“MATHS IS EVERYWHERE!” 2014-2016
COLLECTIVE EVALUATION REPORT
For the first short term pupil
exchange in Catania, Sicily. March 2015
Areas and Activities
Discussed/ Presented
During the meeting we presented/ discussed the following:
- All partner
schools presented Activities 1,2, and 3
- Observed the
beginning of Activity 4 – Maths and Art with students completing mosaic
designs
- Ensured
everyone had evaluation forms for staff and pupils for each activity.
- Discussed
dissemination for the project – visit to radio station
- Discussed use
of social media for the project
- Discussed
dates for next meetings in
- Discussed how
to use E-Twinning platform (Twinspace) and the blog (erasmusmaths.blogspot.com)
and all uploaded photos and PPTs to the site
- School
Evaluation teams (1 adult/2 or 3 students) to chat or Skype asap and to
have logins on the Twinspace for regular communication.
- Need to have
schemes of work for all activities in format relevant for each school to
support final booklet/ guide of popular tasks
- Introduced to
some Italian history, traditions, food and culture.
Concerns arising
- How to use mobility tool
and project management budget
- Any queries prompt
different answers/ comments from national agencies and the need to ask own
agencies independently
- Dates for
- Costs for subsistence
when not staying in student homes
Joint student project
1.
Activity 1 Maths
Around Us: Students from the UK
and Turkey took photos and
identified shapes, numbers and patterns around Catania
and Taormina
2.
Activity 3 Maths
and Travelling: Students form the UK
and Turkey created a Power
Point to work out travel time and average speed on 2 project trips to Etna and Syracuse
3.
Activity 4 Maths
and Art: Students from Poland and Romania
Team
Comments
Evaluation of the meeting:
The UK team was impressed with this first exchange. The activities
chosen allowed the pupils to interact with the others which is vitally
important for the success of the project. The activities involved all the
pupils and also allowed for peer support and opportunities to find out more
about students from other countries.
Valuable time was allocated for co-ordinators to meet to discuss the
project so far and to plan future meetings and activities
It was particularly pleasing to be able to share with out Turkish
partner a way of measuring progress for students that don’t meet national
criteria levels and to show visual systems that we use when working with
hearing impaired children.
In terms of outcomes for our young people the project delivered more
than we expected, based on the previous experiences. It was an
inclusive project at all levels ie socially & educationally and as result
our young people grew in confidence and participated fully in all the planned
activities. The inclusivity of the project was reflected in the collaboration
of the lead teachers from each school and their awareness of the needs of
all the students participating but especially those with SEND.
Overall
a great trip.The school was
welcoming everyday from the head to the youngest student and the cakes and lunches provided were superb!
Evaluation of the meeting:
It was a fantastic experience
for our students and staff. We were hosted very well. Italian families were
like real families to our students and also our students got along with their
foreign friends very well. They were able to know Sicilian culture very
closely. They were very happy during the whole journey. In their own evaluation
reports, they indicated that they understood how to be tolerant towards
different cultures and they now know that even we have different country names
we have a very strong common point: “We are all humans”
We were able to see the school
life of our partner school, culture, customs, landmarks and traditions of
Sicily and Catania. Also we were able to do our project activities “Maths
Around Us” and “Maths and Travel”. Also we had a view of our next activity
“Maths And Art”.
It is a pleasure for us to
work in this project and we are looking to host our friends in Turkey at the
end of May.
Romania
Team
Evaluation of the meeting:
Our team was more than pleased to take part in this meeting.
Firstly, our students had the chance to work on the project together and
they managed to take part in fun interesting activities related to the topic
“Maths and Art” that helped them cooperate. Thus, they learnt that they have
more than they thought in common.
Secondly, the Romanian students were very much impressed by how well
they were received by the host families who did their best to make them feel at
home and share Sicilian customs and traditions.
The cultural visits were in the spirit of the March activity as we all
discovered the cultural richness of the region and experienced the great
artistic display of art of the region. The fact that the students were advised
to pay attention to detail as they would later have to make a presentation of
activity 4 within the project made them be particularly attentive and focus on
this aspect of the meeting.
This was also a wonderful opportunity for the staff to meet and discuss
important aspects regarding project management and organization. We were
extremely pleased by the fact that we managed to reach an agreement as to the
meeting to come and also about some of the organizational aspects of the Turkey
meeting that focuses on the intermediary report.
Last but not least, we would like to thank our Italian guests who did
such a great job in organizing the meeting, by preparing interesting activities
for all our students, by sharing their culture and traditions with us, as well
as their incredible landmarks.
We strongly believe this meeting was a success and we are looking
forward to the meetings to come.
.
Team
Comments
Poland Team
Evaluation of the meeting:
The Polish team has a high opinion of the meeting. Our Italian hosts created
a brilliant atmosphere. Polish students felt like they were “at home” with the Italian
families. They had the opportunity to get to know the real,
everyday life of Italians, their customs, cuisine and
culture. Our students have
established great friendships
with the Italian students. We also evaluate the care
of the students very well. Teachers were also
able to observe the beginning of Activity 4 – Maths and Art with students
completing mosaic designs. It was an interesting and developing experience. It
gave our students an opportunity to create their own presentations connected
with Activity 4 “Maths and Art”. Teachers and students had the possibility to
discover amazing Italian culture and historical landmarks and then
international teams worked together creating presentations for “Maths Around
Us” and “Maths and Travelling”. The meeting was really well prepared. Our Italian friends did their best and were hospitable
and helpful. They made an effort to help us to get to know and appreciate the diversity
of Italian cuisine, culture, customs, landmarks and traditions.
We are looking forward
to the
next meeting.
Our hosts
The entire allocated European budget for Italy was used to present
Italian culture and enable the visitors to experience it as much as possible.
This included food, art, history and tradition. The whole school community was
involved, without receiving any incentives: the caretaking and support staff,
the administrative staff, part of the teaching staff, external mother tongue
language teachers, the majority of the students, some of the students'
families, the Headteacher and external collaborators such as local council
staff, sponsors and local media.
It was both a fun and educational experience for our pupils to work
together with other European students. There was great enthusiasm to host and
to collaborate with the partners and to discover new ways of carrying out work
within the school.
