<< Background >>Mathematics is one of the academic areas that have an important implication in everyday functioning. Without some mathematical knowledge, one would not know how to pay when grocery shopping or manage the monthly budget. However, mathematical skills are not skills an individual is born with but are rather skills that need to be learned. Calculation, like reading, is a culturally derived, specifically taught, slowly learned skill (Rapin, 2016). Due to the fact that math needs to be learned and the individual has to put some effort in order to acquire mathematical skills, many students have an aversion towards mathematics as a science. According to research, one of the general reasons for this aversion lies in the anxiety towards mathematics.But besides the mathematical deficits from an emotional origin, there is a group of children and adults who have cognitive difficulties with mathematics (Mammarella et al., 2015). This condition is called dyscalculia. Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty, which is manifested by problems in mathematics and the understanding of mathematical concepts. According to the British Dyslexia Association (2019), dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics. It is unexpected in relation to age, level of education, and experience and occurs across all ages and abilities. Students who face dyscalculia often struggle with understanding the concepts of bigger vs. smaller and mastering even the most basic mathematical operations.The prevalence of dyscalculia in the school population ranges from 3 – 6% (Shalev et al., 2000). But unlike the other specific learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and, ADHD, there has been very little research on dyscalculia. That is why the worldwide awareness is still very low and that causes parents and teachers not to be able to identify children with dyscalculia and to determine the exact difference between students experiencing dyscalculia and those who have math anxiety. Parents are often unfamiliar with the condition and think that their child’s math difficulties occur due to laziness.In-depth research in this area has shown that there is an evident lack of courses for parents for students with dyscalculia. Courses are usually oriented towards building skills in teachers predominantly for evaluation or working strategies with children with dyscalculia. Parents are usually uninformed, and do not have the skills to advice their children when needed. The initial target group are the parents of children with math difficulties. This platform and successive course will tender to their needs, knowledge and skills regarding this issues. The research done in the first part of the project (project result no. 1) will guide us in the process of creation of the content for the platform and it will also be a guide for all the policies related to the educational process of children with dyscalculia. The secondary group that will mostly benefit are the children with dyscalculia. These children will get double instruction - a regular instruction from teachers in schools and home-based instruction from their parents. Their educational needs will be met through an online course which will be self-paced and the parents can go through the course in their own time and place. The instructions placed on the platform and in the course will be created by experienced practitioners and experts in the field, and most importantly they will be available at all times.The development and use of the platform will improve the digital skills of all, aligned with the challenges set in the new century. In this way the project will meet the needs of the partnership as well.<< Objectives >>Due to all of the above, the main objective of the CALCULATE project is the creation of online courses intended for parents of children experiencing math difficulties. The need to educate parents about dyscalculia is evident and by creating the online courses their competencies will be improved with appropriate techniques and tools on how to help their children’s mathematical difficulties. Another project objective is a development of an interactive online platform where the course curriculum will be available. This way, besides being able to equip themselves with basic dyscalculia strategies, parents can learn other parents’ dyscalculia experiences and also share their own, as the platform will also give possibilities for blog following, blended learning and, forums. The platform will provide the exchange of best practices and experience of the project partners countries’ that currently exist.Other project objectives include:•Development of a platform for parents who have children with dyscalculia for online courses. •Creation of a handbook for identifying and teaching strategies for children with dyscalculia.•Development of dyscalculia policies for the educational institutions (policy paper).