" Teaching tolerance, diversity and active citizenship in the 21st cen

Politecnico De Santarem, Portugal

An ETAL Erasmus+ training course , jUNE 2022

Presentation

" Teaching tolerance, diversity and active citizenship in the 21st century classroom"

We have realised our fears and expectations about the course and not only .. Also, we understood that we have to learn to be more tolerant and value diversity to learn from each other and build stronger and more dynamic societies. To do so, teachers and students need tools and training. Globalization and migration have brought together people from different ethnic origins , religions, backgrounds, beliefs, traditions and languages. I have considered my students` objectives: to believe and respect human rights, to value every member of the society as a human being and to be actively involved in the community, are just few of them. All in all, our course modules include: diversity, human rights and active citizenship.

DAY 1

Today, we worked on formal, non-formal and informal education: characteristics, similarities and differences. We agreed that formal education is usually less creative, teacher oriented, rather monotonous, exams oriented , less effective , with a well planned syllabus and limited teaching of lufe skills.We also agreed that non firmal education is usually based on satisfaction, fun, intrinsuc motivation , freedom of choice and observation. On the other hand, informal education involves caring teachers, an informal curriculum, and it is usually spontaneous, highly motivating and essential to life-long learning . We also practiced several non-formal highly interesting evaluation techniques. We were introduced to the human rights module and experienced a few relevant team building activities and games. Finally, we stepped in the shoes of students and participated in a training session from the human rights module followed by the course daily evaluation.

DAY 2

Today,we were sent the digital teacher's manual and were introduced into its content , in detail. We were also introduced into the "Diversity and Social Inclusion" module , its energizers and objectives. We learned how to recognize the manifestation of social exclusion behavior. We also learned how to create a culture of zero tolerance to social exclusion as a form of bullying in the school environment. Finally, we discussed about one`s responsibility in fighling social exclusion. We stepped in the shoes of students and participated in a training session from the FSI module ,in which we were asked to participate in sketses ,concerning either social inclusion or social exclusion . Additionally, we learned how to teach our students about how to reflect, using Bonno`s 6 thinking hats and we were introduced to several relaxation techniques which are related to diversity. All in all, we understood that thinking about past and future events and decisions can be frustrating and that life is complex ,therefore we should always distinguish between the different aspects of a decision, in order to see the real picture before we take action.

DAY 3

Today, we went on an educational day trip to an inclusive public Portuguese School: Agrupamento de Escolas Cidade do Entroncamento AECE (in the town of Entroncamento) where there we were welcomed by the school principal of AECE or Escolá Básica da Zona Verde . We discussed practical activities making use of the training resources in the Teachers’ Toolkit for teaching Human rights, Diversity and Active Citizenship by the teachers from the school. We realised that for Portugal, inclusive education is for all students. This means that there is no distinction between student groups and no labelling of students. Instead, students’ individual needs are considered and supported by various measures in schools. Portugal has had in place laws envisioning the provision of education for all students, without exception, in their local mainstream school. Special schools are being transformed into resource centres for inclusion, supporting their former students, now placed in mainstream schools.

DAY 4...

Today, has been a highly busy training course day. It kicked off by visiting the Escola Superior de Educacao STEAM Labs and experience STEAM, in practice. We were first presented with and next practiced creative STEM activities, for students. We were then presented with the Science and Math creative lab targets: interdisciplinary teaching practices, innovative learning environments and collaboration, problem and project based learning, robotics and programming. We were also shown the lab digital resources ,research outcomes and sustainability activities. A presentaion of the spaces which are related to the lab projects ,along with practice with a variety of interactive space STEM activities,followed. We were later introduced with the " Identity and Active Citizenship" module. Afterwards, we stepped in the shoes of students and participated in three training sessions, from that module. We put special emphasis on the European values ,a few of which we agreed that should be : respect for human dignity, freedom, peace, tolerance, solidarity, equality, democracy, rule of law, respect of human rights and minorities. We also discussed life values which should be taught at home and tried several group bonding activities and activities about people in need . A group discussion followed related to the " Identity and Active Citizenship " module. We were finally asked to share ideas and practical solutions about suggested social problems of people in need.

DAY 5

The day started with a reference to the need to make use of the training and NFE tools in everyday teaching and learning process- discussion, sharing ideas. Then, the participants were presented with the eTwinning platform and the opportunities for schools. A practical session followed about registering on the platform and planning collaborative projects. There was a focus on networking and future collaboration . We continued with a discussion about prospective partnerships and an Erasmus+, KA1 and KA2 projects fair ended the first part of the day . Later, we went to Sintra and Quinta da Regaleira on a cultural visit, getting to know Portugal and the roots of the tolerance and open-mindedness of Portuguese people. Finally, we received our Certificates and shared our final evaluation of the project. The day ended with a short trip to Lisbon .

DAY 6 ...

HIGHLIGHTS

THANK YOU, ETALarissa!