being part of something bigger than oneself, something that could not have happened without the efforts of every singe person, including the support of the audience, that makes it magical and so very important.
Later than summer we went to Hamburg for the transnational meeting. Here once again it was Alison and I who were tasked with developing the ongoing skills of the teachers from the partnership countries. We met some new colleagues who were scientists and we thought that might be a challenge. We had met each other in Xanthi and they had obviously seen some of the work the teachers from MMU had done with the students and were curious. But when they found themselves standing on chairs in the stairwell of the university building pretending to be Antonia and Bassanio from the Merchant of Venice sailing across the harbour to catch sight of Jessica I suspected that wondered what they had let themselves in for.
The culmination of our experimentation led to some sight specific pieces that were performed in and around the hotel which was quite surreal but again quite magical as once again our childlike curiosity of what it might be like to behave like this in a space and place where that may be seen as subversive or just plain crazy was exciting, even thrilling and we shared that experience and it will be forever imprinted on my memory. What did we learn? That we are creating, imaginative intelligent people who are willing to take a risk and in doing so, may fail.
It was cold, grey and damp when our friends our friends arrived in the UK in November.
I travelled on the tram to meet them and took them back into Manchester for fish and chips and beer in a small chip shop just off the Oldham road - which turned out to be run by a Greek couple!
We worked in school most days and in contrast to Greece where we had spent time outside singing and dancing, we worked together in the school hall.
We were exploring King Lear. Its not a happy play, most of the characters in the play are unhappy even though they are Royalty and therefore have wealth and status.
This school is in one of the most deprived areas of the UK with high unemployment and low aspirations. Poverty is evident and when the skys are grey somehow in such areas this seems somehow to be exacerbated. There was also a sense of sadness in the school. Such contrast to the happy students we had seen in Greece. It was hard to notice as I walked around the school, doors closed and silence all around save for the occasional raised voice down a corridor. I feel sad as I write this but I also feel compelled to note it as we cannot escape the fact that this is the fate of so many school children in the UK at present. Where is the joy in learning here? Where is the curiosity in the not yet known? Where is the warmth between teacher and pupil?
And then we saw the groups dance! They sang, they danced, they created. They worked cheek by jowl as there were no other spaces to work in save the canteen at some points during the day. The final performance was sombre its true but as I said, the play is not a happy one. They felt the pain of the characters, they talked about the cruelty that can be inflicted upon those who should be most loved and cherished. But this is the stuff of families. This is the stuff of real life and at the heart of this project is the intention to find out what makes us the same, not to highlight our differences. So we ended with tears but many many tears of joy as the friendships that were forged in Greece were made stronger and I believe will be lasting.
“We two alone will sing like birds i' th' cage.
When thou dost ask me blessing, I’ll kneel down
And ask of thee forgiveness. So we’ll live,
And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh
At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues
Talk of court news, and we’ll talk with them too—
Who loses and who wins, who’s in, who’s out—
And take upon ’s the mystery of things
As if we were God’s spies.”
Onto Macbeth in March and not only did the winds come and crack our cheeks but also the snow. An amazing location to explore the hubris of Macbeth. Here we had only two male students and inevitably the focus of the project was Lady Macbeth. What was so brilliant about this experience was the way in which the teachers skilfully used the students’ ideas to shape the final sharing which was a wonderful piece of promenade performance. Using the whole building, the nooks and crannies, open windows with snow literally blowing into the room like the battlements of Macbeth’s castle. They explored the multifaceted nature of woman. The issues that face us all where ever we are born and raised, whatever our religion faith or status in life, there are universal struggles but these young people are strong and feisty and ready to go to work to make this world a better place. They recognise that there have been many battles fought and lost in the past that have enabled us to do what we are doing today but there have also been a great many mistakes made along the way. This I think is a message that came out loud and clear from the piece we saw and experienced in Wales. That we must all take responsibility for our part in the world and to stand up for what we believe in but with compassion and tolerance of others.
