COMENIUS
Multilateral school partnership
2009-2011
Individual
support and pastoral care
-
how to meet pupil’s individual needs
Children enter the
societies’ educational system in a very young age, and they leave it at the age
of a young adult. Depending on the societies’ political and philosophical
basement the schools have a clearly defined educational mission. In the centre
of the interest is the human individual, the child, the teen, the young adult.
He has the right to develop his potential at the maximum, independently from
his social, racial, sexual, religious and health
background. In this sensitive period of his life he goes through physically,
psychologically and emotionally profound changes, he develops individual interests
and has individual needs. It’s the daily challenge for a common educational
system to meet these individual needs.
The pedagogical team
of a school is constantly confronted to pupils with particular needs: They
might have particular interests or skills (sports, arts, languages o.a.). They might be highly gifted in a certain area or
generally. They might be in difficulties of temporary or persistent nature
(poor knowledge of the teaching language, migration background, general or
particular academic weakness, learning difficulties, learning disabilities,
wrong orientation, lack of organisation skills, lack of learning methods, lack
of concentration, lack of motivation, level too easy, adolescence crisis,
depression, laziness, social disintegration, personal or family troubles,
psychological or health problems, alcohol, drugs or game addiction o.a.).
What are the answers
and the strategies, what are the structures in the different national school
systems in
In the first place,
this is an ethical issue. But it has wide consequences on social, economical
and political level.
Partner schools :
Gymnasium Raubling,
(Lycée
23 „Frédéric Joliot Curie“
Project aims:
The schools and
teachers coming from different European countries enlarge their competences in
dealing with pupils individual needs and difficulties,
by learning about different strategies, structures and methods. They work
together in presenting, comparing, evaluating and refining their own
strategies, they gain new knowledge and they try out new methods, in order to
face the challenge in a professional way.
The team members
discover the variety of European mentalities, societies, school systems, school
philosophies and school environments. In an international working environment
they become experts in the area of individual support of pupils.
They mostly use
foreign languages as common working languages (English, French).
The cooperation
during this project could launch a wider bilateral contact among the individual
schools, leading to students or/and teachers exchange, common actions of
in-service training or other projects.
Along with the work
in the project comes an intense in-service training for all team members.
The participation in
this project will be embedded in the annual school plan in each school; the
whole school community should be involved as much as possible. Particularly
important is the participation of parents’ and students’ representatives.
The use of new
technologies is indispensable for the cooperation. All work is put down in a
written way and is made accessible to all partners by means of a website. Communication will mostly pass by internet,
video conferences could be envisaged.
The public
conferences or panel discussions, previewed at each school as the final product
of the project work, will draw the attention of a wider public (school family,
regional scientific, political and cultural elites, regional
population) to a crucial issue for
Project concept :
In each partner
school a working group is created, featuring interested teachers, the school
psychologist, a member of the management team, student’s and parents’
representatives.
In the beginning,
the working groups study the actual politics and structures of their own school
in the project area and present it to the partner schools. In this way the wide
range a different approaches becomes evident to all partners.
On this base the own
approach should be evaluated and rethought on pedagogical, philosophical,
structural and economical aspects.
In a further step
all the partner schools should enlarge their approach by planning, implementing
and evaluating new conceptions.
In regular meetings
with the partner schools experiences are shared, synergy effects can be used,
the progress has to be stated and communicated. It is important that not only
teachers or members of the management teams meet, but also the pupil’s and
parents’ representatives of each school.
All the material
(presentations, concepts, plans, results of evaluation etc.) will be available
to everybody by means of a website.
At each meeting an
expert should be invited for a lecture (youth and learning psychology, differentiated
teaching, highly gifted students, PISA, international programs as
Erasmus/Comenius/Socrates, history of education, scenarios of education in the
future a.m.o.)
The project
languages are French and English.
The work of two
years should lead to a big public event in each school, maybe a conference or a
panel discussion, where a representative of each partner school is present, as
well as representatives of different non-school interest groups (politics,
trade and industry, administration, press, religious communities).
Project agenda:
February 2009:
presentation of the project to the Comenius agency
(if the project is accepted by the Comenius
agency)
September 2009:
start of the project
September to October
2009:
- Study of the local politics, structures and
practise in the project area, preparation of a the presentation to the
partner schools, launch of a website
End of October 2009:
first meeting in Raubling
- Establishment of personal contacts
- Presentation of Bavarian/German school system
- Planning of the project, particularly of first
year’s activities
- Presentation of the different local politics,
structures and practise to the partners
November 2009 to
January 2010
- Evaluation of the own approach, on base of the increase
of knowledge and expertise
January 2010: second
meeting
- Presentation of the local school system
- Results of the local evaluations, discussions
- Expert on youth and leaning psychology
February 2010 to
March/April 2010
- Concepts of new approaches in the own school
should be discussed, planned and prepared
March or April 2010:
third meeting
- Presentation of the local school system
- Discussions based on the individual work of all
partners
- Lecture by an expert on differentiated teaching
April 2010 to
May/June 2010:
- Concrete planning of new approaches and their
implementation in the school year 2010/2011
May/June 2010: last
meeting of the first year
- Presentation of the local school system
- Discussions based on the individual work of all
partners
- Reflections on the work of the first year –
planning of second year
- Lecture by an expert, maybe on
September 2010 to
October 2010:
- Implementation of new practise in the schools
- Preparation of first conference or panel discussion
at the school hosting the first meeting
End of October 2010:
first meeting of the second year (in Raubling ?)
- Presentation of the implemented practises
- Lecture by an expert, f.i.
about highly gifted pupils
- First conference or panel discussion
November 2010 to
January 2011
- Observation of new practise in the schools
- Preparation of second conference or panel
discussion at the school hosting the second meeting
January 2011: second
meeting
- Preparation of the final activity report
- Lecture by an expert
- Second conference or panel discussion
February 2011 to
March/April 2011
- Evaluation of new practise in the schools
- Preparation of third conference or panel
discussion at the school hosting the next meeting
March or April 2011:
third meeting
- Preparation of the final activity report
- Presentation of the results of the locally
implemented new measures
- Last lecture by an expert
- Third conference or panel discussion
April 2011 to
May/June 2011:
- Final activity report
- Preparation of last conference or panel
discussion at the school hosting the last meeting
May/June 2011: last
meeting
- Last conference or panel discussion
- Evaluation of the project
June 2011: end of
the project
Mobility plan:
One
meeting per year in each school, where about four persons per school are
present. In total: 4 (persons) x 3 (meetings to travel to) x 2
(years) = 24 mobilities per school.
Erich Menacher
Gymnasium Raubling