Critical thinking represents a self-guided, self-disciplined thinking which attempts to reason at the highest level of quality in a fair-minded way. People who think critically and consistently attempt to live rationally, reasonably, empathically. Through this project, we want to offer our students the chance to discover themselves as young citizens who are capable of thinking creatively, critically, who know their role and possibilities in the democratic processes they are affected by. We want them to know that they are in charge of their own future and they should not let themselves be manipulated by others. They will create their own network of Active citizens and will communicate about the pressing issues of the world today on their own forum. We are addressing a target group of 300 students of different specialisations in our schools, boys and girls, mainstream students or students belonging to disadvantaged groups, who are 16-18 years old. They will be at the core of the activities, as we intend to make a long-lasting impact on them. The project also addresses 50 teachers in our schools, who will turn the project results into long-term practices at local levels, will coordinate students' activity and guide them, monitor them and act as a resource.ObjectivesThe objectives of the project are:- to develop students' critical thinking, leadership, communication and social skills- to make student gets more involved in the community life- to lay the basis for students' autonomy in thinking and action- to promote European values - tolerance, respect, democracy, active citizenship- to promote intercultural learning- to facilitate the exchange of ideas and the cooperation between European studentsMain activitiesThe project will include four exchanges during which students will interact, communicate, exchange ideas, put forwards arguments and counterarguments based on statistical data, assess the situations comparatively, participate in role-plays, simulations, interviews. Each team of students will do research on the topic of the exchange, so that the meeting will be productive and a qualitative exchange of information is facilitated.There are 5 exchanges with the following topics:C1 - ImmigrationC2 – Individual RightsC3 - Democracy - human rights C4 - DiscriminationC5 – Civic involvementMethodologyBefore the exchanges, students will work intensively on the topic of the exchange and will collect data at local level in order to provide an informed presentation of the situation during the exchange. To do this, they will do research, apply surveys, take interviews, contact NGOs active in that field, collect data, analyse, assess and draw conclusions. During the exchanges, they will present their research work, analyse the data from other countries comparatively, participate in debates, in engaging activties which are meant to improve their critical thinking skills, meet local authorities and discuss the issues to see the opinion of a politician on those matters.Results and impactStudents will develop autonomy and critical thinking, be more aware of their rights, duties and their power to decide for themselves, get involved in the community life, develop professional, personal, interpersonal skills and intercultural competence. They will acquire European values, such as tolerance, respect, active citizenship. Tangible results include the recordings of debates, presentations, research work, the collection of activities for developing critical thinking skills (for teachers), the platform for students. The project is expected to have a wide impact through the students' platform, dissemination activities and materials published on a variety of online spaces. Besides students, there will be teachers, parents, institutions and local communities who benefit from the project results in one way or another. Teachers will diversify their teaching materials and improve their communication, organisational and team work skills. Schools will improve their human resources, attain more cohesion, gain a positive image and will strengthen the relations with local authorities and NGOs, parents will become more involved in the school life and will appreciate the role of the school in the shaping of their children's individuality.

"Nowadays, it has become imperative to adjust our teaching methods to the requirements imposed by the rapid development that we are experiencing. However, it should not be omitted that there are skills and methods which have started to lose ground in the technological era and it would be a pity to assist passively to them. Having this in mind, we have set out on the journey of discovering and rediscovering the pleasure of reading, as a way of improving students' basic competences language, communication, as well as skills such as interpretation, critical thinking and analysis. Alarmingly high numbers of students have never read an entire book in their lives, while others state that they only read out of obligation, but less than a book per year. Therefore, teaching English as a foreign language through stories can be a challenge as much as it can prove a source of endless inspiration and entertainment. BENEFICIARIES Our target group includes students of the ages 13-16 with basic English skills (minimum A2 level) from our schools. We chose this age group as they are old enough to read in English and young enough to still show enthusiasm for it. Therefore, we are addressing a number of approximately 400 students (the others, who do not have a working command of English, but are in the same age group, will be involved in artistic activities, cultural activities or activities which involve their mother tongue. The project also addresses teachers of English from our schools who will update their teaching methods and exchange experiences and practices with their peers, thus contributing to the creation of a professional network of English teachers. 