Mathematics

1,2 Buckle my shoes

Tue, 21/07/2009 - 23:45

Preschool-aged children have been involved with concrete materials and hands on activities in order to build pre-math skills.

1. Project summary
Summary: 

‘1, 2 buckle my shoes’ is a project based on early mathematics. Preschools from Poland, Malta, Scotland, Iceland, Spain, Italy, Romania, Lithuania and Canada, U.S.A, and England are participating in the project. A mathematical topic was planned for each month. Enumeration, comparing activities, adding, measures, space and position, shapes, comparisons, and classifications topics were carried out by the partners. Lesson plans were discussed and results of work exchanged at the end of each month. Different methodologies were observed and discussed. Young children learn best when they are allowed to construct a personal understanding based on experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences. A set of topics, ‘Maths around us’ was planned and the children explored ‘Maths and our Toys’, Maths in the shops’, ‘Maths at Christmas time’, ‘Maths in the streets’, ‘Maths in the kitchen’, ‘Maths in the garden’, Maths in the gym’ and ‘Maths and water’.

The children performed a series of hands-on mathematical activities. They prepared mathematical crafts, drawings and take digital photos and video clips to share with each other. They actively participated in the preparation of presentations of activities they want to share with their new friends.
Children were encouraged to invent and play games whilst they learnt to follow rules. 
Children played online games and acquired ICT skills.
Video conferencing were held where children shared their experiences, sang number rhymes and heard the numbers in partner’s different languages. 
To realize this vision the project team worked together to raise awareness of the importance of mathematics in early education, sharing sound pedagogical approaches to mathematical teaching and learning and developing essential resources to support high quality equitable mathematical experiences for all young children. The project team shared their expertise in ICT and new ICT programs were explored. Children joined in creating mathematical digital puzzles and games. A <a href=" http://moodlepp5.webhost.pl/moodle/index.php?lang=en_utf8 "target="_blank"> Moodle platform </a>
was created where games, puzzles and interactive books were prepared for the children to access. Different European cultures and languages were also introduced to the children. The young children involved have had their natural self focus expanded to be inclusive of others and started the process of developing the early concepts of belonging to a wider national and international community with rich and diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. The Wiki" created to publish and share the outcomes shows clear examples of the above but equally demonstrates through video and digital photos the confidence, motivation and early independent learning skills the children acquired. Children and staff in all partner schools have accessed and experienced an eclectic array of ICT, improving skill and experience levels exponentially as the project progressed. The shared team working of the staffs in all schools has been an enormous advantage in pedagogical advancement and staff development. The ICT developments in our early stage classrooms achieved through this collaborative eTwinning project shows a very high level of skill and experience for both children and staff.
 
2. Country (City / Region)
State: 
Malta
City: 
Fgura
3. Company/organization/institute presenting the project
Organization: 
St Thomas More College Fgura Primary
4. Type of organization
Select type: 
School
5. Project coordinator
Name and Surname: 
Marianne Schembri
E-Mail: 
miriam.schembri@gmail.com
6. Website
The website of the project: 
http://twinmath.wikispaces.com/
7. Please select the category in which you candidate your project
Youth Education Project. Select Project Users by age: 
Up to 10 years
Helping youth step in the job market: 
NOT Helping youth step in the job market
Creativity and Social Innovation: 
NOT in Creativity and Social Innovation
8. How long has your project been running?
From: 
17/09/2007
9. Targets and Elements of Innovation
Please explain the targets and the background of your project: 

 

 
Aims
Children will master pre-math skills
Children will foster essential skills like critical thinking, observation, problem-solving, and communication.
Children from partner schools will motivate each other.
Logical thinking skills will be encouraged
Good mathematical experiences will be provided
Pedagogical issues will be exchanged
Children will develop their skills in ICT
Children will become aware of different European cultures and languages.
Children will have fun!
 
