"The new social, economic and technological context stresses a fundamental transformation of education in order to address new skills. The schools' answer to the challenges of nowadays society is unfortunately delayed. There is a gap between the pace of the society and the school`s adaptation, still very rooted in tradition. Starting from the identified needs, our project aimed to develop the capacity of 4 European schools to collaborate at transnational level to capitalize experiences and best practices in order to develop transversal key competencies in students (age 12-15 years old) by developing and testing a toolkit for implementing the flipped classroom methodology, based on using ICT&OER and creating a more active learning environment, in a period of 2 years. The target groups involved not only students(age 12-15 years) belonging to vulnerable groups such as economically disadvantaged, migrants, with learning difficulties and special needs, but also high skilled students; teachers involved work with students with very different backgrounds. The project activities were organised in 3 transversal WP related to Management, Monitoring&Evaluation (M&E), Dissemination (24 months) and 6 operational WP to develop specific activities, achieve the project objectives and build the project results. The proposed activities provided a fluent development of the participants` skills and a ""psychological continuity"" of their professional growth in implementing the flipped methodology: tools preparation phase (first project year) and implementation phase (second project year). The training/learning activities, strongly embedded in the project logic, developed the participants’ skills on methodology using collaboration and shared good practices. Each transnational training activity was followed by practical activities developed locally, in order to design resources/inputs for the project results. These resources were tested and improved during the learning activities, in international groups of students, mandatory to embed the diversity of students’ needs. This strategy of the project implementation allowed the project results` building step by step, each pocket activity delivering intermediate results. Four training activities/5 days joint staff training events and four learning activities for students/5 days short term exchange of students brought the principles and necessary skills to implement the flipped methodology. That was a unique occasion for vulnerable groups students to take part in an international experience and collaborate with EU peers.The project methodology was based on the concepts and tools of the Project Cycle Management in order to provide high quality results and fulfilling the objectives. The ToolKit for implementing the flipped methodology (structured as eBook with links to the resources organised in 5 chapters) provides the methodological support for implementing the flipped classroom. The Case Study: flipped and traditional classrooms compared - specificity of the partnership schools collected conclusions of implementing the same curricula using flipped and traditional classroom, in each partner school. The Project website has been a dissemination tool as well as a space for learning for the interested stakeholders. Newsletters, press conferences, events also provided information about the project activities and its results.Students developed their transversal skills such as the ability to think critically, take initiative, problem solving and work collaboratively, taking responsibilities and decision making, ICT skills. A model of how technologies can be used in learning, personal development and lifelong learning was developed. Teachers increased their abilities in designing strategies based on using of ICT&OER, creating a more active learning environment, focused on the students’ needs. The relationship between teachers and students, based on a more deeply understanding of the students’ needs and expectations, reducing the inequity that may arise from differences between learning rhythms was reinforced. Positive changes in approaching the competence-cantered learning within the school and using different teaching paradigms, attention to vulnerable students, monitoring their progress, providing informed guidance were stimulated. The Flipped classroom methodology principles were better understood and more used in learning, even for young students, reinforced the confidence in that school equips students with the 21th century skills and prepared them better for the next stages of their learning path, equipped for lifelong learning. The capacity of EU schools to collaborate internationally, create and adapt new learning methodological approaches was improved."

