Dumitru Grusca, iEngage teacher from Falesti:
"I decided to join the “Places and Perspectives” Project because it encourages students to explore regional history, culture, government, and geography by sharing their knowledge with people from different locations. 8 international schools involved in the exchange: Kumertau, Bashkortostan Region, Russia, Mogilev, Belarus, Norwood, Massachusetts, United States, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Malmyzh, Kirov Region, Russia, Roldanillo, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Everyone from the group chose a project to sponsor and wrote a detailed Project Idea for the group members. Most of the members were creative, provided suggestions, and generated ideas. One of most important thing in this project was the international collaboration. All participants submitted their Project Ideas for the other participants of the Learning Circle. Discussions were provided in the forum. Topics included flowers and their symbolism in various traditions, traditions and customs of European countries and around the world, superstitions of different countries, housing traditions, free time activities in various communities. These themes formed the core of the project work. Every school had to work on its projects and partners’ projects. The teachers encouraged students to fulfill the task, to create and share information about projects’ themes with the partners of the project. It is was my responsibility to include the received material, connected to my theme, in my final project publication.
12 students from the 12th form took part in the project. Because of the highly interactive, project-based partnerships among a small number of schools students got interested in fulfilling the project’s tasks. The opportunity to study customs and traditions in different countries, to build, share, and express knowledge though a process of open dialogue and deep reflection around issues or problems with a focus on a shared outcome motivated them to work eager and with responsibility. To acquire a deeper understanding of areas of shared interest students used also IT technologies.
At last, by being engaged in these activities, students developed and improved following abilities: trust, respect, open and flexible approach to thinking, individual responsibility and group reciprocity, that to my mind are keys to a successful carrier for my students."
"I decided to join the “Places and Perspectives” Project because it encourages students to explore regional history, culture, government, and geography by sharing their knowledge with people from different locations. 8 international schools involved in the exchange: Kumertau, Bashkortostan Region, Russia, Mogilev, Belarus, Norwood, Massachusetts, United States, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, Malmyzh, Kirov Region, Russia, Roldanillo, Valle del Cauca, Colombia. Everyone from the group chose a project to sponsor and wrote a detailed Project Idea for the group members. Most of the members were creative, provided suggestions, and generated ideas. One of most important thing in this project was the international collaboration. All participants submitted their Project Ideas for the other participants of the Learning Circle. Discussions were provided in the forum. Topics included flowers and their symbolism in various traditions, traditions and customs of European countries and around the world, superstitions of different countries, housing traditions, free time activities in various communities. These themes formed the core of the project work. Every school had to work on its projects and partners’ projects. The teachers encouraged students to fulfill the task, to create and share information about projects’ themes with the partners of the project. It is was my responsibility to include the received material, connected to my theme, in my final project publication.
12 students from the 12th form took part in the project. Because of the highly interactive, project-based partnerships among a small number of schools students got interested in fulfilling the project’s tasks. The opportunity to study customs and traditions in different countries, to build, share, and express knowledge though a process of open dialogue and deep reflection around issues or problems with a focus on a shared outcome motivated them to work eager and with responsibility. To acquire a deeper understanding of areas of shared interest students used also IT technologies.
At last, by being engaged in these activities, students developed and improved following abilities: trust, respect, open and flexible approach to thinking, individual responsibility and group reciprocity, that to my mind are keys to a successful carrier for my students."