Project idea
The 2020 school and classroom is undoubtedly much different compared to 20th century environments: innovative and cutting-edge materials and tools, interactive whiteboards, projectors, ebooks, multimedia, and of course staff and teachers that can make all these work “in symphony”, addressed to students that are fully immersed in technology in their everyday life. The need of approaching the real world using even more sophisticated tools such as 3D simulations and virtual reality brings to a revolutionary, though so natural, methodology to learn the world: by getting in touch with reality; by living and learning outside the classroom. Our teaching experience has shown that teaching, when it is limited only to the boundaries of the classroom – even if we make good use of all the possible teaching techniques – risks to lead in stagnation, monotony, feeling of fatigue and gradual loss of interest in learning. With this program we want to cultivate a positive attitude of students towards learning, by suggesting a combination of teaching methods (traditional and discovery-experiential) employing elements of learning theories (experimental learning, challenge-based learning, embodied learning, inquiry and game based learning), with the aim of supporting knowledge which is provided in class. The use of outside the classroom education, besides its philosophical background, provides the theoretical background for designing and implementing techniques, with educational tools, through educational paths that we will define in cities where participating schools are located and beyond. Through a holistic approach to knowledge (Kolb 1984), the experience the students live, activate their senses, logic and feelings. Students acquire perception of the knowledge they receive and reflect in it, as they become creators and participate in the process of building it, with the teacher having the role of the facilitator for practical matters. Outside the classroom education is differentiated with practices influenced by the culture, philosophy and local conditions of each country, factors that will be taken into account in this program. So it is necessary to involve different schools from different countries and cultures, covering a wide range of the diversity that is present in Europe and focusing on what students can do and not on what materials they need, both types of skills (hard & soft) are developed and experience is created which is transformed into experiential learning. The European dimension of such an endeavour, uniquely empowered by the Erasmus+ programme, not only ensures is implementation in financial terms but is essential in order to develop, communicate and share know-how and results in a context that when it’s about developing education only at European level it can be in order to create common experience and policies among member states: for our common future generations’ future.