This international cooperation project between Tampere University Teacher Training School and the Cultural Heritage Art and Innovation in Education (CHAIN) Consortium aims to provide opportunities for children to understand their cultural background and that of the partner country through the medium of art while adopting innovative technologies both for the process of creating and presenting their work. By constructing joint art projects using innovative tools, sharing the process and the results online, and through student and staff mobilities, participants will learn common European values, heritage, and culture, as well as those characteristics of their own culture. They will practice their social, language learning, and ICT skills. Participated school teachers can develop their basic and transversal professional skills through job shadowing, teaching assignments, and language development. European lifelong learning and modernization of teaching will be the focal points of the professional development process.
Project priorities and objectives
European horizontal priorities: Common values, civic engagement, and participation
The focus will be on raising awareness of and understanding the European Union context, notably as regards the common EU values, the principles of unity and diversity, as well as their cultural identity, cultural awareness, and their social and historical heritage.
Educational objectives: developing key competence (communication in a foreign language, digital competence, social and civic competence, and cultural awareness and expressions), promoting a comprehensive approach to language learning and teaching, and modernizing teaching methods and approaches.
Project aims and topics
This international art project aims to
- to develop curiosity and understanding about other cultures through art
- Strengthen the cultural awareness and identity of the participant pupils: both their national culture and that of the other participant
- to promote the use of ICT in meaningful contexts for the development of communication skills
- to enable children and staff to develop their language skills
- to help children and staff to experience daily life in another country
- to promote equal opportunities, racial equality, and citizenship.
- to provide an opportunity for the staff to develop their professional skills in teaching and project planning
- Project topics:
- Creativity, arts, and culture
- European identity, citizenship, and values
- Strengthening the professional profile of teaching: new teaching methods and approaches
Project activities
Project 1 Myths and legends
Part 1 Greek and Finnish mythologies
Sharing our folk stories and getting to know a folk story by student activating game-method. Students rewrite the story in English and share it. Recognizing similarities and differences and the basic emotions that all people share. Making sustainable art of our mythical characters and the feelings they express. (masks on tree trunks, 2D or 3D from recycled materials). Mythical stories and works of art are shared through photos (e.g. timelapse) and videos.
Part 2 Stop motion animation on national myths
We exchange our folk stories and make stop-motion animations of them. Using foreign language based on their skills, for example, using text they made in part 1, keywords, and phrases to create communication between participants. Developing digital competence by using iPads to create and edit stop motions. Using greenscreen techniques to getting to know other countries typical landscapes. Developing cultural awareness and expression for participants own culture but also our common European cultural heritage.