“It is easier to judge the mind of a man by his questions rather than his answers.” (Pierre-Marc - Gaston, duc de Lévis). Science begins by asking questions and then seeking answers. However, science education focuses upon the end game of “facts” rather than the exploratory root of the scientific process. Encouraging questioning helps to bring the true spirit of science into our educational system, and the art of asking good questions constitutes an important skill to foster for practicing scientists.The project is based on outdoor learning because recent studies have exposed the benefit—even necessity—of spending time outdoors, both for kids and adults. Some argue that it can be any outdoor environment. While it’s unclear how exactly the cognitive functioning and mood improvements occur, there are a few things we do know about why nature is good for kids’ minds:•It builds confidence•It promotes creativity and imagination•It teaches responsibility•It provides different stimulation•It gets kids moving•It makes them think•It reduces stress and fatigueHow do we recommend to do this? While there are hundreds of recommendations, none is simpler and more powerful than this: take children outside into nature and let them ask. The simple strategy of building students' confidence and making them feel like experts by asking “what” questions rather than “why” questions. “Why” questions imply that there is a correct answer. “What” questions, on the other hand, focus on what they are noticing and doing, and can be springboards for teachers and students to investigate together.On the other hand, national parks are often places where people previously lived and worked-they have been formed by a combination of natural and human processes that embody an identifiable history of cultural and political values. Conservation of protected areas is primarily about how we perceive such landscapes, how we place differential values on different landscape components, and who gets to decide on these values. That’s why the best places to make activities during the project are our National Parks.The positive impact of the project on the students and teachers will be realized through the realization of the specific Project objectives (PO):PO1. to develop a booklet for implementing the outdoor learning methodology to school-subjects in 6 European schools by sharing best practices and testing the proposed models of outdoors activities as we will be able to work in the outdoor environment as a classroom.PO2. to develop skills of teachers from 6 European schools for using innovative approaches in teaching STEM, by using the outdoor learning methodology during transnational learning activities for students.PO3. to enhance the transversal key skills in students (age 12 -15, girls and boys) from 6 European schools from Lithuania, Greece, Romania, Portugal, Finland and Croatia, through collaboration and exchange of best practice for implementing the outdoor learning methodology, in a period of 2 years and combine technology with outdoor learning.PO4. to enhance the quality of education and enrich the school-offer, by developing innovative didactic materials based on interdisciplinary approaches and valuing the informal and non-formal learning.PO5. to raise awareness of the importance of Europe's cultural heritage and reinforce a sense of belonging to a common European space through education and lifelong learning.Project objectives will be carried out through the realization of project activities during student mobility as well as in the time between student mobility such as:-to design of the Official Project Logo and Booklet-to create a Twinspace with all the didactic materials and pedagogical tools created in the project so that they are available for the entire European educational community-to create Geocatching route their home areas, Memory cards, Board games, Quizes at Kahoot, Questions and tasks at seppo.io, 3D photos and smart-phone applications for our National Parks to be annexes for the booklet.We hope that the project will help us to understand the health benefit gained by taking learning into the outdoors, teachers to learn about outdoor pedagogy in a cross-cultural perspective, share experience and knowledge with others and students with better understanding STEM. STEM is a way of thinking about how educators at all levels-including parents-should be helping students integrate knowledge across disciplines, encouraging to think in a more connected and holistic way. By asking the right questions, we can help stimulate investigations where students are identifying objects, making comparisons, making predictions, testing ideas and sharing discoveries, all while observing their natural environment. Students can also explore sizes, shapes, patterns, and quantities in the process. In this way, children can learn concepts from different disciplines in different contexts, all in ways that are naturally engaging to them.

"The project Creative European School : C.L.I.C.K. was initiated by six schools from Lithuania, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Spain in response to the most common problems identified in all partner schools : the decrease of students motivation in studying and a lack of attractive innovative and already tested methods/strategies in teaching, the increase of violence and aggressiveness in school and society, reluctance of students to participate in school and community life, loss of creativity and issues associated with major changes at schools due to the society becoming more and more multicultural. These issues have had an international dimension so the project partners consolidated their knowledge, experience, abilities and desire to find the best means to educate young people in a multicultural society by provoking their curiosity, fostering their initiative, creativity, respect and tolerance. The project addressed the most vulnerable group of children - teenagers, aged 12-16, teachers of different subjects, parents, school managements and other school staffs such as social pedagogues, psychologists as well as university lecturers and colleagues from other educational institutions. The project title Creative European School shows that the participants were involved in creative ways of teaching/learning ; the word CLICK is an acronym of the English words: Computer science, Languages, Inter-culture, Citizenship and Knowledge therefore the project activities indicates the ways used to achieve the main project aims: to promote cooperation among 6 partner schools to increase students' motivation to learn and get knowledge by learning in one of the partner countries and from one another; to encourage awareness of the importance of European dimension through cultural, linguistic and social events for better understanding of own and others identity in European context through history, culture, traditions as well as to promote citizenship and civic responsibility in all six partner schools in order to educate the students as European citizens, actively involved in future society. The project participants developed digital competence, communication in mother tongue and foreign languages, learning to learn, increased cultural awareness. Going abroad and observing the work of the colleagues in their own environment, the teachers developed not only professionally but also as personalities. During the two project years a set of cards Lotto Game named “Who Are We?”, a book about most famous festivals in six countries, illustrated by pupils' drawings ""The Clicks Family in Town"", a magazine “Help with the Clicks”(reflecting pupils' active commitment to communities during charity campaigns), a series of short films about the most successful school events A Glimpse of Click' s Schools, a project website C.L.I.C.K. and The Click tree ( a project visit card and a source of information about the project activities) were created. We used e Twinning website, Facebook, Skype for our collaborative work , exchanging ideas, learning from one another and gaming.All the results were created by international teams, they contain pupils' and teachers observations,their points of view, samples of creativity and are suitable for usage in basic schools,for both teachers and pupils.The creative international team of teachers together with school psychologists, social pedagogues, parents, university lecturers, pupils and school management worked together and selected their experience gained for a toolkit Basic European Curriculum for a successful school. This e- book reflects efficient and prolific project work, contains useful information and examples of innovative teaching methods, samples of creativity and collaborative work, the glimpses of the school European students would like to study at, samples of cooperation between schools and parents, educational institutions, local authorities in educating an open-minded, creative, responsible and inquiring generation. The material proposed is worth to be shared among educational institutions in Europe and enriched by new ideas in the future project work.Some of the project outcomes and outputs are available on the project website C.L.I.C.K., projects result page,at schools and on school websites."

