Comenius 1.3 School Development Project
(2005 / 2008)
"Evaluation: an important step
to quality improvement in education"
"Valutazione: un passo importante
per migliorare la qualità dell’istruzione"
The project aims at understanding and evaluating strengths and weaknesses of different schools in order to optimize teaching/ learning methods; by comparing them, enhance the former and find a solution to the latter, so as to raise students’ performance, motivation, our European identity - against drop out.
The research, with questionnaires and analysis of data, monitoring and comparing lessons, thinking and discussing, was focused on students. It has developed a previous work and has been used for interacting positively with the various school components, enriching them with new cultural points of view, better language, technical and management competence, while making our work more pleasant, though also pointing out some serious problems.
Easily sustainable and improvable: few tools are needed –ICT and the scientific approach ( explore/ analyze / plan / evaluate) – with some good will and creativity, teachers’ necessary qualities.
The project, with problems met and solved, has been a “ workshop” of formation for all its participants on both sides – human and professional. The active involvement of students has seen a growing rise of interest.
The resulting data -collected and processed - have allowed us to communicate more intensively with our classes; each step has been taken with them so that the progress made has been shared.
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Partnership
1. ITCG “Enrico Mattei”,Sardinia,Italy: Cordinator http://www.itcgmattei.it/
http://comeniusmattei.blogspot.com/ http://www.ejournal.fi/mattei1/ http://www.ejournal.fi/mattei2/
Coordinator/Contact Person: mldessi@tiscali.it
2. Veikkolan Koulu, Finland: partner for over 3 years- http://comeniusfinland.blogspot.com/
3. I.E.S. Los Cardones ,Tenerife, Spain: partner for 2 years
www.iesloscardones.es ttp://comeniustenerife.blogspot.com/
4. Escola Profissional e Tecnologica Vale Do Ave, Portugal (partner for 2 years)
http://www.forave.pt/novo/ http://comeniusforave.blogspot.com
5.The Bradbourne School, UK, only 1° year
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Main Aims for students and teachers
1. Understanding students’ and teachers’ strengths and weaknesses in order to raise their performance.
2. Teaching students to reflect on the learning process and to make decisions.
3. Assessing parents’ perception of the educational process and using data in a creative way.
4. Elaborating new materials and methods to improve communication and management of human/material resources, as well as to increase skills and competences.
5. Adjusting school to the changing demands of European society.
6. Fighting drop out.
7. Increasing the use and knowledge of ICT tools;
8. Increasing awareness of responsibility for the future and then learning how to cooperate in near and distant groups.
A few notes on results from teachers’ monitoring
DIFFERENCES AMONG SCHOOL SYSTEMS
- Length of the lesson (e.g. in Finland always of 45 minutes, so that it is easier to keep the class’s attention lively)
- Weekly timetable (often modular and not the same every week all year round)
- Tools/facilities available (in the classroom - FI always various blackboards / maps / a computer…)
- Teachers’ salary ( different and corresponding to a different workload)
- Different forms of support for weaker students.
We have observed all these elements with great interest, and the students have done the same, during the meetings. Below, 3 pictures of our monitoring: FI, PT, UK; here the room is typically equipped for the subject, like in FI – the students go to the teacher - who always has the most suitable tools nearby – and not viceversa. 
Conclusions: Everywhere teachers are autonomous and free to work according to their professional competence, differing only for individual qualities – some favour sharing/cooperating, others are more independent.
We have not noticed any significant differences apart from communication styles, common to students – really remarkable:
In the cold north – very reserved
In the other schools – very open.
The greatest difference is in the structure – in addition to the different respect for rules by everybody, representing a different cultural background of society, e.g. meritocracy, evident not so much in teachers’ evaluating choices, as in the nation’s school structure. In fact in Finland students may be compelled to repeat the grade, like in Italy, but they are more motivated in getting better results enabling them to enter schools which may be demanding with the applicants. The same in UK.
