The project

Our Erasmus project “Europe: the puzzle of diversity” is a well organized and structured project set up by 6 European partner schools: Greece, Hungary, Portugal, Italy, Iceland and the UK and includes 6 short-term joint staff training events, one in each country. The project is building on an eTwinning project the partner schools have been working on since January 2020 titled “Europe: a digital culture puzzle” (ID: 214410) and acts as a forerunner to this Erasmus program as it introduces teachers and students to the topic and methodology of our project. We plan to use eTwinning for preparation, implementation and follow-up of our project.

The main aim of our project is to strengthen the profiles of the participant teachers through extensive use of ICT and innovative digital tools, as well as innovative methods and ideas through exchange of best practices. Communication, collaboration and novel learning opportunities are fundamental priorities. As far as students are concerned, we aim at promoting communication, intercultural awareness and respect of differences by implementing the lesson plans and activities created during the mobilities. Our objective is to emphasize the social and educational value of European intangible cultural heritage and highlight its contribution to economic and social growth. Moreover, through the digital, group work, and cooperation, hands on activities we are going to create, but through Virtual Exchanges as well, we expect to offer students an attractive and exciting learning environment where they feel more self confident and eager to participate and communicate. Furthermore, participating schools aim at working closely with partner schools, giving teachers, students, parents and the wider society the opportunity to become aware of and interact with European education and culture.

Partner schools were carefully selected using the eTwinning platform, taking into account not only their knowledge, skills and competences, but their enthusiasm as well. There are partners highly experienced in European programs, such as Greece (project coordinator), Portugal (eTwinning school label)and Hungary, and others with less or no experience who can rely on their partners for help and guidance; nevertheless, all of them are fully aware of their responsibilities. In addition, partners were selected to be from all parts of Europe (north, south, east, west) so as to have diverse cultural experiences in our project.

Throughout the project, digital and eSafety practices will be used, innovative and creative approaches to pedagogy, as well as the promotion of professional development and collaborative teaching among teachers and between students. Before, during and after each short term joint staff training event, meeting partners are going to work on different subtopics: Sports, Music and Dance, Customs, Tales and Myths, Folklore, Games and Toys and all works and products will be uploaded on Twinspace. Special attention will be given to Virtual Exchanges on Twinspace and on interactive digital activities and products ( ebooks, ppt, digital maps and posters, audio stories, eportfolios). We intend to use cross curricular approach, with emphasis on experiential learning, problem solving and collaboration. Activities are teacher centered aiming at strengthening their teaching profiles, and the activities that will be created aim at the inclusion of all students, regardless of performance, origin economic status, religion or physical and other disabilities. 

After each short term joint staff training event, evaluation and dissemination activities will be carried out by the coordinator of each host school, in order to correct mistakes and weaknesses and further develop successful practices. We expect participant teachers to develop and strengthen their skills, be it language, ICT, communication, collaboration skills and, consequently, help develop the involved schools by passing the knowledge gained to their peer teachers and students through lessons and training courses they are going to organize. Also, by making the results of our project known to the wider community, we expect to arouse interest in international collaboration within the participating schools, schools of the wider area, general society and local cultural associations and organizations, such as museums, libraries, local councils and other places of cultural interest in general. Last but not least, participant teachers will have the opportunity to continue communicating, working together and exchanging best practices with colleagues from the cooperating schools and even set up job shadowing activities. They will also have the opportunity to set up more Erasmus projects and will be the link between other teachers of their own and neighboring schools, as far as the implementation of new innovative methods is concerned together with the integration of cultural education and projects in the schools’ curricula.