REFLECTIVE LEARNERS

Liceo delle Scienze Umane e Linguistico "Danilo Dolci"

REPORT C3 LTT ACTIVITIES
Erasmus+ project KA229 2020-1-PL01-KA229-08214

helPing and Learning without borderS
MOBILITY PALERMO 25TH-29TH 2021
MOTTO: LEARNING IS TO KEEP TRYING EVEN WHEN THINGS ARE HARD

Palermo has been the first place to hold a face to face meeting of Helping and Learning without borders Erasmus+ project. Here all the partners coming from Finland, Greece, Poland, Portugal and Spain could finally meet after many online videoconferences started in July 2020 before the project approval in August 2020.

The mobility took place in our school: Liceo delle Scienze Umane e Linguistico Danilo Dolci from 25th to 29th October 2021 and was preceded by a series of preparatory activities students did in international groups about two main topics:

• -  Reflective Learner, being one of the related to metacognition PLTS (Personal, learning and enable students to learn to think critically and make them the active participants of the learning process, being the subjects, not the objects of the learning process;

• -  Noises and Sounds and their effects on our life with the aim to make Science and Maths more understandable and enjoyable for students.

  On October 5th and 6th 2021 International groups of students participated to two videoconferences led by our school. The former was about what being a Reflective Learner means and the typical Learnish expressions in the field. Students saw a video and were invited to reflect on many aspects of learning, such as how they can improve and build upon their learning process through reflection and how well they are working towards their short, medium and long term goals. They were given the task of creating a poster with 5 golden rules of a good reflective learner to discuss in Palermo.

• On the first day of meeting, 25th October 2021 our school welcomed the International delegations in a premise next to our school, called “Magazzini Brancaccio”, a very big warehouse confiscated from the Mafia, assigned to our school two months ago and now become a symbolic place of legality. At the same time the figure of Danilo Dolci, whom our school is entitled, was mentioned for his commitment towards the humbles, to gain their dignity being offered a job. Then works started and students from each team were invited to present their research on what it means to be a reflective learner and English digital posters. This activity was followed by a workshop, a creative reflective experience about how to know the different cognitive styles held by our deputy who is also a teacher of Human Sciences.

Two more workshops took place during the meeting: the first one was realized on Wednesday 27th morning by “Sartoria Sociale” (Fast Fashion), a second-hand clothing shop and creative work space whose professional sewers, social workers, involved all international students in recycling fabrics. The result was the creation of new things, such as necklaces, small bags, etc.. according to the ethical principles of critical fashion and circular economy. Just before this activity a video was shown to them and a debate about work exploitation in the world took place. The last workshop was held on Friday 29th morning after the Italian students presented the results of a questionnaire about how noises and sounds can affect their everyday life and feelings. International teams shared their opinions and collected them making short videos, which are now posted on the project Youtube Channel and Etwinning platform.

Theactivitiesalsowentonintheafternoons:onMonday25th aftertastingSiciliantypicalstreetfood,Italianstudents led the international groups to an educational Arab-Norman and Baroque itinerary in the historical city centre of Palermo, helping them to discover a small part of the impressive UNESCO world heritage jewels. On Wednesday 27th another scheduled visit was made to the Botanical Garden, founded in 1789 by the University of Palermo: an open- air museum where both students and teachers could enjoy living collections of Mediterranean tropical and subtropical plants as well as numerous specimen of exotic plants on a surface of 10 hectares.

Since one of the reasons of the Erasmus+ exchange program is promoting a European active citizenship that allows students coming from different countries to know during this mobility, two impressive historical and archeological sites have been visited by international students and teachers: the amazing Valley of Temples in Agrigento, UNESCO World Heritage together with the Garden of Kolymbetra and the Medieval town of Erice lying at the top of a mountain near Trapani and ultimately the Salt Pans with its Museum. Very expert guides made the above visits very interesting and motivating. 

After more than a year and a half of restrictions due to the Covid pandemic both students and teachers have had the chance to appreciate the value of face-to-face communication and who knows? international lifelong friendships might be born. It’s certain that most of students regretted to leave their host families after being welcomed as part of them and the latter very sorry not to enjoy any longer their presence as their children’s friends.

Mobility team: 10 teachers and two technicians did their best to make this mobility successful; 23 families hosted international students and 32 students participated to its activities, nine of them could not host but they have been working on the project since the beginning of the activities in 2020 constantly present to most of online meetings. Sartoria Sociale’s team participating to the workshop was made up of 4 women.

All delegations left on Saturday 30th but work moved forward. At the end of the mobility in Palermo two questionnaires were given the students to evaluate the Learning Teaching Training Activities in this city and their impact on the development of their learning skills (one was given about skills and satisfactory and one about Reflective Learning). Thanks to their answers, hopefully we will know what well was done and what will have to be improved in the future.

Palermo, 14/11/2021

Liceo danilo Dolci’s Erasmus+ Commission: Liboria Carfì
Antonia Lepanto
Marisa Cuffaro

Salvatrice Volpe

BENEFITS IN TERMS OF LEARNING2LEARN:

Thanks to the reflection practice, our students will learn to explore, examine and understand what they are feeling, thinking and learning. They will monitor their own

performances and progress. They will be able to enhance the perception they have of reality in its different aspects where the use of five senses will be relevant.

Instead of being passive receivers of external expert knowledge, our students will become active creators (and co-creators) of their own knowledge.

As reflective learners the project students will test their informal theories (those that they develop through their experiences as practitioners in the world) against

formal theories (those that are developed by researchers and academics).

Our students will understand that 'failure' is part of success. Learning what does not work is on the same path as learning what does work.

OTHER BENEFITS:

-Being aware of sensations, emotions,feelings and thoughts.

- Recording the public service news will allow the students to synthesize the information and place value on it for other people. Moreover, our students will learn

another technology savvy method of documenting information.

- Openness and courage in communicating with people from the world, raising students’ self-esteem and developing the ability to participate in social interactions.

-Development of maths and science skills, digital, social and linguistic skills.

- Bigger awareness of the impact we have on our health.

- Learning about healthy nutrition and healthy lifestyle.

- Gaining approaches of life-long learning and learning by experience.

- Life-changing experience opening new horizons and new ways of communication and relationship.

- Triggered sense of initiative and entrepreneurship.

- Learning about help without benefits.

- Awareness of the Italian cultural and historical heritage