02.Preparatory+visit

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Elements of Science Project final application form (printable) @http://elements-of-science.wikispaces.com/file/view/Elements+of+Science+-+printable.pdf/122417501/Elements%20of%20Science%20-%20printable.pdf

Through transnational partnership our project aims to raise the profile of science learning and teaching across our school communities. By making science accessible and enjoyable, we aim to nurture in the children of today the scientists of tomorrow. Specific aims for the children will include: Increased motivation Improved learning and thinking skills Skills for life and work Our project seeks to emphasise the importance of science in our daily lives and provide our children with the skills, knowledge and enthusiasm to look to the sciences as a future route to the world of work.
 * 5.1 Summary**


 * 5.2 Context**

The principal aim of our partnership is as follows: Through transnational partnership, we aim to raise the profile, relevance and importance of science within our learning communities (our pupils, teachers and parents). This will be achieved through 1) improved pedagogical approaches to the teaching of sciences - to include innovative and creative contexts for learning, use of ICT by all in our learning communities 2) through a focus on making learning and teaching fun – increasing pupil motivation, improving learning and thinking skills, learning-to-learn skills and the embedding in our curriculum of skills for life, which in turn will encourage pupils to remain in education and look to the sciences as a future route to the world of work 3) through the use of ICT to develop and enhance learning and teaching, collaborative working practices and communication 4) building capacity within our learning communities e.g. by developing the role of parents as partners in children’s learning.
 * 5.3 Objectives of the partnership**

As the co-ordinating institution it will be the role of the Slovak school to ensure the smooth running of the project – that activities progress as planned, that good communication is maintained between pupils, teachers and parents, and that deadlines are met by all schools in the partnership. The French and Slovenian schools will support all partners in the use of the e-Twinning portal and ICT applications/tools such as wikis and video conferencing to promote communication and collaborative working between school communities. The Scottish school will lead partners in the joint completion of all relevant documentation e.g. partnership proposals, minutes of project meetings, interim and end of project reporting etc. The Scottish school will also lead partners in the use of Responsive Planning (Talking and Thinking Books) as a means to actively involve children in determining the direction of their own learning. A Project Information Leaflet for all learners (pupils, teachers and parents) will be designed by the Slovak school and sent to all partners for dissemination within their communities. The ***-*-*** school will prepare a quarterly newsletter for all learners within the partnership. This will also be sent to all partner schools for dissemination within their communities. In addition, all schools will work together on the following agreed project activities:
 * 5.4 Partnership and distribution of tasks**
 * Introductory school presentation – all schools will prepare a presentation to ‘introduce’ themselves to each other’s school communities.
 * Development of eco gardens as a context for learning across the partnership and on-going collaborative working.
 * Weekly recording and collation of weather data for use across the partnership and within individual schools, as a resource for their science programmes and other learning & teaching activities.
 * As learning communities (pupils, teachers and parents), to prepare, exchange, deliver and record science lessons and activities on the topics of Light, Sound and Water.
 * Build capacity within our learning communities (pupils, teachers and parents) in pedagogical approaches to learning & teaching e.g. exploring together the use of ICT such as wikis, collaborative tools (such as the eTwinning work space), video conferencing; sharing and developing approaches to parental involvement in children’s learning; teaching approaches such as responsive planning.

The co-ordinating institution will ensure that good communication is maintained between pupils, teachers and parents in the partnership and that deadlines are met by all schools in the project. The partner schools will likewise ensure that they fulfil the plans agreed for each year of partnership working. Shared work space, available through the eTwinning Portal and the ‘elements-of-science.wikispaces.com’ website, will be used as the principal communication tool for the project – to post scientific data, experiments for partner schools, reports/record of results etc. Project activities such as the development of eco gardens will be recorded digitally (photographs and video) and shared with partners to provide further learning opportunities. Science experiments will be recorded and shared both within and across communities. All schools are committed to maintaining regular contact between teachers, pupils and parents – this will be fostered through the use of email, ‘public’ and ‘secure’ blogs and wikis, the eTwinning portal, an ‘Elements of Science’ website and video conferencing. All schools will work constantly to maintain enthusiasm and commitment to the project – disseminating information to all classes, parents and the wider community, and encouraging the participation of other teachers and classes throughout each of our schools. Effective co-operation will be ensured through good advance planning – partners will review and agree tasks and responsibilities for the year ahead at the first project meeting of each session; evaluation of activities and the project as a whole will also be embedded in the cycle of project planning meetings proposed.
 * 5.5 Co-operation and communication**


 * 5.6 Impact and European added value**

To improve the quality and to increase the volume of mobility involving pupils and educational staff in different Member States (compulsory) To improve the quality and to increase the volume of partnerships between schools in different Member States, so as to involve at least 3 million pupils in joint educational activities during the period of the programme (compulsory) To encourage the learning of modern foreign languages. To support the development of innovative ICT-based content, services, pedagogies and practice in lifelong learning. To support improvements in pedagogical approaches and school management.
 * 5.7 Relevance for the objectives of the programme**

Monitoring and evaluation of the project will be a key part of our planned activity calendar - evaluation of progress and impact of project activities will form part of each project meeting: partners will use the feedback from each school to inform ‘next steps’ in our partnership working. Partners will evaluate the impact of the project in their own establishments on an annual basis using a range of evaluation tools and formative assessment strategies, based on each school’s current local and national practice. It is intended that staff, parents and pupils participate in the monitoring and evaluation process 1) Through the use of pre and post learning questionnaires - to be devised by the French school 2) Through the use of Learning Logs 3) Through the use of the eTwinning Portal (shared work space) and wikis, where all partners will post reports and evaluations on the impact of the science lessons and activities exchanged between schools 4) Through the planned input of our students at project meetings – all children attending project meetings will be required to give a presentation (in their own language) on the experiments/activities undertaken within their schools. Over the life of this project, we will also use Responsive Planning approaches (Talking and Thinking Books). These will be used within our classrooms, displayed within our schools and shared with partners at each of our project meetings to provide our communities with further information and evidence of on-going evaluation of the impact of our project activities on learning & teaching.
 * 5.8 Evaluation**

25 – New technologies, ICT 34 – Methods to increase pupil motivation 42 – Natural Sciences
 * 5.12 Topics**

Physics Chemistry Biology
 * 5.13 Educational Fields**


 * 6.1 Work Programme: planned activities, including mobility activities, of each participating organisation**

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 * 6.2 Number of pupils and staff involved in the partnership in each of the participating organisations (persons taking part in Partnership activities, both local activities and/or mobility)**

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 * 6.3 Expected results, including products if relevant**

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 * 7. Requested EU funding**