Zamość Educational Association (ZTO), established 25 years ago, is an association organising and conducting educational activities for the inhabitants of Zamość and the region. Since its inception ZTO has been the managing body of I Społeczne Liceum Ogólnokształcące (high school), I Społeczna Szkoła Podstawowa (primary school), and for 14 years, I Społeczne Gimnazjum (junior-high school). The total of 582 students attend the schools run by ZTO and there are 84 teachers employed (68 full time). For many years the schools run by ZTO have been ranked best in their categories in the region of Lublin. During the preparation stage of the Erasmus+ project in 2014, research was done and analysis made in order to define the specific problems to be solved by ‘Pre-employment Orientation, Entrepreneurship, Work’ project. The problems were as follows:- low level of economic knowledge and competence of junior high school students in Poland, confirmed by the survey within the framework of the project www.gimversity.pl;- high level of early school leaving in Portugal (over 20.8% in 2012) – report “Improving Employment Opportunities in the Labour Market for Marginalised Communities” and also low economic activeness of teenagers;- practical competence of Polish and Portuguese teenagers below the average in OECD countries – according to PISA test from April 2014 Polish and Portuguese teenagers could not apply the knowledge they possessed to solve everyday problems;- German students, including Realschule ones, showed lower competence in Maths and Natural Sciences than Polish teenagers, but they were better at applying their knowledge in practice – PISA test results, April 2014;- the need for transferring well-tried solutions, good practice and teaching methods as well as the necessity of developing teachers’ abilities of working in multicultural groups On the basis of the above specific problems the project main problem was defined: considerable difference in the quality and results of preparing students to function on EU job marketSpecific project objectives:- enabling 24 teachers to gain practical competence in job orienteering, entrepreneurship and applying knowledge in practice in enterprises;- creating 10 educational projects on job orienteering and entrepreneurship using ICT technologies and OER; - enabling 24 teachers to gain knowledge of the needs of modern companies concerning competence and practical knowledge of students;- making companies gain knowledge of education systems in countries participating in the project;- reducing the risk of students’ early school leaving from education system by making the learning and teaching process more practicalMain project objective: to reduce the disproportion in preparing students to choose their professions and function on the job market in EU countries participating in the project.During the project implementation three parallel groups of activities were conducted:- local substantive activities (workshops, seminars, meetings, conferences);- virtual substantive activities (teleconferences, online workshops, social networks, websites, YouTube);- international meetings, seminars and mobilities combined with drawing up lesson plansThere were 3 partners to the project (apart from Zamojskie Towarzystwo Oświatowe):-Barthau Anhaefgerbau GmbH from Germany (replaced by Gewerbliche Schule during the project implementation);-Gewerbliche Schule Schwabisch Hall from Germany;-Escolas Dr. João Araújo Correia from PortugalOn the project completion:- more than 24 teachers gained unique competence and practical experience in the field of fostering entrepreneurship and job orienteering, on the basis of needs and experience of modern companies;- more than 24 teachers gained skills of making education more practical in order to facilitate students’ abilities of putting specific knowledge into practice;- 10 lesson plans on entrepreneurship, job orienteering and practical knowledge application were created in cooperation with modern companiesThe project was innovative because:-it combined the experience and knowledge of institutions representing 3 different environments (middle school education in Portugal, middle school education in Poland and companies in Germany);-it used ICT technologies (Google+, Skype, Facebook) to create activities, projects and mutual communication (development of teachers’ practical competences);-direct transfer of the innovative companies’ expectations to the education system took place (school systems in economically underdeveloped regions have been granted access to the requirements and needs of companies in highly developed regions);-the multiplier effects of learning were used (teachers have transferred knowledge to their professional environment – the snowball effect, competitiveness)

"The project 'Miedzy Otwartością, Szacunkiem, Tożsamością' - MOST (‘Bridges Between Openness, Respect and Identity') was meant as a response to problems related to the influx of refugees to Europe, their integration and social inclusion at a time when the societies of EU countries were experiencing a crisis of values, intensified by terrorist attacks. European countries felt the problems of disintegration of European ideas, the phenomena of terrorism, populism, xenophobia, hyper-nationalism, hate speech in public space, conflicts at the crossroads of cultures and the inability to determine the boundaries of national identity. The main aim of the project was to revitalise European values in education and training of young people and therefore the target groups of the project activities were secondary school pupils (16-19 years olds) and teachers. The main objective was achieved through the implementation of specific objectives: mutual acquaintance of people from different cultures or with different cultural backgrounds, recognition of educational problems in the situations of threat resulting from the multiculturalism of society, increasing positive perception of multiculturalism and evoking positive attitude of young people towards their peers from different cultural backgrounds, eliminating stereotypes and prejudices, strengthening cultural identity by respecting the values held by other communities and setting boundaries of their own cultural identity. Five partner schools were involved in direct implementation of the project activities: I Społeczne Liceum Ogólnokształcące im. Unii Europejskiej in Zamość (Poland), Gewerbliche Schule in Schwäbisch Hall (Germany), Lycee Claude Gellee in Epinal (France), Istituto d'Istruzione Superiore ""F.S. Nitti"" (currently IIS 'L. da Vinci - Nitti') in Potenza (Italy), 1st EPA.L Orestiadas (Greece). In total, at least 110 students and 68 teachers took part in the project activities. All the participants were interested in the project topics and willing to undertake activities beyond the curriculum and compulsory educational activities, wishing to acquire new competences in working in an intercultural environment. A total of 16 local activities were carried out (student studies on the concept of presenting one's own culture, tasks related to reacting to the ""hate speech"" in public space, photo and film competition, street poll, activities related to artistic expression, workshops for teachers on psychosocial skills), necessary in