Course overview

Think beyond the walls of the traditional classroom when it comes to learning, promoting a collaborative and inclusive environment and preventing early school leaving. At the European level, there is a well-grounded consensus on the value of non-formal and informal learning, alongside a strong focus on embedding non-formal working methods in traditional education pathways. Non-formal work forms, indeed, teach a great deal about self-development, interculturality, active citizenship, and essential 21st-century competencies. These methods can inspire teachers and education staff to model confident adults who contribute to social inclusion, civic engagement, environmental consciousness, and, ultimately, a European civil society. 

By participating in this course, you will explore the differences between formal, informal, and non-formal learning while discovering how to motivate and support all students in non-formal education. Most importantly, you will practice and master practical working methods and tools that can be tailored to meet the unique needs of your classroom.


​Learning outcomes

This structured course aims to guide participants through the possibilities offered by the trend of integrating non-formal working methods in formal education pathways, especially but not limited to the use of collaborative strategies, reflection and discussion, simulations, awareness-raising activities, challenge and game-based strategies. 
The general aim of this course is to foster excellence in education by equipping teachers and school managers with the needed knowledge and competences to effectively apply non-formal working methods in school settings.
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Thanks to this course the participants will:
  • Develop a greater understanding of the differences between formal, non-formal and informal learning as well as the basic non-formal education principles;
  • Learn more about  the trend of integrating non-formal working methods in formal education pathways;
  • Practice and add to their know-how concrete non-formal activities, working methods and tools transferable into practice;
  • Learn how to process non-formal activities through the experiential learning cycle and lead effective debriefing sessions;
  • Exchange best practices and share experiences about non-formal education with fellow teachers and with the course trainers;
  • Network with individuals and organizations working in the education field in Europe through everyday cooperation and team-building activities.

Courses planned

2025
26/01/2025 - 01/02/2025 (Palermo)
23/03/2025 - 29/03/2025 (Tenerife)
24/08/2025 - 30/08/2025 (Bologna)
24/08/2025 - 30/08/2025 (Palermo)
24/08/2025 - 30/08/2025 (Tenerife)
24/08/2025 - 30/08/2025 (Porto)
24/08/2025 - 30/08/2025 (Athens)


2026
25/01/2026 - 31/01/2026 (Palermo)
01/02/2026 - 07/02/2026 (Bologna)
29/03/2026 - 04/04/2026 (Tenerife)
19/04/2026 - 25/04/2026 (Palermo)
28/06/2026 - 04/07/2026 (Bologna)
23/08/2026 - 29/08/2026 (Palermo)
06/09/2026 - 12/09/2026 (Tenerife)
25/10/2026 - 31/10/2026 (Bologna)
29/11/2026 - 05/12/2026 (Tenerife)


​If none of these dates suits you please mind that if there are at least 8 participants interested we may organize an additional session ad-hoc for your school.

Target audience

This course is addressed to teachers, trainers, educational counsellors, career counsellors, school psychologists, headmasters, school management and administrative staff working in primary schools, secondary schools, vocational schools, training centres, adult education schools, higher education, kindergarten and NGOs.
Please mind that the course may include teachers from different school levels. 

Language

The course is held in English. For groups with at least 8 participants, we can organize an ad-hoc session in a different language. 
Please write an email to [email protected] to get more information about it.

Past participants say...

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"With a good balance of theory and practice, by being able to get involved in NFE activities like students and then reflecting on them as facilitators, experiencing the fun element and having spent a week in a positive and supportive environment, it will be so MUCH EASIER to carry the heavy responsibility of providing something similar to my students. I definitely feel now - after the course - that it is worth trying.​"

 ​- Zsuzsanna Molnár, Hungary

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​"Attending this course was an excellent experience as a teacher. Teamwork, collaboration, creativity, learning by doing will be in my mind when planning my lessons/activities. Thanks for all!"
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- Elisa Morais, Portugal

