The teachers of the 4th – 5th grade Kindergarten of Efkarpia participate in Erasmus+ programs and innovate in educational teaching with innovative pedagogical approaches.
As part of the implementation of the Erasmus+ program, “Art and Democracy in Kindergarten Through Innovative Pedagogical Approaches”, six of the eleven teachers of the 4th – 5th grade Efkarpia Kindergarten participated in three mobilities in Florence, Prague and Bologna in the period from February to October 2023.
THE Gianna Kaplani, Director of the 4th Kindergarten of Efkarpiaamong other things, stated that:
“Public organizations and students from Primary, Secondary and Tertiary schools can participate in the Erasmus programs. We participated in the mobility of teachers, in order to train and bring innovative approaches and practices to the way of teaching.
Our topic was “Art and Democracy in Kindergarten through innovative pedagogical approaches». After the end of the pandemic, we noticed that there was a deficit in communication and socialization, among children, who had difficulty managing their interpersonal relationships – the “Democracy” we call. Therefore, we thought to combine it with art, as it helps in the socialization of children, especially in preschool age and to apply some innovative pedagogical approaches, in our teaching, in kindergarten.
And in this way we were convinced, so that we were given funding. We did three mobilities, in three different areas. Florence, Prague and Bologna. And each one had to do with different things, which, however, are combined with the title of the program (With “Democracy”, the arts and with innovative pedagogical approaches)”.
First mobility
During the first mobility the educational team attended the course “Active Art: Understanding and Enjoying Art in the Classroom and Beyond” in Florence, exploring Art as an educational tool. Through the combination of theory and practice and based on an interdisciplinary approach of the Psychology of Art, the participants were introduced to different ways of understanding and teaching through Art.
The theory was developed in two axes: the theory of Art and its connection with Pedagogy. The participants were also invited, through individual and group activities, to create their own projects.
In addition, two cultural tours were organized, one in the city of Florence and the second in the wider region of Tuscany, giving the group members the opportunity to get to know both the priceless cultural heritage of Florence and the culture of the wider region.
Second mobility
The second mobility took place in Prague. The educational seminar attended by the teachers entitled “Primary Students and Creative Competence: Thriving in the Unknown” had as its central axis the development of children’s creativity and critical thinking in order to acquire the appropriate tools to “navigate” a world that is changing rapidly.
The majority of the activities took place outdoors as part of a form of Outdoor Education. The participants were invited to work in groups, participating in activities of creative writing, storytelling, historical review based on the history and culture of their country of origin, board games, lego constructions, but also the use of digital media.
The single theme of the planned activities was the concept of “Democracy”. With Democracy as a central axis, discussions, cultural visits, historical narratives and watching presentations took place during the lessons. On the last day of classes the teachers created their own educational scenarios according to the Performance Based Learning methodology, an innovative approach to teaching that allows students to demonstrate their acquired knowledge and skills in practical and applied environments and encourages the development of thinking skills .
Third mobility
The third mobility took place in Bologna and related to the “Preschool Teacher Training Course”. The host organization Erasmus Learning Academy presented the Italian education system and then the teachers from each country presented theirs to the group. Other educational methods and approaches were also presented that greatly influenced Pedagogy as we know it and apply it today, as well as innovative approaches. The courses were designed in such a way as to combine theory with activities such as introduction games, communication, team building, etc.
The Montessori method was presented by a qualified teacher, who referred to both the theoretical framework and the material demonstration. While for the Reggio Emilia pedagogy approach, a visit was made to Lori’s Malaguzzi center in Reggio Emilia and the teachers were given the opportunity to see the organization of the atelier up close, to talk to people from the school, to hear the history and evolution of the approach .
There was also a visit to the Kindergarten of the Forest of Bologna, a four-hectare area with meadows, forest and only two tents in case of a storm, which brought the participants into contact with a completely different way of teaching and education. Finally, the host organization made sure to organize many joint activities after the courses such as guided tours of the city of Bologna, Italian cuisine dinners for the whole group and more.
The Director of the school spoke to us about the conditions of mobility, the differences between foreign and Greek schools, as well as about their actions.
“The conditions for mobility are to know English well, to be able to attend the courses and to be available at the given time. We obtained such knowledge that we not only disseminated it to the other teachers of Thessaloniki, but also to the parents and most importantly we created spaces within the school, based on what we were formed for. On our school website there are important things from our actions and spaces.
What struck us is that we in Greece do much more than teachers in other countries do in relation to planning and the syllabus. However, we are far behind in building infrastructure. In other words, we saw public schools, which in Greece we cannot even dream of, because we are trying to get by with this little. However, in teaching we have nothing to envy.
No other kindergarten does our innovative actions, at least in Northern Greece. The other day we had a spread of the program and parents who work in private schools were surprised, as many of the things we do do not even happen in private schools. There is something unique. We are not a typical public preschool.
The goal of Erasmus is not only to educate yourself and keep the knowledge to yourself, but to share it and that’s what we want to do.
We have applied for new Erasmus programs from September onwards. We are a very close-knit group of teachers. However, it is a long process, with a lot of bureaucracy, but there is appetite, cooperation and support from the children and their parents!”