100 students and 40 teachers will participate in the 5 exchanges we have planned, participants who will be selected from the target groups. GOALS 1.to develop students' taste for reading and motivate them; (minimum 50% of target group); 2.to develop students' creativity and language skills; (minimum 80% of the target group); 3.to develop students' critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability; (min. 60% target group); 4.to develop understanding of their own culture in connection with other European cultures; (minimum 70%); 5.to promote European values and develop cohesion among European citizens. 6.to exchange teaching methods and improve the material bases of the English teachers. 7.to produce sustainable teaching materials and share them with foreign language teachers in our countries and others. ACTION We have planned 4 exchanges: C1- November 2020 – Slovakia: For teachers to start on the project and the topic; C2 - February 2021 – Italy: Developing literary and interpretative skills through stories. C3 - May 2021 - Sweden: Teaching reading and critical thinking skills through stories. C4 – October 2021-Serbia: Teaching writing skills and creativity through stories. C5 - April 2022 - Turkey: Teaching speaking skills through stories. Developing self-confidence in the use of English. The exchanges will comprise topic-related seminars and workshops, cultural activities, attending lessons. APPROACH Project management implies planning, organization, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and dissemination of results. In the planning stage - we identified the needs and established the aims and objectives of the project. In the organization stage, we will elaborate dissemination and evaluation plans, action plans, timeline of events, distribution of tasks and resources. In the implementation stage, we will organize the selection, preparation and participation in exchanges. We will produce the final results of the project. The dissemination plan is created to share the results and activities within our partnership and beyond it, so as to impact the target groups, the institutions, local/regional/national/European target audiences. The assessment is done at every stage of the project and its results will be included in the impact study. DEVELOPMENT •Students are expected to become more motivated, improve their language skills and intercultural competence; they will become more self-confident in their ability to use English, improve their literary competence, their reading, speaking, writing skills as well as their interpretive, critical thinking skills and creativity. •Teachers as well will become more motivated, improve their leadership, team work, presentation skills, improve their material base, and develop language, communication skills, interpersonal and intercultural competence. •Schools become more visible in their community, develop their human resources. Tangible project results include: Compendium of literary theory for secondary school students; Collection of story-related activities and lesson plans for secondary school students; Curriculum for optional class ""TESS - Teaching English Skills through Stories"""

The same as above.

CONTEXTThe project was created in response to two basic needs identified at the level of the schools involved - the need to boost students' motivation and consequently their school results and the need to promote intercultural dialogue among people from different countries and backgrounds, in a European context which is now facing great challenges. Therefore, the purpose of this project consists of two apparently distinct directions. On the one hand, we want to get students more involved in their own learning by having them use the computer in their studying, thus improving their results and performance. On the other hand, we want them to experience what it means to be European, to expose them to different ways of thinking, values andbeliefs. The parnership includes 5 schools - The UK, IT, PL, MK, TR. AIM: to improve students' motivation, involvement and school results and to promote intercultural dialogue OBJECTIVESThe objectives we envisage are:1. to involve students in their own learning with a view to attaining better results and becoming more motivated; (at least 40 percent from the target group will improve their school results)2. to develop students' transversal skills - numeracy, computer literacy, critical and creative thinking, personal and social capability; (at least 30 percent of students will improve these skills)3. to develop intercultural understanding and acceptance; (at least 60 percent of students will have better knowledge of othercultures)4. to develop communication skills in English; (the 156 participants, students and teachers, will improve communication skills in English)5. to promote European values and develop cohesion among European citizens. (measurable by analysing students' and teachers'attitudes to other cultures, as seen in the post-LTTA feedback)MAIN ACTIVITIESC1 - Feb 2019 - TR DIGITAL AGE AND EDUCATION (JOINT STAFF)C2 - Feb 2019 - PL - Topic: Using software to create fun lessons; Customs and traditionsC3 - May 2019 - MK - Topic: Using online tools to create quizzes; MathsC4 - Oct 2019 - IT- Topic: Using online tools to create booktrailers; LiteratureC5 - March 2020 - The UK - Topic: Digital tools for artwork; Religious StudiesNUMBER AND PROFILE OF PARTICIPANTS90 students aged 13-18 from the 5 schools, selected from the target group of 250. The students come from very diverse backgrounds - urban and rural - and have a variety of ethnic and religious backgrounds, which makes the project even more appealing. 