Project “Student Transition in Education Paths” has the important goal to facilitate students’ transition from kindergartens to primary schools of the eight partner countries. Since this particular transition is considered the most critical of all transitions in a child’s life, all partners believe that it should be dealt with the appropriate significance and seriousness. It is a common view among all partnership members that a successful transition to primary schools guarantees academic success, personal and social development and eventually future prosperity for all pupils. It is the first time that this topic has preoccupied a partnership in the past few years. The main aim of this consortium to collect transition practises from various countries, compare them and select the best practices to disseminate in every country. This aim will be achieved if we involve pre-primary and primary schools of both typical and special needs education and promote cooperation between kindergartens and primary schools via common actions, events and activities, organize and run various interesting and motivating actions pupils as well as engage possible participants in our actions, such as local stakeholders, psychologists, parents’ associations, school counsellors and teachers.The project will be carried out via six learning/teaching/training activities and three transnational project meetings in the eight partner countries. The participants in these activities will be teachers/educators who work in these organizations and are interested in the issue of transition. The participants will be selected according to their motivation, interest in the topic and free will, considering at the same time their language and presentation skills. 16 teachers/educators will take part in five of the six LTT activities and 14 teachers/educators in the last LTT activity, whereas two people from each organization/school will participate in the transnational project meetings. During training activities teachers will take part in tasks that will give them the opportunity to experience teaching in other countries, share and exchange their ideas with European colleagues and be informed about the education systems in partner- countries. They will also improve their ICT and English language skills and develop an understanding and tolerance towards their foreign colleagues’ culture.Students will be involved in interesting and original activities, learn how to adjust to a new educational environment and help other pupils adjust to a new educational environment, establish a positive start in the new school, and raise their interest to other countries, cultures, customs and traditions. The project will have as a result a plurilinguistic book on transition practices, a website and a Facebook page of the project, an e-Twinning project, and questionnaires to investigate transition practices among the partner countries. Interviews with teachers from all partner countries will be organised as well as a booklet about children’s skills and a plurilingual e-book with fairy tales from all partner countries. The impact of the implementation of the project is that pupils will be involved in various activities along with other students and teachers, take part in transition practices from other countries and as a result they will have a smoother transition from preschool to primary school and will be guaranteed personal development and a future academic success.At the same time teachers will gain new experience by observing other teachers’ methods and share their knowledge by teaching their methods to other teachers, improve their linguistic and digital skills and learn a lot about other cultures.The organizations involved will have the opportunity to develop links with European schools, understand diversity of European cultures & languages, develop through international collaboration and be willing to open up to & appreciate new ideas coming from other European countries. Finally parents will be guided in how to actively help their children adapt more smoothly in primary schools and local authorities will enhance their cultural competence and widen their horizons and develop more tolerance and understanding for other cultures. In the long run, the project’s aim to develop, exchange and share new teaching methods which will facilitate the transition of pupils from kindergartens to primary schools will promote the development of pupils’ personality in a holistic way. The quality of education will be improved, equal opportunities for all students will be provided and the on-going challenges faced by teachers, students, schools and European organizations at national and European level will be addressed.

Multiliteracy Education in Europe generally aims to ensure that young people become competent in using multimodal representations of language capable of communicating and contributing to the development of social futures and well-being of the society in which they live in.Multiliteracy is the ability to identify, interpret, create, and communicate meaning across a variety of visual, oral, corporal, musical and alphabetical forms of communication. Beyond a linguistic notion of literacy, Multiliteracy involves an awareness of the social, economic and wider cultural factors that frame communication. Multiliteracy aims to make classroom teaching more inclusive of cultural, linguistic, communicative, and technological diverse. They advocate this so that students will be better prepared for a successful life in a globalized world.Multiliteracy Education has, in this context, a decisive role to play, as it can have a key role in creating a common and adequate response to the pressing challenges that respect fundamental European values, but also in building a more cohesive Europe.In the Project StoryLogicNet one step forward is taken towards the pedagogy of multiliteracies to support teachers and pupils as well as parents in negotiating complex and various discourses through multimodal texts constructed in the European contemporary multicultural and multilingual social context. A multiliteracy approach of creative language learning emerges from the cultural, linguistic, and technical experiences that learners bring into the classrooms and aims at the further development of a broad range and new forms of literacies.The goal of StoryLogicNet is to increase Multiliteracy Competences of children (8 to 12 yo) by developing, testing and making available to educators and parents, a new learning methodology based on online collaborative writing for communicating meaning via digital storytelling and multiliteracy for the 21st Century Creative Classroom.The project aimed specifically to:• Create an online collaborative tool for Multiliteracy education – StoryLogicNet Community - accessible in computers and mobile devices, to facilitate the process of co-creation of stories in formal, non-formal and informal learning contexts;• Create a toolkit – StoryLogicNet Toolkit – to facilitate the implementation of the new learning methodology