•Research conduction in order to be obtained the percentage representation of dyscalculia children in elementary schools (in order to make long-term strategies.Promoting and strengthening knowledge and acceptance of diversity in society.The project target group are the parents of children with dyscalculia, but the project results can be useful to all professionals in the field of education since all of the platform materials (tools) will be available all over Europe and shared on the Internet platforms for didactic materials (EPALE, School gateway, e-twinning, etc.)<< Implementation >>Three transnational meetings will be held including persons from the project management teams/administration and experts/researchers involved in the production of the project results. 1st kick-off meeting. The purpose and main objective of this meeting is an introduction of all partners, introduction of the GANTT chart for all upcoming project activities, explanation of the budget allocation, financial procedures and responsibilities. 2nd transnational meeting will be held in Italy in February 2023. This meeting will be held at the middle of the project activities and it will be closely related to the development of the online course and the successive platform. This meeting will also be related to discussions in the area of visibility of the project and further sustainability of the platform. 3rd meeting for sustainability and dissemination of project results. This meeting will be organized towards the end of the project activities, in Belgium, in December 2023. The three upcoming dissemination events will be discussed, as they are crucial for larger visibility of the project and of course for sharing all the knowledge and skills gained through this transnational collaboration. Three project results are planned within the framework of this project:1.Research: Dyscalculia or math anxiety;2.Online course-content for parents: Overcoming dyscalculia;3.Interactive platform with online courses for parents of children with dyscalculia.Three multiplier events are planned towards the end of the project:ME1 - Dyscalculia and math learning difficulties;ME2 - Overcoming dyscalculia;ME3 - Evidence based strategies for children with dyscalculia.Two LTTAs are necessary for the participants to gain the needed skills for production of the project results:1st Training: Innovative STEAM pedagogical tools for parents to teach math to children;2nd Training: Training of trainers (ToT).<< Results >>Tangible results: - Creation of curriculum for online courses for parents of children with dyscalculia; - Creation of interactive platform (e-learning) about dyscalculia approaches and working strategies; – Improvement of parents’ skills and capabilities for appropriate support of their children with dyscalculia; – Creation of handbook for dyscalculia identification and teaching strategies; – Drafting of dyscalculia education policies (policy paper); – Increased access to dyscalculia tools and materials; – Development of new dyscalculia approaches and methods; – Gain of valuable data about dyscalculia prevalence on elementary school level through research.Intangible results: - A more profound understanding of differences in mathematical skills acquisition and learning; - Raising awareness about dyscalculia and specific learning difficulties in general; - Increased motivation for learning in adults; - Increased interest in supporting other students with disabilities; - Increased support of parents with dyscalculic children.

"<< Objectives >>We will identify activities and tools to feed young people's desire, trust and will to create a more tolerant, cohesive and open society.We intend to encourage their search for achievable utopias through alternative and innovative methods of raising awareness, participation, imagination and co-creation.Alternative paths must go through observing local needs, critical thinking, creativity and a greater understanding of transforming an idea into an act and being active citizens of their community.<< Implementation >>In addition to the activities related to the creation of the results, project management, transnational meetings and multiplication events in each partner country, the project will focus on the testing phase, which will ensure the relevance and practical utility of the project results in the European youth sector, and on the training, where we will train the first young utopians how to develop their ideas and implement them into reality, so how to be active in their civic life.<< Results >>The partnership intends to create innovative tools and activities to talk to young people about democracy, participation, European citizenship, and to allow them to reflect on the main social and environmental problems that characterize our society. The results will be provided to ensure replicability and accessibility of the project, ensuring the usability of all the contents and the creation of a ""digital container"" that will allow networking and cooperation EU wide."