And schools periodically assess their users’ satisfaction level: in Finland. In UK, moreover, we happened to visit the school during an inspection by OFSTED ( http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/ : The Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) is the non-ministerial government department of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England -"HMCI" )
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Activities
Here below the sample figures and the length of the research, which had started 2 years before.
1st year ‘05/’06:
- Students’ Survey processed and commented by students and teachers: we developed the survey –which at the time was already 2 years old: comments with the students were then published on the e-journal.
- Comparison of different systems in 5 meetings (monitoring lessons, debates, in FI/UK/IT);
- Short parents’ survey (IT);
- Students’ initiatives were encouraged: the Sardinians visit Veikkola; the Finnish arrange –during the school year – a trip to Sardinia of 23 students!
This the page on EST http://est.indire.it/eu/details_prj.php?id_proj=381090728&curr_db=IT
Here below a poster about this happy experience
2nd year ‘06/’07
- Development of students’survey and work plan for 4 schools based on previous results; This the proposal accepted by partners,( in Italian and English):
http://est.indire.it/upload/06-ITA01-S2C03-00204-2-prod-013.doc - Teaching units on a shared theme for comparative aims (“gender equality”) and monitoring lessons during 4 meetings
- During the meetings, also students present their realities and units in ppt and written docs
This the EST page http://est.indire.it/eu/details_prj.php?id_proj=381099237&curr_db=IT
Other 2 posters.
3rd year ‘07/’08
- Analysis of students’ data for work plan: to find a solution to weak points and make school life more pleasant. This the proposal of work – in EN.
http://est.indire.it/upload/07-ITA01-CO06-01495-3-prod-003.pdf - Creation of units useful to exploit those topics by means of questionnaires, discussion, data processing with classwork and ICT, exhibitions and blogs: enthusiasm, in progress and final, shows they were successful!
- 3 meetings.
This the EST ref page for the 3rd year
http://est.indire.it/eu/details_prj.php?id_proj=381804706&curr_db=IT
Products
Ppt presentations, videos, posters, reports, , music exhibitions, questionnaires/ data/ conclusions, articles, final analysis of data from this and other projects Available on EST pages – see above – and:
two e-journals : http://www.ejournal.fi/mattei1/ http://www.ejournal.fi/mattei2/
& 4 blogs, 1 per partner school– created in the 3rd year:
http://comeniusmattei.blogspot.com/
http://comeniusfinland.blogspot.com/
http://www.comeniustenerife.blogspot.com/ http://comeniusforave.blogspot.com/
Evaluation
Evaluation has been constant, considering the type of project, and carried out with work planning, exchanges and meetings, questionnaires and debates.
These the results on the 3 years: a complex work, apparently a bit broken, but substantially coherent, deliberately linked with experiences inside Mattei (IT) and others on the Net. Aimed at interesting –even if difficult – objectives and always anchored to reality. Also with partners: lost many, for the different choices by the Agencies, then lost a school (UK), but acquired 2 new nations and new teachers.
The partners have expressed enthusiasm for the development of he project which has enabled each of us
- To enhance and exploit resources in: English and ICT competence / structures/ good initiatives / hospitality / imagination/ critical sense / creativity / reservedness / communication skills/ efficiency / bureaucracy/ cooperation/ enthusiasm /traditions/ good cooking/ landscapes/… culture.
- But also to become aware of one’s weaknesses - and try to solve them.
Dissemination
With various means: Daily dissemination at school, with staff and students; exhibitions of our material ( posters / pictures / powerpoints), music and fashion exhibitions during international and local meetings / reports / blogs, e-journals and links to websites / Press releases in local papers
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PLUS:- Distribution of roles and cooperation
- Use of ICT
- Students‘ participation / involvement
- Integration into the school curriculum
- Impact on local community
- Students‘ motivation
- Associated Partners
- Support to psychological objectives
- Additional effects
- INNOVATION
- Results and benefits for the partnership / Results and benefits beyond partnership
- IMPLEMENTATION and ACTIVITY MANAGEMENT
- SUSTAINABILITY
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