Creative and Original Development in Education

"<< Background >>Within the scope of small-scale partnerships, our project, ""Creative and Original Development in Education"" (CODE), aimed to support innovative learning and foster the creativity of young minds. Digital skills and materials were developed as part of the project. The traditional school environment was transformed into an innovative school environment. The development of our students' foreign language skills was supported. The project also facilitated the recognition of different cultures and their educational settings, enabling the transfer of best practices to our schools.We have met the need for an educational approach in our schools that focuses on product and innovation transfer. Our students' interdisciplinary thinking skills, technological literacy and three-dimensional thinking abilities have developed. Awareness of art and sports has been supported.<< Objectives >>We contributed to raising awareness of European citizenship through tolerance and respect for diversity. Our students enhanced their self-motivation and communication skills. With students possessing adequate digital skills, we supported the labor market. We increased interest in STEAM subjects among our students, especially female students. We fostered trust in science and technology. Activities were conducted to promote participation and align with the green and digital agenda.Our synergistic partnership, aimed at developing cross-skills, has shown that we are ready for the Europe of the future, with the awareness it has created not only in technology but also in innovative science teaching methods.<< Implementation >>During the project, four short-term international mobility activities were carried out with the themes 'Benefits of Science and Technology to Society,' 'How to Integrate Science and Technology with Everyday Life,' 'What to Do to Be an Active European Citizen,' and 'Technology Is a Perfect Tool.’We conducted training sessions on STEM, STEAM, coding, 3D design, robotics, MicroPython, digital art, and the 5E and 7E instructional models. In our institution the number of lessons of STEAM subjects is relatively low compared to the other partners although there is huge demand for it. By sharing and exchanging good practices the target groups received a lot of additional information including applications, teaching methods and digital content. During the cooperation with the transnational partners all participants learnt from the other. (See Annexes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)https://school-education.ec.europa.eu/tr/etwinning/projects/code-0/twinspace/pageshttps://codeteam.ebslmsd-carmo.pt/http://ss-otocac.skole.hr/https://semayazaral.meb.k12.trhttps://beri-tamasi.edu.huhttps://www.ebslmsd-carmo.pt<< Results >>We developed digital materials and transferred best practices for an innovative school environment. Our teachers became aware of new pedagogical practices. Interest among female students in STEAM subjects increased, and awareness of active European citizenship developed. During the project, we used digital tools such as Canva, Voki, Kahoot, Google Forms, and Drive. We designed the project logo and posters. Logos ensuring EU visibility were used on badges, posters, invitations, agendas, and certificates. Before each mobility, we held online meetings with teachers, families, and students. We created mailing groups and launched an eTwinning (ESEP) project, encouraging participation from both students and teachers. A project website was created to share our activities and school introductions. We actively used school websites, participants' Instagram and Facebook pages, and YouTube channels for sharing. Visits were organized to science and technology centers, museums, and energy production facilities. Additionally, we held seminars, conferences, roundtable discussions, fun games, activities to learn local languages, and presentations introducing the school and region."