Second training meeting Sweden 23rd- 27th April
The last week of April we gathered in Partille in order to carry on our visits and observations. As this was the last training meeting of our project, we had mixed emotions: on the one hand, there was a feeling of fulfilment of our work and on the other side some sadness because our project is about to end.
The week started like in the previous meetings with some insight on how the project is developing. We discussed about the progress of the whole project from the point of view of the three institutions and we me the headmistress of Partille Gymnasium.
On Tuesday morning the Polish delegation visited Skulltorp in order to observe a Primary school, whereas the Spanish team attended a handball training session in the sports centre. We could observe how Partille Gymnasium has been working on a high achievement programme through sports. Students from different parts of the country play in the local team and follow a schedule designed specifically for them. After break time (fika), the three delegations joined to see one of the school bands record a song in the school music studio. This is another flexible way to deal with learning from different angles and a measure to address diversity, Right after lunch, we met again. This time to participate in a motivation course. The aim was to experience the course just as students in Partille do. We could see how much team-building activities and shared identity can impact on motivation.
The next day we went to Vallhamra school. First, we interacted with students of English and met teachers who deal with pupils with intellectual disabilities. After that, we went to Öjersö. In this Primary school they are conducting open lessons; teachers from other schools observe how they carry out their lessons. They are following a maths method based on research and experiences in Asia. The main focus of this method is to make pupils think of several alternatives when solving problems. The session we participated consisted in solving arithmetic problems from different perspectives, making hypotheses and reformulating them in order to find the easiest way to approach a problem. One of the most interesting moments of the day is when we shared some reflection time with the two teachers who invited us over to see their lessons.
We ended the day with a spectacular visit to Marstrand.
We opened Thursday with a lecture by John Nelander, one of the members of the Plug in Project, which aims to tackle Early School Leaving and bring students back to education. Then Spanish team carried out their workshop. The focus was to test some activities which are included in the training courses.
The last day of the week was devoted to giving a feedback of the meeting in Sweden, as well as for assigning tasks and revising the project. There was also time for a workshop carried out by the Polish team. It consisted of creating a pocketbook with different alternatives. We agreed that it can be useful as an alternative for Primary students to complement and further expand the thorough decision training course.
Before departing, the Partille Gymnasium management team asked some of us to talk to part of the school staff about our project. We also encouraged them to keep on participating in Erasmus+ projects, as our experience could not be better.
