Third LTTA meeting in Portugal- 26.01-30.01.2022
The head master Rui Inglês and the teachers and students of the "Jardim do Fraldinhas" school in Leiria, Portugal, hosted the third meeting of the "Coding is Fun!", project implemented under the Erasmus + program. During their stay, teachers from partner countries: Poland, Belgium, Spain and Turkey learned about the Portuguese education system and the rules of working with children from 4 months to 11 years old. The main purpose of the visit was to participate in trainings, workshops and classes promoting scientific experiments in technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science. 16 teachers from partner countries and a few from the host group participated in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) workshops.
On the first training day, a meeting with students and school staff took place. To welcome the guests, the students prepared a wonderful artistic program that symbolically depicted the Big Bang, the formation of the space, the formation of stars and planets, and the need for balance in the universe. Each class presented its elements of the show that were artfully combined into a whole one. Then the teachers had the opportunity to visit the school, talk to teachers from Portugal about the methods of conducting classes and the education system, while improving their language competences. Everyone was delighted with the variety of classes, friendly, unconventional interiors and the openness of children and staff. We felt at "Jardim do Fraldinhas" in Leiria like at home. A very important element was the "STEM WORKSHOPS" classes, during which teachers and students conducted experiments in the field of engineering, physics and chemistry, built simple mathematical machines and checked their correct operation, and learned the basics of SCRATCH programming.
The main purpose of the visit was to participate in trainings and classes promoting scientific experiments in technology, engineering, mathematics and computer science. 16 teachers from all over the world participated in STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) workshops. Then teachers from partner schools visited the Monte Real air base, where they had the opportunity to learn about the most modern air force technology, the F-16 multi-role fighter squadron, principles of operation, and a complex system of supervision and troubleshooting. The visit to the military base made a great impression on the project participants. It proved how important it is in education to use ICT and develop technical competences.
The second day of the workshop began with a meeting between teachers and representatives of all students of the "Jardim do Fraldinhas" school. Coordinators from individual countries introduced their teams, talked about their schools and countries of origin. The students were curious about the customs prevailing in other countries, they asked about typical dishes and taking care of the natural environment. The next point was a meeting with the main coordinator of the project - Ms Ewelina Pietrzyk, who started the meeting by thanking Portuguese teachers for preparing workshops in a difficult time of the pandemic. The activities of the "Coding is Fun!" team so far have been summarized and next meetings in Turkey and Poland were planned.
Then, teachers from partner schools were invited to a meeting with representatives of the Leiria City Council - Councilor Luis Lopes and his assistant Hugo Bogalho, who presented their city and region in a passionate way, paying much attention to the value of education and plans for the development of the region. The meeting took place in the representative hall of the City Hall in Leiria, the delegation of the project teachers was received with great openness and kindness. Coordinators from individual countries presented the hosts with small gifts and gadgets related to their localities.
After returning to school, teachers once again participated in interesting workshops with students prepared by lecturers from the Higher School of Technology and Leiria Management. Our task was to program the Ozobot robot and guide it along the designated route. It turned out that the basics of programming and coding did not pose many difficulties for the teachers – we have already learnt a lot in the project. Then the workshops were continued at Escola Superior de Tecnologia e Gestão, where professors Filip Santos, Alexandra Baptista and Carlos Neves enabled teachers to explore the secrets of programming and robotics in a professional studio.
On the last day of the visit, representatives of partner schools had the opportunity to visit the Lisbon Science Pavilion, the center of science and experience. The guide showed the guests around the center, presented interesting exhibitions, experiences and shows. Then workshops took place in the science center, where each of the project participants could perform the selected experiment, check the operation of the device or physical phenomenon they were interested in. Some teachers showed extraordinary courage and overcame the force of gravity on a bicycle suspended on ropes.
The visit to Portugal was well prepared, perfectly organized, all planned activities were successfully completed despite the difficulties resulting from the pandemic. It allowed the participants to increase their skills in coding, programming, project-based work and communication in foreign languages. Another project meeting "Coding is Fun!" will be held in March 2022 in Turkey.
