Project Summary

  • One 4 all - All 4 one

    Four special educational needs schools (SEN) from four different European countries meet in four different seasons in four different natural environments, with their students, to spend four weeks experiencing four different areas of outdoor learning. The title refers to being in a rope team: you will only succeed in the project if you support each other.

    Background

    The German coordinating school has ten year’s experience in organising outdoor camps focused on rock climbing  for special needs students. In 2016 the German teachers thought about transferring their skills to other natural environments like outdoor learning on the sea; outdoor learning in high mountains; and outdoor learning with severely handicapped autistic students. At the same time more and more students from other countries came to learn at the German school; these foreigners have been looked at as strangers and the beginnings of xenophobia were seen. Therefore, teachers decided to develop a European project focused on learning and moving in nature to show the social, communicative and motor skills that students gain through outdoor learning to other SEN schools.

    SEN teachers wanted to develop specifications of methods for outdoor learning activities for SEN students. These had been the initial ideas to create the project One4all-All4one.

    Objectives

    - students will no longer only be seen as handicapped but as capable, by gaining self confidence through succeeding in outdoor learning activities;

    - students will take part in society by participating  outdoor sports in public areas;

    - students will experience that, by working together in nature with others, they will gain new academic, social and communication skills;

    - students will develop motor, physical, thinking and problem solving skills by participating in outdoor sports like rock climbing, walking, orienteering, caving, sailing, canoeing and skiing;

    - students will become more aware of other cultures through a European learning perspective

    - staff will widen their skills, knowledge and experiecing outdoor learning projects in a wide range of European environments

    - staff will develop a list of methods for outdoor learning with SEN students using ICT techniques and discussing and experiencing  nature sports with peers in Europe

     

    Profile of participants

    Project participants are four special educational needs schools from Germany, (GE), Lithuania(LT), Slovakia (SK) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain (UK). The Slovakian school is a special needs school only for severely handicapped autistic students. All other participating students have got a large spectrum of special needs from learning disabilities, mentally retarded like e.g. Down Syndrome, additional physical handicaps, social competence and emotional needs and severely physically and mentally retarded students. Autistic students are at about 20% of the school students. Some of them are not able to speak and use augmentative and alternative communication methods(AAC).

     

    Concerning the projects objectives

    All schools have a certain amount of experience and special excellence to add to the project. Every SEN school has learning areas in out-of-school environments and in sport or outdoor activities.  There is shared knowledge and interest in delivering this kind of learning which provides an opportunity for the schools to develop new skills by learning from each other, as well as comparing the pedagogical systems in the different countries. there is a common agreement on specialist discussions.

     

    Activities

    We will have four transnational Learning, Teaching and Training Acitivities (LTTA) with students in each country with different focuses:

    • GE: rock climbing on low mountains range
    • UK: Forest School in north-east England
    • SK: skiing in the High Tatra
    • LT: activities on and near the Baltic Sea.

     

    Due to participating students having special needs, transnational planning meetings (TPM) have to be organized before the LTTA in each country. During the TPM special methods for the students to access the activities will be developed.

     

    Methodology

    Traditional special educational methods will be combined with informal methods of outdoor learning with  a focus on ‘hands-on-learning’  and using AAC communication skills.

     

    Results and impact

    A database of methods for outdoor learning with SEN students will be developed as a result of the project. Students and staff at each school will benefit from the project and will be able to access the database, which will be provided in electronic and paper formats.

    Using dissemination strategies, like publicising the database in SEN and outdoor professional journals will ensure that there will be a long term impact in the years after the project has finished. The project website will be open for at least five years after the project has ended.

    This project has an innovative (groundbreaking) character due to the combination of SEN and outdoor learning pedagogies being brought together by four European countries.