ReadTwinning aims to address the ongoing need for effective strategies and tools to promote reading among young people, bridging school activities with personal interests and fostering social connections across students of different classes, schools, cultures and countries. The need for a strong, active and methodologically innovative commitment by European schools in promoting a love for reading among young people is confirmed by all available data on reading literacy.In the EU, 1 in 5 15 year-olds is a low achiever in reading. The proportion of low achievers is above OECD average (490) in CY (437) and RO (444) and average in IT (490), UK (490) and PT (492) – Pisa 2015. In the EU the rate of low achievers has increased since PISA 2012 (1.9% increase to 19.7%); and the gap between best and worst performing countries is increasing. The EU is lagging behind the 2020 target to have less than 15 % of low achievers. Children from disadvantaged households and with migrant backgrounds are less likely to be able to read well at school and to be motivated to reading than their classmates – and this has the potential to be devastating for their future lives.“ReadTwinning: Connecting students through shared interests to develop a love for reading” will address these urgent needs by developing and testing an innovative approach whose main aim is to motivate 9-15 year old students to read more and enjoy more the experience of reading and, in turn, improve literacy.The strategic partnership will:- Author “ReadTwinning Guidelines” e-publication providing teachers and other stakeholders with methodological guidelines to implement ReadTwinning- Develop the OER - ReadTwinning Platform (www.readtwinning.eu) and toolkits to offer students and teachers online “ready-to-use” tools to connect students based on similar interests, shaping for them a rich, motivating, shared reading environment based on ‘parallel’ reading of the same book or thematically connected books. Through ReadTwinning readers from different years, schools, cities, and even countries can find reading partners with similar interests and enjoy books together.- Develop a set of 6 practical lessons plans. The plans provide teachers and parents with examples on how to integrate the ReadTwinning approach into their classroom activities (supported by parents at home) and practically define the competences of the ‘Connected Reader’- Launch of 2 Blended training courses for Connected teacher and Parental engagement. Both courses foresee the self-assessment of learning outcomes and the recognition of competence acquired by teachers through a certificateTo engage the most unmotivated and underperforming students, ReadTwinning combines a customised reading path with digital skills and networking. The resources will be launched, pilot tested and widely disseminated across Europe.The dissemination strategy is oriented to reach the school sector, at first, as well as relevant stakeholders active in other sectors, such as public libraries, digital publishers, local organisations, “GLAM” actors, technologists and digital makers, citizens. Sectorial and cross-sectorial strategy will rely on 10 multiplier events organised in 5 countries and further activities, such as the circulation of 2 recognizable brands (Connected Reader and Connected Teacher), press-conferences, e-newsletters, mass-use of social networks.Structurally embedded in the logic of the project are:- 1 Joint Staff Training event in IT to deepen the ReadTwinning approach and collaborative parallel reading.- 3 short term exchange of groups of pupils in RO, PT, and CY. A unique occasion for 12 students from vulnerable groups to take part in an international experience and collaborate with EU peers in reading activities.Main impacts on teachers will be: increased competence in cultivating young students’ motivation and reading abilities; a greater responsiveness to the needs of disadvantaged groups by developing, amongst others, competences in involving parents to support pro-reading strategies. In the medium/long term, these impacts will be sustained by: the availability of multilingual OER; the creation of communities of Connected Teachers, that favour networking, and stimulate continuing professional development in this field.Main impacts on students will be: Foster a positive attitude towards reading and greater motivation thanks to the attractiveness of personal interest-based approach, the social dynamics created, and the support of parents. We expect this impact to be amplified in the medium-long term: dissemination activities, carried out even after the end of the project promoting the platform, will generate a higher number of users, thus increasing the community and fostering an even higher engagement on the side of participants that have participated in its testing and creation.Reading is the key to unlocking every child’s full potential and opens up a world of possibilities.