based on the StoryLogicNet Community to develop Multiliteracy, with contents and exercises on how to create stories, how to stimulate the creativity of children to generate new stories;• Test the StoryLogicNet Community & Toolkit to get feedback from teachers, parents and children on the new learning methodology (impact on learning and ease of use);• Use the feedback from teachers, parents and children on the new learning methodology, and use the stories created by the children to validate and showcase this new approach;• Disseminate and exploit this new learning methodology for Multiliteracy.Throughout the project, about 500 children, teachers and other educators, and decision makers in education were involved in research activities, training events, pilot testing activities, in contests for children.Also, 70 schools and teachers have registered into the SLN Community, involved over 600 students and created more than 126 stories, in the last 4 months of the project.Several other project results were accessed and downloaded from the project website by close to 2.000 people.Furthermore, over 400.000 individuals have been targeted by the wide dissemination strategy set in place, comprised of social media, website, online educational communities (including eTwinning), project video, published articles, presentation conferences and other events, among other dissemination activities carried out by the project partnership at local, national and European levels.This initiative gathers the vast expertise of 5 partners from 4 different European countries, including a Regional Education Authority, 2 Primary and upper primary schools, a HEI and a private company active in education.•Advancis Business Services Lda (Portugal) - Coordinator: research company in the field of education and learning, content developer and certified training company•University of Western Macedonia (Greece): Higher Education Institution offering studies in the field of education•Inspectoratul Scolar Judetean Arad (Romania): public body that renders support to the schools in the County of Arad in Romania•Szkola Podstawowa nr 1 im. KEN (Poland): primary school located in the centre of Cracow, Poland•Scholé (Portugal): primary schools located in Matosinhos, Portugal

"Seeds of Tellers offers teachers tools based on oral literature (tales, myths and also nursery rhymes etc.) to help pupils master an autonomous, thoughtful and shared language, improve their cognitive faculties and facilitate the learning of reading and writing.FACTS19.7% of pupils in the EU had reading difficulties in 2015, compared to 17.8% in 2012 (PISA report). Only 4 Member States reached the reference level of less than 15%. The system has never reproduced social inequalities to such an extent, in the OECD particularly in France and Belgium. More and more children are entering kindergarten with delayed language skills and exposure to screens is making the situation worse. The lack of elaborate exchanges and vocabulary increases the gap between children according to their socio-cultural background very early on. However, success in learning is associated with mastery of speech, the foundation of all learning.For the sociologist B. Lahire, the mastery of the spoken word and degrees are the main social organisers: those who have learned to express themselves in public more often hold positions of responsibility.While 70% of professional speaking time is oral, this ratio is reversed at school: the written world dominates teaching practices. Oral expression in schools is very often directed from the pupil to the teacher, with the use of by heart learning and recitation. Oral presentations and examinations are prepared as if they were written documents. For the school, speech is born of writing. Today, the question of oral expression is resurfacing with new tests at the end of schooling. In Portugal, orality is emphasised, while in France and Italy a grand oral and a multidisciplinary interview are appearing.OBJECTIVES•To encourage self-confidence•To listen to and respect the word of others•To promote cooperation•To develop memory and vocabulary•To encourage the imagination•Discover and share the European oral cultural heritage•To fight against inequalities in learning which have increased during the health crisis.Training pupils to tell stories orally in class without a written support allows them to become emotionally involved, to experience pleasure and to pass it on in order to assert themselves as individuals and find their place in the group. Our credo: ""Listen better to speak better, speak better to think better; because when we think better, we write better.ACTIVITIESWe rely on oral literature, of which tales are a part of. Structured stories, from a common oral heritage, they offer a framework for reasoning, memory, imagination...Children's storytelling workshops have been held in schools in France, Portugal, Italy and Bulgaria.We have created www.seedsoftellers.eu, which gathers the 6 productions of the project (see results). Videos of adults telling stories have been made to inspire teachers.The resources are available in each language of the partnership as well as in English and meet accessibility and inclusion standards.TARGET GROUPSThrough the teachers we target students from kindergarten to 6th grade.PARTICIPATING ORGANISATIONS6 partners, 5 countries: 2 storytelling specialists (D'Une Parole à l'Autre and Grimm Sisters), 1 agency specialising in the creation of educational platforms (Les Apprimeurs), 1 organisation specialising in specific learning difficulties (Logopsycom) and 2 schools (AEPROSA, L. KARAVELOV)RESULTSO1-Pedagogical guide to set up oral storytelling workshops ""Storytelling at school to master speech"" (40 pages)O2-Multilingual library: more than 300 stories from oral literature to tell in classO3-Webradio: more than 110 audio recordings of students telling storiesO4-More than 20 videos of children and adults telling storiesO5-20 Educational kits linking the themes of the school curricula to the storiesO6-23 Pedagogical sheets to accompany teachers in the implementation of storytelling workshops in classUnder the aegis of the National Education and the City of Paris 14th, ""Storytelling Week"" enabled more than 120 teachers and 2500 students to participate in a storytelling circleFollowing this event, a project to train teachers in storytelling is planned. Financed by the French Ministry of Education, it concerns the Priority Education Network schools in Paris 14.Libraries, storytellers, teachers... spontaneously wish to contribute to the project, which we will run for at least 5 years.LONG-TERM BENEFITS•Fight against illiteracy, give a taste for learning•Reduce inequalities in learning•Increase listening, dialogue between individuals and cultures•Preserve and transmit European oral culture at school. To get to know traditions, peoples and the world better in order to prepare the future•To raise awareness in Europe of the importance of learning to master structured and autonomous speech."