<< Objectives >>The Shared (Hi)stories project mainly aims at broadening the minds of secondary students in the EU with regards to cultural and historical heritage while perfecting their English skills. We want the students to start looking critically and from different angles at (hi)stories with cultural and historical contents that traditionally are told from a one-sided (national) perspective. We want them to be critical observers and create a strong EU awareness as well as the feeling of EU citizenship<< Implementation >>We will start by creating an informative booklet on cultural heritage, story telling and critical thinking. We will produce a collection of shared (hi)stories and place them on an interactive European map. After that, we will create a teacher training program for language teachers that want to learn how to use story telling and cultural heritage in their classes, which will be accompanied by a set of ready made lessons. Finally we will release a youtube channel with 24 shared (hi)stories<< Results >>With this project we expect to offer language teachers around Europe with new and innovative project based methods and lesson material for their language classes with which they will not only help their students to improve their linguistic skills through story telling, but also to foster critical thinking skills with regards to cultural and historical heritage and how these can shape their own EU awareness, shared values and sense of citizenship. We are all part of one European Shared (Hi)story

Dyslexia (specific impairment regarding reading/writing skills) is an increasing problem affecting children as well as adults (estimated prevalence 8-20%). The long-term effects from it are higher youth unemployment rates, functional illiteracy, and high rate of unfinished vocational trainings. According to the European Dyslexia Association, 8% of the population suffers from dyslexia, although some experts claim that the percentage reaches 20%, of which between 2% and 4% are seriously affected. Dyslexia is a functional illiteracy. According to UNESCO, the number of functional illiterates varies from 10% up to 30% in EU. Today, experts estimate that up to 25 million workers in Europe are affected by this problem. On the other hand, dyslexia in the adulthood means a lifetime of underachievement, frustration and often unemployment. Today is well known that the long-term effects of dyslexia on education and labor market are enormous, e.g. higher youth unemployment rates (12%). While this is the general situation of the problem, there is still no common frame of recognized curriculum in most of the EU countries. Experts believe that the problem may be more severe and less known in Bulgaria, Turkey, Romania and Greece, where the knowledge about methodologies to detect the problem is insufficient. Teachers and parents are often not able to pick up the symptoms that indicate dyslexia or other learning difficulties, which, consequently, are diagnosed very late, or are not diagnosed and as such. EUPALT was a successful EU project which approached this problem, covering different levels of education and developing training tools. The products developed in the frame of EUPALT include a country based self-assessment tool; an online resource center and an e-learning course. Target groups of EUPALT project are therapists and teachers working with people with dyslexia. The “Understand & Teach” project has built on the achievements of the EUPALT has added new simplified tests and a guide. While not so highly academic, through extensive research and qualitative questionnaires, the “Understand & Teach” has achieved a more accessible result, which is not aimed at professionals in the area of children with learning difficulties, but at teacher, educators, parents and students, who have or are in touch with people suffering from dyslexia. This greatly increases the number of direct and indirect beneficiaries of the project.The “Understand & Teach” project has accomplished several things during its course. First of all one of the main goals during the two year period was publicity and understanding of the issue. While not entire misunderstood in all EU and partner countries, many of the countries such as Bulgaria and Turkey still diagnose dyslexia as a disability and adapt to it as such. During the project we have managed to publicize and promote a different viewpoint on dyslexia, especially the lighter causes, which can easily be overcome by adaptive teaching and understanding in the classroom environment. The next result that the “Understand & Teach” has provided is an online resource, which provides easy to use guides and tests for self-testing. While not as accurate as professional scientific questionnaires, the tests posted can provide two different effects – either relief that the child/student is not affected by dyslexia or to warn of possible signs of dyslexia and point in the direction of a professional for further testing. Through the tests, another benefit is understanding what the condition of dyslexia comprises of and how it works and to a certain extent that it is by no way a disability in the conventional understanding of the word. Another result that “Understand & Teach” has provided is the creation of an accessible (translated in 6 languages) and easy to read guide to parents, teachers and people suffering from dyslexia. The guide provides practical advice on how to both understand the condition and adapt to it to achieve easier learning and less harmful effects for the future development of the student/child and just other people in general. The other results from the project are building up on and publicizing the EUPALT compendium of knowledge with even more sources, so that further academic research into the topic can be continued and developed. The project has also managed to attract the attention of several governmental institutions and a possible side effect which would further develop the cause, would be the continuous work and implementation of regulatory framework on the topic and unification of European support frameworks in schools for children/students with dyslexia.