What does it try to achieve and how: 

 

The project encourages innovation in pedagocical methods and materials. The teachers explore international methodologies. A bank of mathematical resources is created which is available to all interested teachers through our wiki. Learning is enjoyable and successful, personal and something which the children can identify. Children and staff from the different schools have highly motivated each other. Along with mathematicals, Ict is central to our project. The children are introduced and have accessed different tools and equipment. Self esteem and personal development was achieved with the use of video cameras and digital photos.
Which opportunities/problems does it address to: 

 

The partner schools has got pupils from different races, cultures and religions. There are different social classes. Through this project we can reach the parents by motivating them. They can also use the ICT resources on our moodle with their children at home.
We also strive for our students to learn in a pleasant, enjoyable and safe school environment and develop holistically the full potential of each and every child. Working with a European dimension we will get better results through sharing pedagogical issues and methodologies. Children as well as the pedagogical staff will be more motivated. All the students and partners will be exposed to different European languages and cultures. The level of ICT skills will rise in all partner schools
 
 
Please explain what is unique or special in your project: 

 

The pedagogical issue was a special point in our project.
The schools contributed to the structure that situated their curriculum. Each school addresses the outcomes differently. They were flexible to adapt the topics to their national curriculum. We got ideas from all over Europe. We found out that we all think in the same way. If one enters our wiki one can try our work examples and practices. It is like a teacher training course for international schools.
Another special and unique point was the ICT skills the children and teachers included acquired. Teachers shared ICT skills and tools. Tutorials on Web2.0 tools which can be found on our moodle platform were prepared and shared by the teachers. The teachers were enthusiastic and motivated each other in trying out new tools. A special section on our moodle platform is called ‘Time for Children’ were games, jigsaw puzzles, quizzes and interactive books were prepared with the children’s participation. In order to comply with internet safety, assessors have to register to enter the moodle platform. Online games were followed up with hands on activities. 
 
10. Results
Describe the results of your project as per today: 

 

A wiki  http://twinmath.wikispaces.com/ with all our results can be accessed. This is a bank of resources which can be used by other teachers and parents.
 
The children have enjoyed innovative and creative mathematical activities. Learning was enjoyable and successful.
Thinking skills were encouraged. Children fostered skills like critical thinking, observation, problem-solving and communications.
The project has encouraged innovations in pedagogical methods and materials.
The partnership has facilitated communications between different countries.
The children have acquired Ict skills through the use of online games prepared by the teachers.
Parents were encouraged to access the wiki and use  <a href=" http://moodlepp5.webhost.pl/moodle/index.php?lang=en_utf8 "target="_blank"> the moodle </a> with their children.
How has it improved the quality of educational and/or training services: 

 

The pedagogical exchanges with other European teachers have reinforced the variety of approach, quality and creativity of all the teaching staff involved. Staff motivation is high and the professional development through the exchange of ideas has added a quality dimension to all the classrooms involved. The children have engaged with others through their shared activities and the complex concepts of understanding similarity while celebrating difference have been initiated. The young children involved have had their natural self focus expanded to be inclusive of others.
Engaging in curriculum development with our partner schools across Europe opened new exciting possibilities in delivery of key curriculum objectives in many areas within and out with mathematics. Engagement in this eTwinning project with many European partners provided opportunities for cultural understanding, citizenship, language development, art and craft, technology and enterprise education all within the context of international education.
 
