Staying up to date on the latest innovative teaching methods

From 13th to 19th of Februray we had the pleasure of hosting participants from CEPER Almazara, Ipep Huelva, María Auxiliadora Salesianas Zaragoza and School No.7 Botoșani.
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The topic of the week was “Innovative teaching methods for education” and the group was enthusiast to begin on the first day. As usual, the morning starts with some activities to break the ice and getting to know each other: our courses are first of all meant for networking with other cultures!

​After our brief introduction, we delved into the content of the course right away, starting with our first topic of the week: integrating ICT tools in the teaching routine. In particular, participants had the chance to learn how to use Google Jamboard as brainstorming tool, Mentimeter to make dynamic and engaging presentations stimulating the students’ interaction and Bamboozle to gamify their lessons while testing their students’ knowledge.  

​The second topic explored was Project Based Learning. Through some practical activities, the participants discovered the core of the approach called “Project Based Learning”, a structured teaching practice characterized by 5 key elements guiding the learning process: real world connection, core to learning, student centered, structured collaboration and multifaceted assessment. Through the analysis of videos targeted to their students’ age, they also had the opportunity to get a better understanding of the approach, catching suggestions and tips in the field of PBL.

And then it was time to discover another wonderful topic: outdoor education.  If you were wondering how to bring the class outside and the outdoor inside, you may have wanted to join this class. We started with a small brainstorming: “how to define outdoor education?” This was a nice opportunity for different countries to share ideas, opinions and best practices. Of course there is no right answer, but we tried anyway to give an idea of this new trend by having a look at some theories.
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And that is not all. We all know that teaching in the open air has its own benefits: both for our physical and mental health. We discovered them together and discussed about it. 

What is the best way to gain understanding on the topic of outdoor experiential learning? Going outside, of course! This is how we spent our Thursday: with a fantastic treasure hunt thanks to which the group had the chance to discover Bologna and its secrets in a very innovative and playful way.
The last (but not least!) topic of the week was non-formal education and its thousands ways of expressing itself. After small hints of theory the teachers had again plenty of time do practice some useful and engaging non formal activities that can easily be replicated with their students. 

​​Another week has passed, see you in our next adventure!

​More info on this course at: https://www.erasmustrainingcourses.com/innovative-teaching-methods.html