"<< Background >>The project SIMPL4ALL intends to respond to the needs of the participating Organizations and, through them, to those of the main target group: young people, between 14 and 21 years old, with disabilities, learning difficulties and disadvantages, which prevent their full personal and professional fulfilment. The Consortium, committed in many ways to SOCIAL INCLUSION, is represented by 8 Partners from 6 different countries: Italy, Austria, Belgium, France, Slovenia and Spain.> THE PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS 'NEEDSThe emerging need is to enhance and make the VET system more attractive, transforming it from a ""second chance"" to a land of opportunities for all. The project carries out three main types of coordinated interventions : 1. Upskilling for teaching and support staff, with the use of more participatory methods and the enhancement of ""learning mediators"". SIMPL4ALL works on the new methods and tools that the European Agency for Special Educational Needs and Inclusive Education (EASNIE) outlined in the Position Paper on Inclusive Educational Systems for the training update of sector operators. 2. Stimulation of the use of digital, through open, accessible and inclusive ""user-centred"" resources, enhancing the potential of technologies for teaching/learning (trainers will be invited to use the SELFIE tool as a preliminary self-assessment) 3. Promotion of networking, locally with Services, Associations, Families, and internationally, through the sharing and exchange of protocols and best practices, to face educational challenges and the digital transition.> THE TARGET GROUPS NEEDSThere are two target groups: staff engaged in training and socio-educational activities and young people in the 14-21 age group. In the previous section, we pointed out the professionalization and training needs of the staff engaged in inclusive education. Conversely, the needs of young people at risk of exclusion and marginalization are the following: 1. the reduction of obstacles that prevent people from contributing with their resources and abilities to social and democratic life, in different community contexts: school, vocational training, labour market, peer group. 2. the diversity enhancement, because diversity has not to be stigmatized and ""trapped” in special categories or classes, but accepted. SIMPL4ALL, reversing the paradigm of SPECIAL EDUCATION, claims that not the needs, but the PEOPLE are SPECIAL. We are all SPECIAL, nobody excluded. Everyone has the right to simply satisfy the need to learn, interact and feel good, according to their own capabilities. The project SIMPL4ALL promotes the active participation of the young, both in the research for the production of the materials and the piloting. In particular, the focus groups with advocates lead to building resources that respond to the needs and requirements of the end-users. A quick guide is devoted to Peers: young people, often with disabilities or learning difficulties, acting as informal mediators in the learning process. Furthermore, students will be the protagonist of VET Video Modeling in professions and trades. SIMPL4ALL will collect the end-users feedbacks (in terms of accessibility, usability, usefulness ...), thus contributing to the final implementation and product validation. Different needs and learning contexts require personalized and individualized tools. Therefore, the learning mediators' training focuses, more than on the product itself, on the use of simplified language in inclusive teaching/learning, as a METHOD which is easier to adapt and apply to different contexts and learner’s characteristics.<< Objectives >>> THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVESThe objectives to be achieved, through the activities of the project SIMPL4ALL, are:>> contributing to inclusive learning, based on the paradigms of the pedagogy of mediation (Vygotskij, Bruner, Feuerstein) and pedagogical activism (Dewey, Montessori, Decroly)>> promoting the digital transition, guaranteeing opportunities, inclusion, sustainable growth and resilience>> increasing the attractiveness of VET, introducing methodological innovation and new tools to facilitate learning ""so that no one is left behind"".This will happen through:a. the creation of accessible teaching tools and materials, suitable for the characteristics, methods and speed of learning of everyone, promoting the participation (according to the possibilities) and protagonism of the learners;b. the qualification and development of enabling skills in the 'inclusive learning mediators', even in non-formal contexts.c. the participation and advocacy of end-users in the construction of ""tailor-made"" teaching materials.SIMPL4ALL, in line with the CEDEFOP’s TEL-Toolkit (Toolbox to prevent early school leaving), and with the priorities set out in the VET (see webinar: Making excellence inclusive: towards a new Cedefop survey of VET teachers and trainers - Feb. 2021), specifically:- Promotes VET excellence, through the training of trainers in inclusive teaching (LTTA 1 and 2);- Supports learners, who are marginalized and at risk of school leaving, by creating inclusive and participatory learning environments (INVOLVEMENT OF BENEFICIARIES IN THE TRAINING NEEDS ANALYSIS, TOOLS SET UP AND PILOTING);- Enhances digital transition, a necessity imposed by Covid-19, but also a great resource for teaching/learning (THE PORTAL WITH TOOLKIT AND RESOURCES).