How does it promote the use of ICT for the educational and cultural development by professionals, children and youth: 

 

Children and staff in all partner schools have accessed and experienced an eclectic array of ICT, improving skill and experience levels exponentially as the project progressed. Specifically in all partnership schools these include internet explorer and search engines such as Google, presentation software including Power Point and PhotoStory3, communication tools including email, digital photography and digital video, interactive online games, Smart Board interactive activities and etc. Staff communication, pedagogical exchanges and project development has been facilitated through email and Wikis and pedagogical exemplars using video and presentation tools. Staff development in the use of ICT tools and also creative learning and teaching methodologies has been a significant and highly successful element within this project. Using pupil peer to peer support for the development of ICT skills and outcomes contextualized in team working between pupils has been a revelation and a transferable technique across the curriculum.
Describe how you measure (parameters) these results: 

 

We assess the children development and progress. We take feed back from parents, children and other teachers.
11. Sustainability
What is the full duration of your project: 
From 1 to 3 years
12. Transferability
Has your project been replicated/adapted elsewhere: 
Yes
Specify: 

 

Some of the schools have continued the project by applying for a Lifelong learning Comenius grant. It has also been presented to other European pre-primary teachers at an eTwinning Pedagogical development workshop in Warsaw. It is used in our countries as an example of best practice of an eTwinning project.
What lessons can others learn from your project: 

 

Maths can be fun and enjoyable to the children.
Maths can be creative and innovative.
Practical activities can be copied.
Ict skills can be taught to young children of 3 to 6 years old.
Tutorials on ict tools can be accessed on our
 <a href=" http://moodlepp5.webhost.pl/moodle/index.php?lang=en_utf8 "target="_blank"> Moodle platform. </a>
 
We are available to help others starting or working on similar projects: 
We are available to help others starting or working on similar projects.
13. Background information
Background: 

 

This is an etwinning project. Partners from Malta and Scotland started working on eTwinning projects in 2005 whilst partners from Poland and Spain had been working on other eTwinning projects. Malta and Poland joined together and invited the other partners to continue the partnership. They worked together on another project. Afterwards Malta and Poland started this project and invited past partners and new partners to have a wide range of schools from all over Europe.
Future plans and wish list: 

 

Comenius project will continue for another year. Alongside maths and Ict skills, traditions have been added as topics.
We are planning a new project for the coming year and we will continue with the partnership. We enjoy working in the eTwinning sphere as we have developed professionally and acquired a lot of ict skills. We would like to try out more web 2.0 tools and their use in pre-primary classes.

 

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My Town in Numbers

Tue, 21/07/2009 - 16:37

1. Project summary
Summary: 

The project work was clearly planned from the very beginning. All the partner teams had the same tasks within the project. After comparing the curriculum, we decided on the groups to involve in the project. The first materials were presentations of our towns, schools, teams, including historical aspects of our places. The second one was the contest for the blog. Students created the logo proposals, either drawn by themselves, or using specialized sites or software. The winning logos of the counties competed among in the final phase and the Czech proposal won. Then, we all started proposing Mathematical tasks for our partners, in the order of our schools. As the other teams gave the solution, the proposing team would confirm the correctness, we discussed and compared them both among teachers and n class. December was a special month, all our students created Christmas cards, videos and carols for the other teams.The communication among teachers was constant, both in the blog and by email. The pupils also used the forum. The webpage was created by the Romanian team, with the contribution of all the partners. The students' work was constant, both at proposing tasks and at solving them. They could also use the TwinSpace and many ICT tools, even some web 2.0 tools.

2. Country (City / Region)
State: 
Romania
City: 
Bucharest
3. Company/organization/institute presenting the project
Organization: 
School no. 92
4. Type of organization
Select type: 
School
5. Project coordinator
Name and Surname: 
Irina Vasilescu
E-Mail: 
ivasil63@yahoo.com
6. Website
The website of the project: 
http://irina.sorinvasilescu.ro
7. Please select the category in which you candidate your project
Youth Education Project. Select Project Users by age: 
Up to 15 years
Helping youth step in the job market: 
NOT Helping youth step in the job market
Creativity and Social Innovation: 
Creativity and Social Innovation
8. How long has your project been running?
From: 
17/09/2008
9. Targets and Elements of Innovation
Please explain the targets and the background of your project: 

The aim of the project in terms of educational activity is to compare how the students would react to this new approach, and maybe to start similar projects in the future. It will also hopefully be a way to diversify our teaching techniques, to bring to life the ideas of constructivist instruction, to use ICT to describe our experiences, as well as for reporting and communication, a way of sharing results and students ideas, to compare our work environment, the different education systems, the curriculum etc..