In Bursa and in Edinburgh the tool box continued to be developed and I led the staff through some reminder exercises and techniques for exploring the themes we would look at in the Merchant of Venice in Romania. The conversations flowed as we discussed the idea of beliefs and traditions and about belonging and not belonging and what that means when you are the one that doesn’t belong however hard you might try to disguise it. Walking through the military museum in Edinburgh I was aghast at the way in which war and all the trappings of the conflicts throughout history are almost glorified. It struck me also as a very male world in which women were only mentioned once in the whole museum on a list of those lost in conflict since WW2. Would the world have been a different place if the balance of power had been otherwise?
And finally Romania and The Merchant of Venice in Campalung. Such a beautiful place and such beautiful people. It is truly the stuff of fairytales and Gothic novels. The hospitality was amazing again and the school were so accommodating to us.
We were made to feel so welcome and I have never been to a school that has their very own museum before.
Here I began to see the fruits of the labour of the two year project as there was a comfortableness with the working practices that seemed so natural. The teachers from all the partnership schools wondered from room to room watching, filming and smiling. There was not the same ‘what on earth is going on?’, and ‘how on earth are they going to pull this together by Thursday?’ There was a surety that all would be well. They trust the process and trust the teachers that the ingredients are all there and that the form of the drama and the text and the environment itself will weave its magic over time and eventuality a moment will come where they will be sitting in an auditorium, there will be a pause, an intake of breath, and something will happen that we will all share. It will leave a mark on our minds and create a shiver down our spines and we will probably even shed a tear or two - I certainly did.
Prologue. I am so proud of what we have all achieved. This project has been hard work at times. Logistically is was never going to be easy - to decide upon dates that would work for us all, to work out travel arrangements that meant we could all arrive from the four corners of Europe at roughly the same time (zone), to galvanize our colleagues to take part in some crazy adventure to who knows where with who knows who! But we did and it has been amazing. We have learned so much from each other and we will continue to do so. We have come together because we all have a common passion for education in its’ absolute broadest sense - to struggle to find meaning.
So, thank you all.
Becky Patterson June 2018
HİLAL DOĞU - TURKISH COORDINATOR
This project was just an inspiration for all our studies,for both students and teachers. The project contributed a positive effect on students' motivation to the academic success.
With the start of the project a new excitement and joy started in the whole of our school as we were starting an international project with five different schools from different countries.This happiness even was spread over the parents.
A locally work was decided to do in our school.A proffessional theatre player,actress and directer helped our students to demonstrate the play Macbeth in our school.At the end of the academic year all the students were on the stage,they played proffessionally.It was really incredible to see them on the stage so enthusiastic. Parents and the other students were the audience and it was amazing.
This soul of Shakespeare continued in the second year too.
All the students worked together in the mobilities and played internationally.It was a very precious project for all the students teachers and parents. Through the Project students gained huge experiences and had the chance to exchange different cultures from different countries.
I would like to thank all my partners and especially Manchester Metropolitan University teachers for all the efforts they did.
Evaluation Denmark....more thoughts and considerations.
Parents
The parents involved in the project have been extremely satisfied and very helpful all the way through: ”It has been a pleasure having international students visiting our home. We have been discussing youth culture, school systems, music and movies - and I have seen and heard new sides of my daughter from the very beginning up until now. She has got friends for life because of this project”.
”Emilie just told me she had the best week of her entire life when participating in the Erasmus project in Manchester. To me It’s been a pleasure hearing her communicate with her new international friends - and seeing the big smile on her face. Thank you, teachers and students. Thank you, Erasmus”.
Schoolboard
Being a member of the schoolboard, its always difficult to see the exact outcome of the students learning. You are not on the scholl in a regular daily basis, and you often get the outcome of the learning is a graded form. In the Erasmus + project it’s been the exact opposite. Some of us in the schoolboard had a chance to see it from close range as both our kids and we participated. It’s is a fantastic experience to see all to staff and kids working and learning together. The goals of using drama and Shakespeare as a way to discuss european values has been such a pleasure to follow.
There are so many obvious and hidden succeses. The way their interact, the way they communicate, both linguistic and with they bodylanguage, the way they see things from different perspectives, but the same goals, ideas and hopes for the future - It’s learning in such a high level and we encourage other scholl to get involved in projects like this. A very big thanks to the staff, the parents and the kids from all countries for making this possible…