The main aim of the project was the development of innovative teaching methods and strategies, to help teachers to deal with complex classroom realities, and foster inclusion and diversity. It was designed to support the integration of students from different cultural backgrounds, and with different language needs. It brought different communities together, to learn from each other; and combat discrimination, and promote understanding, between communities and groups. The project explored a different way of teaching history in schools, based in Narrative Inquiry. This is a groundbreaking model of learner-centred and enquiry-based education, which has been developed by Midland Actors Theatre for use in schools. It places an emphasis on individual stories and experiences, as a way of exploring wider trends and developments in history. There was a particular focus on the issue of migration, in terms of both the historical patterns of migration in Europe, and the experiences of migrant communities, and people’s individual stories and memories. The project has addressed a number of key questions: ‘How can we help young people to recognise the ways that migration has shaped the modern world? Can we develop new ways to teach history, to connect more with young people’s lives, and help them understand complex current realities? How can we build greater trust and understanding between communities – both within the school environment, and beyond?’ The project has placed an emphasis on raising awareness of the local community as a space which different communities call ‘home.’ Partners have carried out a range of activities and projects, which have encouraged young people to find out more about the places where they live; and which have also engaged people from the local area, brining people from different groups and communities together. In this way, over the course of the project, partner organisations have increasingly turned ‘outward,’ and taken on a new and leading role in the community, helping to foster a greater sense of community identity, and breaking down cultural and social barriers.The project has developed new strategies to enhance the participation and learning performance of disadvantaged learners, particularly young people from a migrant / refugee background; and to promote open and innovative practices and pedagogy in the digital era. There was a particular focus in the project on using different technologies in the classroom. Partners received training in digital storytelling, and introduced this method in the classroom. They also developed the innovative education application of other digital technologies including: Instagram; the creation of new ‘apps’; and the use of digital teaching resources.The project was led by Midland Actors Theatre and brought together: a UK secondary school, George Dixon Academy; two UK arts-in-education organisations, MAT and Kala Phool; an arts-in-education organisation in Italy, melting pro; a primary school in Italy, Istituto Comprensivo Simonetta Salacone (via Ferraironi); a primary school in Portugal, Projeto Schole; a middle school in Turkey, Mehmet Akif; and a university in Poland, Collegium Balticum.Each partner institution developed a number of schemes of work, using the Narrative Inquiry method, which were trialled in classrooms. A selection of these schemes have been published on the project website, breaking-down-barriers.org. The website includes other resources which have been produced through the project (as intellectual outputs), including a Guide to Narrative Inquiry; Schemes of Work; a Digital Storytelling Toolkit; together with a series of films featuring examples of the method in practice, as well as interviews with partners, and records of training sessions. Together, these materials will ensure the project has a lasting legacy, serving as model for other teachers and practitioners. The films we produced have also been compiled and issued as a dvd, for distribution at multiplier events. Partners have also developed resources in their own languages, including booklets and online publications. The Narrative Inquiry method has been embedded as a teaching method in partner organisations, and is being rolled out to other schools and institutions. We have also raised awareness of the project through national and international networks.

