TRAIN YOUR BRAIN

TRAIN YOUR BRAIN aims to use brain games as vehicles for improved competences, long-term knowledge and cooperative learning, needed for human fulfilment and sustainable development. It tackles ‘Digital Addiction’ in youth, with nocive effects: negative attitude towards life/school, lack of adaptation to lessons, poor critical thinking, low development of multiple intelligence abilities, attention deficit, academic failure, early school leaving, withdrawal from extracurricular activities, and social isolation.

The project is innovative since 6 EU schools take on interrelated topics: unexploited potential, academic failure of students and social inclusion. We observe SDG 4 of ‘2030 Agenda’ of UNESCO ‘to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all’ aiming to transform the lives of our students through a renewed teaching-learning approach.

The partner schools (TR, GR, RO, IT, MK, PL) identified similar weaknesses: underdeveloped key competencies, critical thinking and multiple intelligence abilities; students’ low interest in school activities, professional and personal development; students’ academic failure and inclusion issues favoured by digital addiction.

At the local level, the project aims to improve, in the 2 project years, the key competences and the cognitive functions for a minimum of 120 students in 6 partner schools, by participating in brain games-based activities and fostering lifelong learning (O1) and to engage a minimum of 20 teachers in 6 partner schools in devising and implementing gamification activities in the classroom to facilitate the learning process (O2). This will boost students’ motivation for learning, by setting up stimulating learning situations, to ensure quality and efficiency of academic and personal development (O3).

Consequently, by dissemination and multiplication, the project will contribute, at local, regional and even national level, to building a positive and proactive attitude towards education by developing innovative teaching strategies, perfecting the educational approach and implementing lifelong learning activities (O4).

There will be direct involvement of at least 120 students and 60 teachers from partner schools in LTT activities, with other 120 pupils and 60 teachers involved in local activities. Additionally, representatives of the local community (parents, youth workers, local authorities), specialists in the field of brain games, teachers and students in other schools (minimum 25 per partner school) will participate to local and dissemination activities, benefiting thus from project results.

The six LTT activities, with 4 students aged 15-18 and 2 accompanying teachers participating per partner school, are:

- Get to know new cultures and forming Brain Teasers Clubs – TR

- Designing a Brain Teasers workshop and calendar – PL

- Brain Teasers Festival – RO

- Edutainment! (Learning with fun) – GR

- Organising a Brain Teasers Tournament – IT

- Reaching conclusions. Summarising results – MK.

Expected outputs and results: innovative formal and non-formal learning content/teaching strategies based on brain games (brain games for different subjects; comics creations; Brain Teasers Calendar/Festival/Tournament; booklet with teaching strategies based on gamification with video tutorials and sample activities; project website and TwinSpace).

Minimum 20 teachers will be creators and performers of gamification activities, and we estimate improved school results for a minimum of 120 students. Moreover, a positive and proactive attitude towards education and lifelong learning, intercultural dialogue, cross-cooperation and social inclusion will be promoted and integrated into each partner school

educational approach, valuing the experience of all 6 EU partners.

The learning content will be uploaded on the project website, the eTwinning, Twinspace or other channels to ensure project sustainability and the exploitation of project results.

We estimate that all the participants involved in all partner schools, by directly participating in activities or indirectly by the exploitation of results, and also the members of the local communities will improve their learning skills and cognitive functions, as well as cultural and social skills, essential for academic progress, successful social insertion, increased employability and competitiveness and, on a long term, sustainable community.

On the long term, TRAIN YOUR BRAIN targets the development of critical thinking, multiple intelligence abilities,problemsolving skills, memory training, visual perception, spatial recognition and concentration improvement, making learning challenging and fun at the same time. It offers students the opportunity to get rid of useless or harmful habits, developing their lateral thinking and multiple intelligence abilities, contributing thus to their academic success and to lessening the levels of grade repetition and early school leaving.