Erasmus Mobility 2023-2024 – St. Thomas More College, Middle & Senior School, Zejtun:
This scholastic year, St. Thomas More College, Middle & Senior School, Zejtun, has acquired the accreditation to embark on various Erasmus mobilities, aiming to sustain educators’ professional training. The objectives of this scholastic year were threefold:
1) art appreciation
2) multiculturalism and diversity
3) enhancing visits to Museums, cultural spaces, and art galleries
In total, 13 teachers have participated in the respective Erasmus courses held in different European countries.
Entitled ‘Teaching and Learning through Art Theory and Practice’, the Venice course has provided the 5 participants with ample opportunities to increase their knowledge about art teaching methodologies. The six-day program included a range of workshops and field trips to museums, such as the Venice Biennale and Galleria dell ‘Accademia. By visiting the most popular museums and prominent attractions in Venice, educators gained insight on how to incorporate artworks in their teaching. This encompassed areas such as literacy, inclusion, diversity, critical thinking, communication skills, and local history.
Three history educators took a course in Berlin called ‘The Berlin Wall: A Journey from Totalitarianism to Democracy’. This sought to increase the relevance of history as an academic subject by visiting museums and cultural spaces and ultimately develop interactive and engaging activities related to such visits. The respective participants gained valuable insights about totalitarianism, what led to such a regime, and even more importantly, how to prevent such situations from occurring again.
Considered essential 21st-century skills for students, the “Four C’s” – Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication, and Collaboration, are highly credited in principle but still provide teachers with implementation and pedagogical challenges. The course ‘4Cs Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication and Collaboration in Schools’, held in Dublin, provided educators with the knowledge, know-how, and confidence to incorporate these stimulating skills into their curriculum and school environment.
Conflicts between students, alliances, and interpersonal difficulties can impede learning and generate a negative learning atmosphere in the classroom. The course ‘Conflict Management, Emotional Intelligence, and Bullying Prevention’ offered the opportunity to learn about how group dynamics and conflict resolution skills can be employed to address issues like bullying and inclusion within an educational setting. Furthermore, through practical and highly efficient hands-on exercises that can be utilized in the classroom, teachers gained more skills in promoting empathy, emotional literacy, and active listening.
Incorporating outdoor learning activities into formal education is an ever-growing trend. Outdoor education fosters inclusivity and multiculturalism, while also helping children get in touch with their surroundings and develop an appreciation of the natural world and cultural spaces. Teachers who participated in “Outdoor Education: A New Way of Teaching and Learning” in Bologna, learnt sustainable practices that can render group activities, and problem-solving games as great learning opportunities for experiential learning in urban settings, schools, and natural environments.
Erasmus+ & European Solidarity Corps – EUPA MALTA Fondi.eu