<< Background >>The ever-increasing use of technology in all aspects of modern life has made the youth to be dependent on online activities while interest in offline learning activities is lost. For students to engage in school subjects and develop related competencies, educators should provide them primary with the proper stimuli and secondary with supporting knowledge and skills (https://www.edutopia.org/st-college-career-stem-research). Considering how the whole education procedure was forced into distance learning in virtue of COVID-19, it is certain that skills, such as problem-solving, critical thinking and teamwork, are slowly being neglected (https://www.futurity.org/stem-education-equity-covid-19-2438882-2/), while subjects that require a hands-on approach are becoming less attractive (https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/how-pandemic-changing-stem-education). As a result, distance teaching is becoming less engaging and motivating, while thought-provoking experiential learning is becoming obsolete and antiquated.Teaching STEM usually involves hands-on work either from the educator’s side while showcasing experiments, or from the student’s side while experimenting. With the global pandemic forcing distance learning, subjects of STEM lost the hands-on or experiential teaching side, and are currently losing students’ participation and engagement, especially at young ages (https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/how-pandemic-changing-stem-education), when children require additional activity and stimulation. In addition, the lack of direct support from a tutor along with students’ feelings of isolation and technological gaps (https://www.tutordoctor.com/blog/2015/may/problems-and-solutions-for-distance-learning/) have endangered STEM education to lose its uniqueness of building things.SCRAPY wants to address the following target groups:Direct:- Teachers/educators of STEM subjects in secondary education to whom SCRAPY aims to educate on digital education practices (experiential learning, game-based learning) in order to teach STEM-related lessons in an engaging and stimulating fashion either in a classroom environment or via distance learning.- Students (8-14 years of age) to whom SCRAPY aims to educate on physical computing, programming and simple DIY electronics in order to foster STEM and increase their interest in related fields.Indirect:- Parents, educational community (trainers/academic staff), who can use the hardware and software to offer informal education to their children/students.- Policymakers, ministries of education and academic bodies, who can take into consideration initiatives such as SCRAPY when designing new education policies and frameworks.<< Objectives >>The project SCRAPY has as primary objective to strengthen educators' competencies for distance STEM learning by offering a state-of-the-art solution of custom-made hardware and software in order to teach young students physical computing, programming and DIY electronics development.In terms of specific objectives, we can identify the following:- Providing educators with a hands-on experiential approach to physical computing and programming which is engaging for young children without necessarily increasing screen time.- Developing an effective educational package that integrates STEM subjects and can be utilised in either a classroom environment or through distance learning.- Strengthening educators' capacity to offer engaging and stimulating lessons to their students by using digital tools and technologies.- Incorporating gamification and experiential learning in the teaching procedure of STEM-related and other subjects.- Creating a community of practice for educators and learners, through a virtual academy, which ensures continuity and further development of project outcomes, as well as promotes collaboration and constructive discussions.- Creating evidence-based policy and research recommendations for the use of hands-on educational play in primary and secondary education curricula.- Reinforcing the ability of educational institutions to provide high quality, inclusive digital education.<< Implementation >>First of all, the partnership comprises an engineering graduate school, a primary school, two STEM education centres, a company offering bespoke software development services and game-based training and a technical consultancy designing and developing hands-on training tools. Through the cooperation of such a diverse and experienced consortium and in order to achieve the project objectives, the following activities will take place:- Design and develop an educator's manual for using the SCRAPY KIT to teach students physical computing, programming, circuit basics, physical blocks and hands-on constructions;- Elaborate a glossary, explaining terms used in STEM, physical computing, programming, electronics, engineering, etc;- Design and develop the SCRAPY KIT powered by a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller, complemented by custom-made sensors and electronics to simulate and experiment on physical computing principles;- Test the educator's manual and kit with educators from the educational organisations of the partnership;- Design lesson plans in support of the educator's manual to build kits and use electronics and peripherals in an educational hands-on play approach;- Design and develop an online drag & drop coding platform in order to program the provided hardware by following simple programming scripts;- Test, validate and finalise the SCRAPY tools and resources with the direct target group through piloting activities organised in partners' countries.- Support the final outcomes through a dedicated virtual space (SCRAPY Academy) providing access to all project results and infrastructure for supporting the growth of a community of adopters/practitioners/enthusiasts.An iterative methodology will be followed: three versions of the results are produced, one in each iteration. After each iteration, the results are tested/validated and based on the conclusions the next iteration is planned and executed.In addition, the project foresees the organisation of three transnational project meetings in partner countries, a learning/teaching/training activity as well as the organisation and execution of four multiplier events aiming at the promotion of the project outcomes and finally, another two multiplier events focused on the sustainability of the project and exploitation of project results.<< Results >>The project SCRAPY will develop educational content, a drag & drop coding platform and a do-it-yourself electronics kit to enhance distance STEM teaching and develop competencies of educators in delivering highly motivating and engaging lesson related to science, engineering, technology and mathematics. Educators will learn how to build and configure the electronics kit, how to utilise the software and how to deliver the lesson plans to their students in either a classroom setting or via distance learning. Ultimately, educators by using the project outcomes will be able to arouse students’ interest and increase their motivation to learn physical computing and programming.Expected outcomes comprise the following:- The SCRAPY KIT comprising of a Raspberry Pi Pico, custom-made sensors and electronics, and other necessary peripherals.- The SCRAPY Coder, an online drag & drop coding platform based on Google Blockly to program the hardware.- The SCRAPY Guide containing detailed instructions on how to use the suggested hardware and software along with lesson plans to implement.- The SCRAPY Academy, an online space where educators, students and STEM stakeholders in general, can meet online, discuss, showcase their projects, build synergies, access and further develop the project results.