What does it try to achieve and how: 

The project tried to connect the Maths curriculum to out every-day reality, in order to make Maths a more learner-friendly and less abstract subject. Furthermore, we tried to give it a European dimension by learning as much as possoble about each others' environment and way of life, as well as our different way of teaching and learning Mathematics. The European dimension was mostly given by the comparison and sharing of our environment, as the tasks were mostly connected to our towns and schools. We also presented and compared our schools and our educational systems. The pupils learned a lot about their own place and about other countries and ways of life and they were very pleased both to share the particularities and to enhance the similarities, as well as to communicate with their partners in the TwinSpace forum.

Which opportunities/problems does it address to: 

Project-teaching and collaborative work are still teaching methods that we are trying to master. The connection to every-day reality gave the Mathematical tasks a  more real aspect and made it a more learner-friendly subject. The visibility of their work for the other teams was very challenging and rewarding for the pupils, as they felt they were doing more than the usual school work. Most of them are using the computer for creative purposes for the first time and they have learned a lot about presentations, photo editing, using the eTwinning tools as well as some Web 2.0 tools. They had never thought that Maths could also mean puzzles, animation, wordclouds, encrypted messages, and all sort of games.

Please explain what is unique or special in your project: 

Both for students and for teachers, the innovative side comes first of all from the cross-curricular aspect of this work and from using many kinds of tools, including media. Many of the tools were very easy to use and the pupils could use them themselves with no difficulty, such as: Photofunia, wordclouds, Dvolver for animation. They will be able to use them in other subjects next year, such as for foreign languages.
The most important aspect of the project was its interactivity, because of the main activity, consisting in proposing and solving problems, and due to the communication using the blog and forum. The fact that the problems were directly tied to our cities has created an atmosphere of mutual knowledge, while finding the solutions and comparing the results have given rise to a spirit of competition very stimulating for the students.
One of biggest qualities of this project has been motivation among the students. They have developed new skills, learned to see knowledge as a complex, as a result of more activities in various domains, as a cross-curricular activity.

10. Results
Describe the results of your project as per today: 

 

All the pupils could use the etwinning platform and its tools, as it is very reliable and does not require complicated knowledge, but most of the times they used it to navigate and communicate with the other teams. They could also communicate by email and look for information on the Internet, in the school’s computer room but also at home, as almost all of them have an Internet connection. It was a new and challenging way to use the computers for them, as they had mainly used it for chatting, games and web searching so far.  
      The project blog was a tool of communication between the teams, but also a space for the materials which could not be loaded on TwinSpace due to their format or size.
      An important role in the project’s visibility is played by its website. It was created using Microsoft Frontpage using the materials that have been turned to .pdf format. The site has pages with information about the project, presentations of our cities, schools and classes taking part in the project, the tasks submitted by each of the teams and the partners’ solutions, with Christmas cards, movies and Christmas carols, a link to the blog.
 
web-page: http://irina.sorinvasilescu.ro
blog: http://mytowninnumbers.blogspot.com/
public twinspace: http://my.twinspace.etwinning.net/mytowninnumbers?l=en

 

How does it fulfill the users’ needs: 

Most of the pupils have Internet connections at home, but they mostly use the computer for games and chatting, so they find the aspect of research and creativity very challenging. The main advantages of this project from the pupils’ point of view are: motivation, developing new skills, getting to see knowledge as a complex, as a result of more types of activities; the use of computers for research and in a creative way; the value of collaborative work; the development of their English language and communication abilities. As for the teachers, the benefits are: trying another approach to teaching, a more constructive and creative one, using the ICT as a tool for both creativity and communication.
     On the other hand, I improved my competence in the use of ICT tools and I was greatly helped by the participation to the eTwinning LearningLabs, namely in the Creative Use of Media, and I was given once again the opportunity to work in an interdisciplinary basis, in a more open and flexible way. It meant a great increase of the expertise and a new approach in teaching, a new methodology.