Poor reading performance combined with a general disinterest for reading has long-term consequences for both individuals and society. However, the percentage of low achievers in reading at the EU level has actually grown in recent years, from 17.8% in 2012 to 19.7% in 2015. According to needs analysis that took place at the time of the proposal, in the EU, 1/5 15 year-olds were considered as low achievers in reading. Additionally, according to PISA (2012) results, the proportion of low achievers was dramatically high in CY (32,8%), RO (37,3%), IT (19,5%), PT (18,8%). Also, the proportion of non-readers was very high in PT (60%), CY & IT (44%), and RO (48%).Living Book aimed at addressing these urgent needs by developing and testing an innovative approach whose main aim is to motivate 9-15 year olds students to read more and enjoy more the experience of reading given that student motivation is, in fact, a key factor in successful reading.To engage the most unmotivated and underperforming students, The Living Book combined customised reading paths with digital creativity. It explored and implemented various solutions to “digitally augment” the experience of students while reading a book.The aim was to turn the physical book into a “Living Book”: an intense-lived experience for young readers who can participate, transform and augment what they are reading, thus applying digital competences, collaborating with peers, developing reading skills and, ultimately, being more engaged in reading. The project’s consortium was comprised of 9 partners from 6 different EU countries. 4 out the 6 countries involved have among the highest proportions in Europe of 15 year-olds students that are low achievers in reading, and of non-readers in the total population, namely CY, RO, PT, ITThe Living Book project consortium also attained a productive combination of experienced and newcomers with high degree of complementarity of profiles and expertise. This allowed the consortium to maximize the impact of the project and ensure high quality transferable results.Leading role was assigned to the European University of Cyprus (EUC), given its experience and qualified staff in managing EU funded projects and track record towards innovation in the field of education. Methodological expertise for designing a coherent framework for the Living Book approach is brought by the Italian Association “Forum del Libro” (AFOB), whose associates are amongst the most prominent Italian experts in the field of reading promotion.R&D of the Living Library Platform was ensured by Gryd Ltd, specialized in the design of advanced e-learning platforms and interactive resources for students and teachers. The 4 Schools in CY, RO, PT and EE played a key role in this project and brought great expertise to the design and development of didactical resources and practical lesson plans for teachers revolving around the Living Book approach. They also offered inputs to partners in charge of other IOs in order to design products in line with the needs and expectations of the target groups. Schools also led the pilot experimentation in their territories. Mobility activities were coordinated by the Estonian school, given its expertise in transnational mobility of teachers and pupils. Municipality of Vicenza led the dissemination package and University of Beira Interior (UBI) coordinated the quality assurance task. In terms of results, the project:-Authored “The Living Book Guidelines” for teachers-Developed the OER - The Living Library Platform (www.thelivinglibrary.eu) and toolkits with the aim of offering students and teachers online “ready-to-use” tools to augment the reading experience with rich media content.-Developed a set of public and freely accessible 47 practical lessons plans. -Launched 2 Blended training courses for Augmented teacher and Parental engagement.Structurally embedded in the logic of the project were:-1 Joint Staff Training Event held in Cyprus to deepen The Living Book approach and ICT-enhanced reading-4 short term exchanges of groups of pupils in RO, PT, CY and EE. The main identified impact on teachers was the increased competence in cultivating young students’ motivation and reading abilities; a greater responsiveness to the needs of disadvantaged groups by developing, amongst others, competences in involving parents to support pro-reading strategies. In the medium/long term, these impacts will be sustained by: the availability of multilingual OER; the creation of communities of Augmented Teachers that favour networking and stimulate continuing professional development in this field.Lastly, the main impacts on students were the development of positive attitude towards reading and greater motivation thanks to the attractiveness of the blended approach proposed, the social dynamics created, and the support of parents.