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​"An engaging and active course that developed reflection on teaching practices to embed essential skills of collaboration, teamwork and critical thinking. Practical and hands on learning experiences for professional development."
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- ​Nia Partridge, United Kingdom

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"If you want to improve your communication skills, teamwork skills and to develop your knowledge related to NFE, attend this course!" ​
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- Suciu Alina Natalia, Romania

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Standard daily programme

Please find below the standard indicative daily programme that will be personalized on participants needs and professional profiles.
Our standard program comprises 7 days of course, of which the first one is dedicated to networking, preparation and cultural immersion and the last one to follow up, specific needs and cultural activities. Please note that we always do our best to accommodate the specific needs of our participants in a flexible way, including but not limited to budget restrictions and travel arrangement. Participants can choose to arrive 1 day before the start of the course and/or leave one day after the end of it in order to enjoy a deeper cultural immersion. Upon specific request we can organize longer or shorter versions of this course.
Sunday
-  Participants arrival
 - Orientation and information about the venue and the city 
 - Networking activities
 - Walking tour in the venue’s city
Monday
- Course introduction
- Team building exercises     
- Needs and expectations evaluation 
- Introduction to formal, informal and non-formal learning
- Analyzing and comparing examples of non-formal working methods 
- Reflections on current teaching practices, styles and experiences with integrating non-formal education into formal settings
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Tuesday
- Basic concepts and principles about non-formal education
- Practicing, designing and delivering non-formal activities and tools
- Learning and practicing speaking, role-play games and visual strategies
- Cultural activities in the venue’s city
Wednesday
- How to foster students’ motivation, participation and creativity through non-formal, informal and experiential learning activities
- Understanding and discussing the role of the facilitator in non-formal working environment
- Practicing, designing and delivering non-formal activities and tools
- Optional cultural visit outside the venue’s city 
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Thursday
- The extra benefit of using non-formal methods in a multicultural environment
- Non-Formal methods to strengthen teamwork and effective cooperation
- Practicing, designing and delivering non-formal activities and tools
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Friday
- Best practices and guidelines for assessing and validating non-formal and informal learning
- Designing and delivering your own non-formal workshop to apply in classroom using the tools and strategies learned
- Practicing, designing and delivering non-formal activities and tools
- Farewell dinner
Saturday
- Space for discussion of future cooperation and planning follow up activities
- Course roundup and final evaluation
- Validation of learning outcomes and certification ceremony
- Additional training session tailored to specific needs (optional)
- Optional cultural activities or additional guided visit in another major city
- Participants departure
    Pre-registration
    ​Read here our privacy policy

