Each Erasmus+ project – which means “Mentoring Programme”, too – has several phases including many activities which has to be conducted in order to reach project goal. This project is divided into international exchanges and preparation phases.
C1 – Short-term joint staff traning event – Teacher pedagogical education
3-7 December 2018
During this exchange of schools’ educational staff, participant will learn more about teaching skills through principles of neuroscience, Scaffolding Language and Scaffolding, how to use digital tools in everyday school tasks, teaching and communication, as well as share and discuss each school’s way of working with students with special needs.
P1 – Preparing the 1st Training course
December 2018 – February 2019
Teachers involved in the project will:
- measure the knowledge and the language skills for the participating students;
- distribute self assessment cards for both students who will go on mobilities and for other students to try and get a value on their entrepreneurial skills and growth mindset;
- introduce the country that is hosting the upcoming mobility.
Selected students who are going to attain the first mobility in Sweden will – with the help of peers, families, friends, teachers and local business partners:
- create a video containing information about their schools and their cities. The video should be of such quality that it could be uploaded on the project website;
- create a slide presentation on their local school, national school system and their local business sector – including eventual already existing mentoring programmes.
C2 – Short-term exchanges of groups of pupils – 1st Training course
4-8 February 2019, Växjö (Sweden)
Participating student will learn more about history and experiences of working with Mentoring Programme, but also about it’s core definitions and roles. They will meet participants and experts, but also some institutions that take part in local mentoring programme.
P2 – Preparing the 2nd Training course
February – March 2019
The students who participated in the first Training course will:
- teach their peers upon what they’ve learned;
- discuss their own local needs when it comes to a mentoring programme.
Teachers involved in the project will:
- measure the knowledge and the language skills for the participating students in upcoming mobility;
- introduce the country that is hosting the upcoming mobility.
Selected students who are going to attain the mobility in Italy will – with the help of peers, families, friends, teachers and local business partners:
- invent “Why a mentoring programme, for whom and what do we want it to involve”;
- create a slide presentation on “Why a mentoring programme, for whom and what do we want it to involve”.
C3 – Short-term exchanges of groups of pupils – 2nd Training course
25-29 March 2019, Lido di Camaiore (Italy)
Main topic of this second student exchange will be setting the rules of a local Mentoring Programme – adept, mentor, and the different roles.
P3 – Preparing the 3rd Training course
March – November 2019
The students who participated in the second Training course will teach their peers upon what they have learned.
Teachers involved in the project will:
- measure the knowledge and the language skills for the participating students in upcoming mobility;
- introduce the country that is hosting the upcoming mobility.
Selected students who are going to attain the mobility in Croatia will – with the help of peers, families, friends, teachers and local business partners:
- invent possible mentors and adepts on a local basis;
- create a slide presentation on “Recruting mentors – matching with adepts; what can our local business sector and school provide?”.
C4 – Short-term exchanges of groups of pupils – 3rd Training course
11-15 November 2019, Zagreb (Croatia)
Students involved in this exchange will share ideas and discuss possible solution on the main topic of training course: “Recruiting mentors – matching with adepts; how do we do that?”.
COVID-19 DISRUPTION
Activities after student exchange in Zagreb weren’t carried out the way they were originally planned because of the COVID-19 global crisis. Students who were supposed to participate were selected, but they didn’t get to prepare presentations, take English and entrepreneurial tests or let alone travel to Bulgaria.
Instead, teachers and coordinators who worked on the project had online meetings every month or two to catch up with some administrative and dissemination activities, to discuss how to implement mentoring programme in their own schools and create plans for further activities having in mind given uncertain circumstances.
Nevertheless, we left original timeline of the project listed below so interested reader can get some picture about how the conduction of project activities was intended. By the time, following section will be updated and realised schedule will be published.
P4 – Preparin the 4th Training course
November 2019 – November 2020
The students who participated in the third Training course will teach their peers upon what they have learned.
Teachers involved in the project will:
- measure the knowledge and the language skills for the participating students in upcoming mobility;
- introduce the country that is hosting the upcoming mobility.
Selected students who are going to attain the mobility in Bulgaria will – with the help of peers, families, friends, teachers and local business partners:
- make a timeplan for the upcoming mentoring programme;
- create a slide presentation on “Timeplan for the upcoming mentoring programme”.
These activities that were listed in the project application were executed but through longer period of time. Tasks that were related to the third training course were done on time, before lockdown which started in March 2020 so they weren’t affected by it. On the other hand, preparation of the final training course, that was planned for 23rd-27th March 2020, took longer time both because it was postponed and because partners had to figure out how to carry it out virtually. Also, creating slides on given topic was a bit difficult because of distance schooling and consequential communication lags with students.
C5 – Short-term exchanges of groups of pupils – 4th Training course
23-27 November 2020, Vratsa (Bulgaria) – virtual exchange
Students included in the fourth and final mobility of this project will discuss and plan the implementation of the mentoring programme in their local scool under the main topic of exchange: “The mentoring Programme – in work”.
Plan from the project application for the final, 4th Training course was realized. Students did reflect on implementation of the mentoring programme in their own schools, shared and discussed their experiences, came up with some suggestions and ideas. Overall, this training course accomplished its purpose, only the circumstances in which it was held were different than planned. Conducting it in virtual form was quite a challenge, but partners overcame it thorugh good management and planning skills, open communication, detailed preparation and patience.
P5 – Preparing the full implementation of a Mentoring Programme
April 2020 – February 2021
The students who participated in the fourth Training course will:
- teach their peers upon what they’ve learned;
- together with the other students who attained the project and with the teachers and other staff plan for the implementing of the Mentoring Programme with a start after summer vacation 2020.
Teachers involved in the project will:
- together with the students and other staff plan the implementation of the Mentoring Programme;
- measure language skills, knowledge, self-confidence, growth minset and entrepreneurial ways of working;
- evaluate the project together with all partners.
All the students involved in the project will create a slide and a video on “Our mentoring programme” which both will be uploaded and displayed on the project website.
Tasks mentioned above were part of the project application and mostly were condcuted. Difference between original plan and conduction was that this phase took more time and it was concluded in February 2021, since due to COVID-19 project was extended, insted of in August 2020.
Mentoring Project 