36 teachers of ICT, English, Maths, METHODOLOGYThe project is designed to cover 5 main areas:A1. Project management - includes monitoring and evaluation, risk management, financial management, cooperation andcommunication strategy that will be applied throughout the project. 1 TM is included,at the end of the project.A2. Implementation of activities - involves selection of participants, preparatory training sessions, participation in exchangesA3. Ellaboration of ICT lessons - done prior to the exchanges by each partner institutionA4. Dissemination - dissemination will be a continuous process that involves the sharing of both tangible and intangible results at local, regional, national and international levels, using a variety of channels and addressing school and non-school audiencesA5. Follow-up and sustainability - each school selects a group of teachers to implement the new methods during regular class work. The success is measured comparatively against the results and level of satisfaction of students who learned the same contents without digital instruments. Then another school in each area will be supported to include digital tools during class work in the next year.RESULTS AND IMPACTStudents will improve knowledge in terms of ICT tools for educational purposes, practical skills related to designing mini-lessons, storytrailers, digital projects, online quizzes, digital artwork, motivation, school results, experience another culture, increase adaptability, self-awareness and awareness of cultural differences which make Europe so diverse, and yet unitary.Teachers will have the chance to exchange good practices, teaching methods, opinions and will improve English and digital skills, organisational skills, teaching methods and tools.Schools will promote a positive self-image and become more visible in the community. They will gain project management experience and will set examples for other schools to apply for projects. They will also become more cohesive and a positive atmosphere will be created among the members.

CONTEXTThe production and development of Energy from renewable resources in Europe is advancing to an important policy issue and demands legislative regulation.With the new Directive, it is required by EU to fulfill at least 20% of its total energy needs with renewable ones by 2020.That is to be achieved through the attainment of individual national targets.Five (5) exchanges with students are scheduled, one in each partner country.Each one will be attended by 20 students from partner schools and 8 teachers, together with 10 students and 5-6 teachers from the participating/host school.A specific topic is assigned to each exchange:1.Traditional-contemporary sources of energy – their impact on the environment2.STE(A)M and Water Energy 3.STE(A)M and Wind Energy4.STE(A)M and Solar Energy5.Renewable-Sustainable Energy Source – designing future smart, green city modelsWithin C2-C4 – statistics about this type of energy in their countries are presented by each team and the production of energy at small scale through STEAM projects is simulated.All the exchanges will contain direct observation data from energy production, outdoor activities and meetings with experts in the field, who will provide the participants with an in-depth understanding of the advantages of each type of resource, shortcomings, problems along with their possible solutions.The first exchange is C1, in which a general context and lead-in to the topic seen from 5 different perspectives is provided by the sts.The conceptual cycle is completed in the last exchange, where making students develop forward thinking, by advancing their skills in innovation is attempted.With this project, the need to develop alternative energy consumption is becoming more aware by the sts; by carrying out experiments and projects, a deeper understanding of science and engineering concepts could be gained, which is then transposed into the students’ self-made creative projects. OBJECTIVESThe project aims to set the grounds for the 5 partner countries to cooperate and share practices in the area of renewable energy resources and sustainable production and consumption through activities designed for students which are meant to:1. develop their understanding about scientific concepts and processes in the production of sustainable energy2. develop their overall awareness about alternative sources of energy and how their usage can be enhanced 3. improve skills and competences through interdisciplinary projects in the STEM field4. improve collaboration, team work and communication skills of students and teachers5. develop soft skills – critical and analytical thinking, creativity – in order to foster sts’ employability6. enable teachers to share school models and practices in the areas of STEM, ICT, coding, robotics that can be transferred into their schoolsACTIVITIESC1 Traditional and alternative sources of energy – consumption and impact on the environmentC2 Water energy and STE(A)M C3 Wind Energy and STE(A)M C4 Solar Energy and STE(A)M C5 Sustainable energy in the future – designing smart, green city modelsPARTICIPANTS120 students aged 14-17 from general education highschools and 40 accompanying teachers of English, IT, Physics, Science etc.RESULTS- presentations about renewable energy sources and statistics and trends from the 5 partner countries- posters for campaigns encouraging European citizens to use solar energy more.- presentations about alternative building systems- models of buildings using alternative types of insulating materials- simulations of power plants- STEM projects – anemometers, wind vanes, solar cookers etc.- research data and conclusions- simulations/models of sustainable citiesTeachers will produce exchange reports in which they will include data measuring the quality of the project.