Uvajanje Inovativnih Učnih Okolij

Topic(s) addressed

The project’s main objective was to enhance the integration of formal and non-formal education, incorporate the interdisciplinary approach, introduce practices that are more didactically creative, relocate certain classroom lesson components to the outdoor environment, and, identify opportunities for more flexible transitions between the school and students’ environment, with an emphasis on “learning by doing.”

Target groups

Project participants consisted of 12 individuals from the Slovenian school, comprising teachers of various subjects and representatives from the school’s management. Long-term target groups were made up of teachers and secondary school students from the beneficiary organisation, as well as children who visited the ‘Fun Mathematics’ exhibition at the Children’s Museum.

Methodologies

The project’s activity was a joint collaboration among teachers in the development of contemporary guidelines for Education for Sustainable Development (with extracurricular work) that met the modern needs of the learning community. This project, by enriching the didactic-methodological component across all of the school’s programmes, helped reshape the teaching of Science, Math, and foreign languages, through its introduction of new content into the syllabus, the new outdoor park classroom, as well as innovative working methods.

Environments

The project facilitated the implementation of innovative learning environments and the introduction of teaching approaches across various fields, particularly in the fields of science and mathematics. Of particular note was the project’s cooperation with the local Children’s Museum, where students from Gimnazija Celje - Center had set up an innovative exhibition titled ‘Fun Mathematics,’ within which interactive workshops in both Slovenian and English were prepared for children aged 3-10 (as a practical example of an innovative learning environment). Another innovative environment was the outdoor classroom (located in the park behind the school), which was used in a number of the beneficiary school’s activities.

Teachers

Teachers who participated in the project not only explored the best practices of various host organisations, but also disseminated their acquired knowledge and experience across the organisation’s narrow and broader pedagogical spaces (their respective classrooms as well as among their colleagues), which led to the implementation of innovative learning environments into the curricula, and the successful development of new projects. Furthermore, participants were also actively involved in the preparation of the organisation’s strategic plans in the field of innovative learning environments and international activities.

Impact

The project’s activities led to numerous improvements within the beneficiary organisation, such as the introduction of optional courses (interdisciplinary thematic units) for students; the revision of knowledge catalogues for professional modules (mathematics for children and foreign language for children in preschool education); the establishment of an outdoor classroom in the school’s park; an expansion of extracurricular activities that were based on the linking and acquisition of entrepreneurial competencies; the setting-up of the ‘Fun Mathematics’ exhibition at the Children's Museum; the preparation of interactive children’s workshops in Slovenian and English; and, the expansion of their partners’ network, which led to the formation of new Erasmus+ and ESF projects. The project also helped change the school’s organisational climate by strengthening a number of values, which, prior to the project, had not been systematically nurtured (such as teamwork and readiness to accept new experiences and practices). The project also strengthened both students’ and teachers' confidence in their knowledge base, as well as their motivation, their ability to hold intercultural and intergenerational dialogue, and a sense of solidarity, while helping to eliminate social disparities among students. Through its long-term integration into the international environment, the school has managed to enhance its reputation, and helped consolidate its position as an educational centre – one that is also accessible to the general professional public.