22/09/2015

Evaluation report from the second transnational project meeting in Balikesir, Turkey

“MATHS IS EVERYWHERE!” 2014-2016
COLLECTIVE EVALUATION REPORT
For the second transnational project meeting in
Balikesir, Turkey. May 2015


Areas and Activities Discussed/ Presented
During the meeting we presented/ discussed the following:

  • Discussed activities completed so far.
  • Discussed dissemination for the project
  • Visit to and discussions with the mayor and the Director of Education about the project and importance of intercultural exchange.
  • Discussed dates and activities to be presented in Romania in October (5th -9th)
  • Proposed dates for UK – (May 16th -21st  2015)
  • Use of project management budget
  • Contacting National Agencies about interim/ progress report
  • Turkish students presented Activity 4 – Maths and Art and research on famous mathematicians.
  • Discussed e-twinning and chat rooms for pupils to evaluate activities
  • Confirmed Evaluation teams for each school
  • Schemes/ Plans to be compiled to show all activities undertaken for one topic – to be made available in all languages if chosen as a popular activity.
  • All group/ co-ordinator meeting photos to be shared in Dropbox
  • Introduced to some Turkish history, traditions, food and culture.

Concerns arising
  • Still no example of mobility tool or mid-term report
  • Any queries prompt different answers/ comments from national agencies and the need to ask own agencies independently.

Joint staff project

  • Combined staff project reflecting Activities 1,3 & 4
  • Ebru Art marbling
  
Team Comments

UK Team 
Evaluation of the meeting:

As always there was the invaluable professional development of meeting with teachers and pupils from other countries and to see how other schools operate. There was an unexpected opportunity to have informative sessions with both the Mayor and Director of Education and they gave very positive endorsements of the project.  The presentations by students at the welcome concert and the smaller presentations about the various aspects of the project demonstrated how the project has been embraced by the whole of the school in a wide variety of curriculum areas, very clearly illustrating that Maths is everywhere!!! The impact of the project is being clearly shown by the enthusiasm and commitment by pupils and staff, indicating there is a genuine desire to share what they have learnt and all are eager to participate in the project and have a thirst to learn more and share with the partners what they are doing. Staff and pupils are very proud of their achievements and rightly so. The entrance and walls of the school display aspects of the project proudly. It is also valuable to see how other schools have interpreted the topics and to see such fantastic energy and interest in the project. Everybody was very welcoming and friendly and it was an honour to share in this project and see first-hand the pupils' enjoyment and positive attitude to maths and how it was being provided in creative and diverse ways. 
For us, in particular, our hearts were left in the SEN classroom. The pupils were amazing and happy to engage even where language was a barrier and took delight in showing us a traditional dance and sharing their interests with us. This visit made us so appreciative of the resources and funding that are available to pupils in the UK with learning difficulties.


Romania Team T
Evaluation of the meeting:
The meeting in Turkey was extremely productive. On the one hand, we had the chance to see all the wonderful activities organized within the school, as a result of our project, present on all the halls and classrooms of the school, as well as the open-minded attitude of the students as to these activities, the enthusiasm with which they presented their work. The activities organized within the school focused on some of the most important aspects of the project. The students had the chance to present their work, giving us a new perspective on some of the activities already organized by each school. By means of mathematic, we were also able to explore some of the cultural aspects of Turkey – the show focused on Maths and Songs, whereas the activities in school on Maths and Art or architecture.
On the other hand, the teams got the chance to evaluate and plan activities to come. Our discussions focused especially on evaluation and the report to come. There were also worries concerning the mobility tool. Our meetings gave us the chance to look back at all the wonderful work our students did throughout this school-year and experience first-hand to think of new ways of improving the implementation process of the project.
Another important part of the meeting was preparing the future meetings and carefully planning them so that the project can run smoothly.
We are especially thankful to our Turkish partners who did their best to make our stay a very pleasant and constructive one. They managed to share part of their traditions and also give us insight in the Turkish school system, by being all this extraordinary team.


Team Comments

Italian Team
Evaluation of the meeting:

The visit of the Italian partners in Turkey has reinforced and deepened our relationship, previously installed with other colleagues of the project Maths is Everywhere! The welcome from the Turkish team was very warm, especially from the students hosted in Italy. The show involved all the students, including the ones with special needs, gave us the opportunity to know the school system and traditions of the host nation. The activities proposed for task no. 4 were both appropriate and involving.
Our team appreciated the opportunity to share opinions about the scholastic, educative, political and religious system, with political members of Balikesir. Among all the activities proposed, we enjoyed visiting the handcraft laboratories. The UK team showed us a film of the European project, with all the activities and the stay in Italy. Special thanks to the English coordinator for her great support in resolution of some doubts and in planning of the future meetings.

Team Comments


Poland Team 
Evaluation of the meeting:

The Polish team enjoyed a successful, enjoyable and inspiring visit inBalikesir Karesi Ortaokulu” school in Turkey . We met wonderful students, teachers and staff and they made us very welcome. We were introduced to a different school system and teaching methods and thus created a learning environment for personal experiences. Although we had a busy educational timetable, the Turkish teachers created a respectful and comfortable atmosphere for an inter-cultural group communication, work and a rich cultural experience.
            The programme was nice, intense and we learned much about Maths and Turkey. Our stay in  Balikesir Karesi Ortaokulu” school in Turkey was a great international learning experience and we will never forget it. We practiced our English and compared our habits. The students and teachers presented us with a great range of activities connected with our project “Maths is Everywhere!” Erasmus+. Turkish students presented Activity 4 – Maths and Art and research on famous mathematicians. The teachers discussed e-twinning, activities completed so far and chat rooms for pupils to evaluate activities, confirmed Evaluation teams for each school, dates, activities to be presented in Romania in October (5th -9th) and dissemination for the project.
We saw the involvement of Turkish students, teachers and staff engaged in the preparation of the visit. We felt that they did their best. We must say that the Head, staff, teachers and students made every effort necessary for us to get to know and appreciate the extraordinary diversity of Turkish culture, customs and traditions.


Our hosts 
Evaluation of the meeting:

It was fantastic to organize such a meeting. We, as the project team worked with harmony and tried our best to ensure the comfort of our colleagues from four European countries. I saw that everyone in the team was really behind the project. It was also fun to get prepared, we laughed a lot, we made jokes about everything, even the things that didn’t go according to plan and this also improved our friendship between the team members.
It was exciting to meet all the delegates from the countries in front of our school. We started with the “Welcome Meeting”. We tried to show every aspect of our culture to our guests. Our students prepared shows for them, also with the support of our municipality and sister schools, there were shows of Mehteran Team and Whirling Dervishes.
Then we came to school and I saw that our students were very welcoming to our guests, which made me very happy. They were always smiling in a friendly way. Especially the students in the project team did their best for their comfort.
Our project team presented our project work about dissemination of the project and the activities Maths and Art, Maths and Music.
We also worked about the evaluation of the project, about Twinspace, we set up the dates of further meetings.
We visited coastal towns of our city and also Assos where one of the greatest philosophers and mathematicians lived.

It was very nice to share 5 days with the project team. I enjoyed every minute of it, I wish it could have been longer. Now we are looking forward to meeting in Romania. We are very happy to be a part of the “Maths is Everywhere!” team.

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