How many users interact with your project per month and what are the preferred forms of interaction: 

The students involved in the project were about 20-30 in each school, but the webpage was used as a dissemination way for other groups of students and teachers in our school.

How has it improved the quality of educational and/or training services: 

The project was perfectly integrated in the curriculum.

The most important aspect of the project was its interactivity, because of the main activity, consisting in proposing and solving problems, and due to the communication using the blog and forum. The fact that the problems were directly tied to our cities has created an atmosphere of mutual knowledge, while finding the solutions and comparing the results have given rise to a spirit of competition very stimulating for the students.
One of biggest qualities of this project has been motivation among the students. They have developed new skills, learned to see knowledge as a complex, as a result of more activities in various domains, as a cross-curricular activity.
Teachers tried a new approach on teaching, a more creative, constructive and flexible one, using the ICT as a tool for both creativity and communication. They have also used computers for research and in a creative way, got to value collaborative work and, last but not least, they developed their English language
How has it improved the participation of professionals, children, youth and other stakeholders: 

 
Both for students and for teachers, the innovative side comes first of all from the cross-curricular aspect of this work and from using many kinds of tools, including media. Many of the tools were very easy to use and the pupils could use them themselves with no difficulty, such as: Photofunia, wordclouds, Dvolver for animation. They will be able to use them in other subjects next year, such as for foreign languages. The pupils were very enthusiastic about it. This is due to two factors: seeing their own work on the Internet is very rewarding, and secondly, they enjoy this new approach to learning Mathematics and to using the computer. The hands-on, real aspect of the tasks was very motivating too, as well as the interactivity of the project. They have improved their English level and learned to use paper and on-line dictionaries. They enjoyed collaborative work, both in the Romanian team and with their foreign partners. Their cultural horizon broadened considerably.

How does it promote the use of ICT for the educational and cultural development by professionals, children and youth: 

We have used a multitude of ICT tools. The pupils involved in this project were 6th graders (12-13 years old), so I tried to adapt both the work and the way to display the results to their age-group. Therefore, the use of ICT and the tasks had to fit their degree of expertise. That is why I used a lot of tools, besides the TwinSpace, including a blog, a web page and Web 2.0 tools    In addition to presentations in PowerPoint, I have used other types of materials designed to make work tasks more attractive to students. Thus, we have created for them slide-shows, puzzles representing well-known monuments in Bucharest, animations to present solutions of problems, word clouds of the texts of theorems. The latter were easily created by the students, as the applications are very easy to use.  Students have also created the logo proposals, either drawn by themselves, or using specialized sites or software. The webpage is a very good way to display our work and get feedback.

Describe how you measure (parameters) these results: 

By observing their involvment and assessing the quality and degree of the task solving.

11. Sustainability
What is the full duration of your project: 
From 1 to 3 years
12. Transferability
What lessons can others learn from your project: 

The materials, especially those in the web-site and the blog are visible for everyone. The other students and teachers in our school and even the parents can be aware of our work and give us feed-back. Many of them can be used in the following years as auxiliaries for teaching certain topics.  We involved our Physics teacher in some of our activities and therefore we experienced our first trans-curricular classes. On the other hand, the other teachers in the department were also informed and very interested in our tasks.

We are available to help others starting or working on similar projects: 
We are available to help others starting or working on similar projects.
13. Background information
Barriers: 

The main barrier consisted in the the need to work mainly outside the timetable, due to the very stuffed curriculum, in all our schools. Besides that, we had difficulties in using more computers and a reliable Internet connection at school.

Solutions: 

We worked extra time, in our free time, and made efforts to adapt to the material resources at school.

Future plans and wish list: 

To go on with this type of collaboration during the following years.

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