<< Implementation >>During the SIMPL4ALL 30 months' project lifespan, the 8 Partners, each one with specific tasks and responsibilities depending on the technical characteristics and experience gained, will implement the following ACTIVITIES AND INTELLECTUAL OUTPUTS:- Activation of focus groups with the final beneficiaries for the co-definition of educational paths starting from needs (self-advocacy as a tool for self-representation and self-determination)- IO1 Simplified language instruction Manual: the creation of an operating manual for the production and implementation of texts written in simplified language, suitable for the largest number of users- IO2 Pedagogical Toolkit: EtR EtU teaching materials for different types of students, mainly in the 14-21 age group: E-books, practical tips, examples of lessons with exercises- IO3 Pedagogical Mediation for inclusive education-instructions for use (with Quick Guides on the use of materials and tools for formal and non-formal learning mediators and a specific section on cooperative learning and peer mediation)- IO4 Realization of 6 video-modelling in the technical-professional sectors of interest (working in the office; working in the green; working in catering)- 2 LTTA events for the training of staff facilitators on simplified language and the use of the materials produced, which will be held at the University of Maribor in Slovenia and Mons in Wallonia, before the start of the piloting- Product testing in 6 Countries- Dissemination events, both in physical and virtual mode.The end-users of the products, as well as the wide network of the Associated Partners, will be directly involved in many research activities, preparatory to the realization of the Guides, as well as in piloting and dissemination.SIMPL4ALL, to support the synergic use of resources and the sharing of strategies within the Partnership and associated partners, will also implement:. An Action Plan. A Quality and monitoring and evaluation Plan, with tools and metrics for collecting and evaluating feedback. A Communication and Dissemination Plan, fostering a coordinated image and communication strategy, responsive to the needs and characteristics of the stakeholdersThe choice of channels and communication and dissemination plan responds to two strategic objectives:1. “SIMPL4ALL goes DIGITAL”, promotes teaching/learning materials made with new technologies, in compliance with the accessibility and usability standards of the Universal Design;2. “SIMPL4ALL goes GREEN”, through the digitization of materials, puts into practice the ""zero paper"" policy, minimizing paper waste and thus contributing to the responsible consumption of resources.<< Results >>At the end of the project, the following RESULTS AND IMPACT are expected:- Increased knowledge of the models to design inclusive learning, of the references to active pedagogy and mediation, of the tools and methods for the creation of texts in simplified language- >40 participants in self-advocacy groups in different countries for the co-definition of learning objectives and issues to be addressed- >/=20 process facilitators able to create texts in simplified language and use the materials and models proposed through the short-term joint transnational training- Free didactic material, written in an accessible format and simple language, in 6 European languages for end-users, downloadable from the project website- Quick guides on the method and materials produced, disseminated in the languages of the partnership and English, dedicated to the widest range of formal and non-formal learning mediators- Products testing, with the involvement of >/=250 users (including learners, teachers and informal mediators)- Dissemination events with an audience of>/= 450 participants at the European level, between physical and virtual events.The change from the starting situation to the one at the end of the project will be measured starting from the ""baseline"", consisting of the desk research on the educational systems in the partner countries and the strategies to respond to the so-called ""special educational needs"". Some stakeholders will be interviewed before and after the experimentation interventions, in the different territories.The qualitative and quantitative collected feedback will be used for the Sustainability Report, feeding the Final Evaluation of SIMPL4ALL."