Other relevant facts

  • Methodology
  • Costs and Erasmus+ Funding
  • Certification and Validation of learning outcomes
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We tailor the working methods based upon participants’ needs, attitudes and professional profiles in order to ensure high productivity, effectiveness and transferability into practice.
The standard methodology is highly practical and participative with hands-on approach that comprises real-job examples, case studies examination and simulations. We embrace collaboratively working methods that foster mutual learning and cooperation among participants. Our focus is on learning in an interactive and international environment knowledge applicable to the real contexts and/or in the classroom. The pedagogical methods that we use are based upon experiential training, group and peer activities, learning-by-doing and best practices’ exchange. They include visits with local schools and institutions allowing the participants to better understand the local education system as well as exchange ideas and contacts.
Morning Wrap-up and brief daily evaluations are foreseen to ensure quality of education and to adapt the learning programme to participants' needs better tailoring the education.
We organize optional social, networking and cultural activities in order to give participants the opportunity to know Italy as well as to exchange best-practice and establish professional cooperation and links.
The training and staff team is multinational thus giving a full European dimension to the course.
Teachers, trainers, headmasters and any other staff of education organizations are eligible to receive an Erasmus+ grant covering all the costs to attend our training courses including travel, board and lodging, cultural activities and all fees. Our training courses are tailored to be fully funded by Erasmus+ and we offer different options to ensure the best comfort and quality at a price that is within the Erasmus+ grant.
We are proud to tailor our training courses to both participants' learning and practical needs and to ease your participation at our training courses, we will gladly take care of all the practical arrangements. If you prefer, you can take care of some of the practical arrangements by yourself (e.g. meals...), though we will manage the organization of your accommodation in order to ensure optimal logistic organization, safety and time-efficiency. We always provide board and lodging in the same hotel in which we organize the course  thus ensuring optimal comfort and potential of networking with the fellow participants. Read more about  how we take care of your subsistence and practical arrangements. 
The most common option that we offer to schools and organisations in 2025 costs 1405 EUR in Bologna, 1355 EUR in Tenerife and Athens and 1225 EUR in Palermo, Porto, Rimini and Berlin and includes course fee, certification and support fee, accommodation in single room, 2 coffee breaks per day, walking tour in the venue’s city, a sum-up dissemination video. The standard option in Bologna, Tenerife and Thessaloniki includes all meals from Sunday lunch to Saturday lunch, while in Palermo, Porto and Rimini includes all breakfasts and three networking meals in local restaurants. Few of our courses include extra services and activities hence having a different pricing option, which will be communicated upon receiving the pre-registration.​
For schools sending 2 or more participants we can offer accommodation in double rooms and we can provide as well accommodation for people or relatives accompanying the participants.
When attending our courses, we recommend you to request 9 days of individual support for your subsistence costs, 7 days for the course plus 2 additional days for the travel. In this way you can have more flexibility in planning your stay and you can enjoy all the cultural activities planned from the first to the last day of course. You can read here more about the Erasmus+ funding. Shall you have need any help with filling the budget during the application stage or have any problem with your grant please let us know and we will see how to support you.
At the end of the course, each participant will be awarded a certificate of attendance, together - if requested - with the Europass Mobility Certificate. The certificate are in line with the Erasmus Quality Standards and include a short description of the course and its learning outcomes, dates, venues, the name of the course provider and the course instructor(s).
We support the participants in every step of certification and validation of learning outcomes with specific focus on European instruments and Erasmus plus requirements such as staff mobility/learning agreement, quality commitment and Europass mobility certificate.
We experienced that schools and education organizations may require additional documents to certify the competences learned or the presence in the training course. Upon request we can provide additional certification and reporting documents as well as we provide photos of the training course and a sum-up video that can be used for visibility and dissemination purposes.

Videos and photos of previous training courses
INNOVATIVE TEACHING METHODS COURSES
Innovative teaching methods for teachers and education staff

This course allows participants to get to know, experiment and practice the most relevant innovative teaching methods - such as Project-Based Learning, Non-Formal Education, Contextual Learning, Outdoor Education - discussing and sharing best practices and experience with fellow European teachers and education staff.
Creativity

Raise your confidence and broaden your knowledge in adopting different techniques and methods of encouraging your students to become more creative and develop their critical thinking and problem solving skills to effectively prepare them to be manager and directors of their own future.
Outdoor education: a new way of teaching and learning

Get acquainted the key elements and growing trends related to outdoor education and teaching outside the classroom. Gain basic skills and tools to lead a range of group exercises and challenges, problem solving games, experiential activities in the nature, on school sites as well as in urban settings. 

Green skills for education​

​Learn the best tools and methods to talk about environmental awareness and promote sustainable actions in the classroom. Develop students' forward-looking skills and enable them to face the real-world challenges of today and tomorrow, modeling in their minds a clearer view of what ancestors they want to be. ​

​​Project Based Learning in the Classroom

​The course explores three key challenges related to the implementation of PBL: how to establish effective collaboration among students, how to facilitate student-driven activities, and finally how to assess PBL in the classroom.

The power of Game Based Learning and Gamification​

Through an hands-on approach we will analyse and master together Game Based Learning apps and Gamification examples, we will reflect on how to use them with our learners and how to adapt the learning process towards our students’ needs, preferences and attitudes.
TEACHER TRAINING