Implementation of ‘Europe and me’ (SOI-PT-66)

This learning scenario was implemented in a class of the 4th grade, of the 1st cycle, in the subject of Education for Citizenship. I choose to implement this scenario in relation to the importance of the theme and aims to be developed with students of these ages.

The aims are the level of respect for social, cultural, religious or other diversity; in cooperation with others in an interested, active and responsible way and in the creation of habits of democratic participation in the debate of ideas.

Scenario and developed actions

The implementation of this learning scenario occurred in the context of formal and informal learning. Taking advantage of the Easter break, students were invited to interview the family. The interviews were about the importance of their travels in Europe and the world in the formation of their own identity. During four 60 minutes classes a number of actions were developed:

Step one

Firstly, we brainstormed students’ prior conceptions about the concept of identity; their perspectives on their values ​​and respect for cultural diversity. Some key words emerged: identity, cultural influence, diversity, traditions and tolerance. These words served as a motto for the students to interview their families and to create their own stories with the help of their families.

Step two

Then the students sent the stories to the teacher’s email for reading. After that, the texts were distributed randomly by colleagues to be read to the class. During this presentation, some texts aroused some curiosity motivating them to put other questions to the class.

Step three

In the following phase the Europeana platform was presented, as well as different forms of navigation and practical examples of how the research can be carried out.

Step four

In the school library, students use the tablets and access Europeana collections. They perform the research of images that best translate the essence of their texts. In this process, information literacy is promoted as students have to make use of their knowledge to access the images, to produce and critically use all information and to communicate it effectively. There was, therefore, concern about respect for ethical and normative principles.

Step five

We turned then to Google in its beta version of the Tour Builder. It is a Google Earth tool, to give visibility to their stories and make them more dynamic and interactive. For each narrative of the trip was made correspondence to its geographical location in the map – geo-referencing.

Learning beyond the school context

Involving the family in this project has allowed to extend the learning beyond the school context. The conviction is that our personal identity is built on the basis of cultural influences. And all the experiences linked to the culture of people transform us as people with an impact on society.

Assessment

It was a very enriching learning experience. As evidenced by the students’ assessment: “How do you position yourself in relation to this activity?”. The aims have been fully achieved and the interest in new ways of learning using Europeana’s learning scenarios has already conquered pupils and teachers.

Notes and tool links

Learning in formal and informal environments, cooperative and collaborative learning, brainstorming, group discussion, critical thinking, tablets, computers, internet, email, Google, Tour Builder, Europeana Collections.

Did you find this story of implementation interesting? Why don’t you read about the related learning scenario?

Europe and me, created by Jean-Christophe Jost

Do you want to discover more stories of implementation? Click here

CC BY 3.0 –The featured image used to illustrate this article has been provided by DEXTRA Photo.

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