Comenius Partners

Comparing Our Ecosystems and Habitats

Our shared project has a theme of ecosystems and habitats.  Through the use of this theme, we intend to use the experiences of the children's habitats to develop a sense of place, a sense of biology, a sense of active citizenship and a context for the world we live in.

In our changing world we experience the change of climate, waste, environment and pollution.  We want the next generation and our 'present pupils' to consider the effect of our behaviour and to realise what we could lose forever.  Our children need to be motivated to stop spoiling our world and to take care and keep what is still left.

The world is constantly changing, evolving and improving.  In the same way, teaching methods must move with the times.  Nowadays traditional teaching has a serious opponent - the computer.  Students can spend hours in front of a screen having fun but rarely connected with studying.  We aim to make use of modern technology to make learning fun!  We hope that our project provides the opportunity to do something fun, attractive and useful. We hope to help our students develop the skills and abilities that are needed by today's modern society.  These are openness to the world, communication skills and language competence, creativity, knowledge and the ability to use modern technologies. 

Only someone who has knowledge and respect for other cultures, habits and opinions, and is curious about other people's lives, backgrounds and religions can be a responsible citizen of this world.  Our project allows students to get to know other countries, ecosystems and habitats by working together on the same tasks and building friendships through communication such as email.  Communication skills are essential, for our children today and for our children as future adults in the working world.  In our project, students will work in teams and group working abilities will be developed while doing tasks such as preparing photo exhibitions and presentations.  Our project will be conducted in English. Through a high level of communication in English, we hope to develop our students language skills, thus assisting them in the future as tourists or employees of international companies.  Additional communication between students will be conducted via the Internet.  Asking and answering questions, writing comments, describing pictures and telling stories will all be part of our project. 

Throughout our shared project we aim to:

• develop and experience different models of teaching and learning by observing and sharing a range of educational philosophies and practices through shared visits.
• involve pupils in collaborative planning and decision making in our schools.
• collaborate with our partners to raise an understanding of what it means to have eco behaviour.
• produce products to reflect the new technologies available in our schools.
• organise activities throughout the project with our partners that are cross curricular and curriculum integrated.
• gain an understanding of the ecosystem and habitats of our partners.
• involve students in the design, management and monitoring of the project.
• look for opportunities to involve students engaged in teacher training.
• improve children's literacy skills and motivation for our world.
• provide head teachers with professional development and experience different leadership styles.
• ensure that all children, particularly those with special educational needs and from all cultures, are included and feel valued.