intercultural education and meetings promoting and disseminating the project), 8 virtual ones (board games, Internet Film Festival, on-line competition connected with preparation of posters preventing stereotyping, photoblog and activities connected with presenting the course of project works) and 5 mobilities: short training programme for employees (which aimed to exchange experiences, identify problems in communication in a multicultural society, show and develop methods and techniques of work useful in a school multicultural environment, indicate the usefulness of teaching by surviving the project objectives) and short-term exchanges of groups of students in Italy, Germany and France (young people became acquainted with the problems of migrants in different countries, learned where the crossing of cultural/national identity borders can lead and understood the importance of European values in everyday life). The project used the method of experiential learning, thanks to which the participants found themselves in situations that evoked strong emotions, involving higher feelings, which contributed to the evaluation process. During the project activating methods of learning and teaching were used, such as: group work, simulations, role-playing, discussions and debates, educational games, field trips. During the project, measurable results were developed: websites, photoblogs, films, presentations, board games, short films, lesson scenarios, photographs, art works, online dictionaries - all related to the borders of cultural identity and European values. The following soft results were achieved: competences related to a positive perception of multiculturalism and a positive attitude towards peers from different cultural circles, the ability to set boundaries of cultural expansion, adherence to European values such as freedom, democracy, equality, respect for human dignity, tolerance, human rights. They helped to break down stereotypes and cultural prejudices and have triggered a positive attitude of societies towards multiculturalism. Thanks to the project, stakeholders have developed autonomy and broadened their horizons for pro-European thinking, increased the acceptance of European values and gained new competences in multiculturalism, which is conducive to building a society based on European values."

The main objective of Maths Matters project was to enhance 15 and 16-year-old students practical Maths knowledge to be applied in other fields of science and everyday situations and also to equip teachers with innovative and effective teaching methods to support mathematical and scientific education to meet demands of modern technology-oriented world. Students lacked practical maths skills and they couldn't apply it in real life situations, although they could solve problems in exam papers. Teachers lacked innovative and effective methods and found it difficult to show the importance of practical Maths in a way which would stimulate students to perceive maths problems practically or appeal to them. The project objective was to introduce and test innovative methods, such as Inquiry-Based Method, and to make use of logical board and computer games and strategy-based tasks during lessons.Our target groups were 150 students and 24 Maths, Science, Arts and IT teachers from schools where Maths education is of great importance. Main local activities involved logical board games, creating and interpreting graphs and mathematical models, designing 4 innovative “Maths Quest” logical board games, designing simple computer games (using graphs of functions, geometry or vectors), sharing presentations and videos to show how Maths is related to true life situations and other fields of science, organising problem solving maths contests and drawing up innovative inquiry-based lesson plans. Virtual activities included project logo contest on Facebook, online workshops for teachers, sharing videos and presentations.Internationally, there were conducted workshops and seminars for students and teachers organized by local educational or scientific institutions combined with study visits at scientific centres, observing lessons to see how to use inquiry-based method in class, testing each of 4 “Maths Quest” logical board games, working on “Maths Rulez” e-guidebook. There were also organized City Game, Maths survival and Maths, music events and other field games. All of the above activities involved practical application of Maths knowledge and other scientific subjects.The project made it easier for target groups to exchange ideas and practical experience through local activities carried out simultaneously in five partner countries, transnational meetings and short-term exchanges. Project partners shared the same objective of increasing students’ Maths practical competence and enhancing their further scientific education. Innovative logical board and computer games, encouraging students to ask questions through innovative and specially designed lesson scenarios and other project activities facilitated practical application of Maths.Great support from the experienced German partner helped to develop teachers’ competence in creative and innovative Maths teaching methodology. Through shared experience teachers worked out effective methods, tools and lesson plans to meet demands of modern technology- oriented world Project activities prompted new approach and changes in maths curriculum to make it more practical.Through mobilities students and teachers developed and tried out most effective, engaging and creative methods and interactive Maths games. Workshops for teachers and students and cooperation with scientific centres enhanced the participants’ knowledge and became the basis for future cooperation in the field of Maths education. Students gained practical Maths knowledge that could be implemented in everyday life and boosted their self-esteem through peer-to-peer tools and stimulated their awareness of practical Maths and the scientific knowledge they have. They developed skills of creative and critical thinking, strategic planning and decision making to solve problems through international team work. They also improved their IT and linguistic skills. This will facilitate creating new European Union program projects in the field of education through exchange of good practices and results. Cooperation of international groups helped to break down barriers and prejudices against other nations. The project had a visible impact on all the target groups, who started to become more aware of universality and practicality of Maths.Tangible results of the project that are available for partner school communities will be useful source of information for other students, teachers, parents, other community members after the project completion. Erasmus+ dissemination platform will help to show the impact and outcomes of the project, sharing good practice and experience within schools, communities and regions, allowing others to learn from it. Activities promoting practical maths skills will be part of school curricula. Schools will continue their cooperation with local institutions and project partners. Project online groups will still be active making background for further discussions and future international cooperation.