Course overview

From Outdoor Education to the Reggio Emilia Approach, from the Montessori Method to Non Formal Education. The world of childhood and preschool education is in constant development and for preschool teachers is crucial to keep up with the new trends and stay on top of what's current. This training course for preschool teachers will be a springboard for exploring the main principles, features and benefits of the best preschool approaches. Joining this training course, preschool teachers will have the chance to explore the growing trends in preschool education and will learn in a practical and experiential way which the activities and approaches are most suited for their purposes. Teachers will learn how to design their own activities based on the needs and realities of their pupils as well as learning and practicing outdoor activities, learning games and concrete ideas to foster preschool pupils creativity and learning.


​Learning outcomes

This training course course for preschool teacher provides participants with an overview on the most innovative teaching and pedagogy approaches for preschool education by providing a analytical as well as a practical, cooperative, inspirational and stimulating space where to get to know, learn, experiment and practice new ideas, activities, strategies and methods.
The general aim of this course is to foster excellence and innovation in preschool and early childhood education by empowering and inspiring preschool teachers and directors to discover the most effective approaches in preschool education while sharing best practices and experiences with fellow participants and trainers throughout all Europe gaining as well  a broader understanding of education in Europe.
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Thanks to this preschool teacher training course the participants will:
  • Get acquainted with the new trends and most effective approach in early childhood and preschool education
  • Learn about the key principles of the Montessori Method and the Reggio Emilia Approach;
  • Discover the benefits of embedding nature and biodiversity in preschool activities;
  • Experience and practice inspirational outdoor education activities;
  • Learn how to design, prepare and deliver interactive Non-Formal Education learning activities;
  • Get to know and experiment learning games and activities to stimulate early years children creativity and social development;
  • Share experiences and exchange best practices about preschool education with teachers and education staff coming throughout Europe;
  • Visit Italian preschools and kindergartens and network with individuals and institutions working in the preschool education.

Courses planned

2024
04/02/2024 - 10/02/2024 (Bologna)
04/02/2024 - 10/02/2024 (Tenerife)
03/03/2024 - 09/03/2024 (Palermo)
05/05/2024 - 11/05/2024 (Bologna)
02/06/2024 - 08/06/2024 (Bologna)
02/06/2024 - 08/06/2024 (Palermo)
02/06/2024 - 08/06/2024 (Tenerife)
27/10/2024 - 02/11/2024 (Bologna)
27/10/2024 - 02/11/2024 (Palermo)
27/10/2024 - 02/11/2024 (Tenerife)

Target audience

This course is open to: teachers, directors, managers, educators and other staff of preschool and childhood institutions with pupils aged 0 - 6 years old.

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 info@erasmuslearningacademy.eu to get more information about it.

Past participants say...

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"It has been a great week, we've developed our communicative skills, got in contact with colleagues all over Europe and had the opportunity to share common projects. A panoramic view of the most representative approaches in preschool education." 

- ​María Desamparados Tamarit Valero, Spain

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Company

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"The course was really good organized, the organizers have thought about everything. The excursions to the educational centers were matching with the course topics. The educators of the schools answered all our questions. It was a very nice experience!"
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- Madara Osite, Latvia

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"Great organization. Wonderful friendship and sharing experiences. We are certainly returning home richer for a new experience."
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- Ingrid Baxa, Croatia

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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
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Monday
 -  Course introduction
 -  Teambuilding activities
 -  Needs and expectations evaluation
 -  Reflections on current teaching practices and styles
 -  Introduction to experential learning and Kolb’s learning cycle
 -  The key principles of non-formal education
 - How to foster students’ independence, creativity and critical thinking through non-formal, informal and experiential learning activities
Tuesday
 -  Non-Formal activities to strengthen teamwork, effective cooperation and respect
 -  Learning and performing speaking and role-play games
 -  Practicing, designing and delivering non-formal activities and preschool games
-  Cultural activities in the venue’s city
Wednesday
-  Introduction to the Montessori Method
-  A constructivist model, learning concepts from working with materials, rather than by direct instruction
-  Visit to a Montessori preschool*
-  Questions and discussion with local teachers working in the Montessori preschool
-  Optional cultural visit outside the venue’s city (Florence, Cefalù, El Teide...)
Thursday
 -  Key principles and benefits about outdoor education and outdoor learning
 -  The value of outdoor education for personal, social and relational development
 -  How to safely design, plan and deliver outdoor preschool education activities
 -  Practicing, designing and delivering outdoor group exercises and challenges, problem solving games and experiential activities in the nature
 -  Visit to a local preschool/kindergarten*
Friday
-  Introduction to the Reggio-Emilia Approach
-  Learning through experiences of touching, moving, listening, and observing
-  Providing preschool pupils endless ways and opportunities to express themselves
-  Designing learning activities that incorporate the knowledge acquired and the approaches explored
-  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
*The possibility to organize school visits is subject to variation due to Covid restrictions.
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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, local transport...), 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 2023 costs 1280 EUR in Bologna, 1220 EUR in Tenerife and 1130 EUR in Palermo 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. This standard option in Bologna and Tenerife includes all meals from Sunday lunch to Saturday lunch, while in Palermo includes ​all breakfasts and three networking meals in local restaurants. 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

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