Abstract:

The title of the present paper was inspired by the European Program Erasmus KA1 (2018-19) which was implemented at Gymnasio Mygdonias (Thessaloniki, Greece). With a carefully structured goal setting that creatively infused two school years, the needs of our school for the treatment of school dropout and failure of the learning-weak student was efficiently served. Emphasis was placed on the development of social, personal skills (soft skills), presentation techniques (presentation skills) and the art of storytelling, in the light of a teaching based on creativity, collaboration and the use of ICT.
In the context of three training courses that our teachers attended, emphasis was precisely put in this direction. We focused on the multiple benefits of a European collaboration: co-shaping Erasmus + interdisciplinary programs, creating a communication platform for students and teachers from different European countries, producing joint projects, engaging in eTwinning collaboration. We seek solutions to common problems of our schools, with the fruitful exchange of views on the issue of dealing with integration problems of weak students and look for ways to create a sufficiently attractive and productive academic and professional environment.
Our Plan aimed at acting with a two-way focus: a) upgrading the quality of teaching, b) supporting the professional development of teachers. We pursued a comprehensive approach to school education, willing to tackle early school leaving and prevent social and professional exclusion or rejection of the student – weak learner or “the weakest link” (Sternberg, 1999). Implementing this Project we seek to improve school mediation techniques. More specifically: the teacher who is trained in storytelling techniques (having already improved his presentation skills and personal transversal and horizontal skills, such as creativity, ability to innovate, take initiative, etc.) will reform his teaching methods, upgrading its quality with specific interactive techniques and will eventually make his/her student co-creator in the lesson. Teacher transmits the knowledge of new techniques to the student: he/she suggests ways of effective storytelling, presentation of his/her thoughts and works (storytelling, presentation skills) as well as the development of personal communication skills (soft skills). It is a demand of our time to strengthen the professional qualifications of all teachers: both teachers who will be trained during the seminar activities and their colleagues who will receive the training material by the teachers-multipliers (Klaus, 2010)
Because of this Project, new eTwinning and Erasmus projects and strategic school partnerships are implemented and then widely disseminated more effectively and with greater success, having the weak students involved.
This way an international dimension of integration can be established in our school and any other school organization.

References:
[1] Klaus, P. (2010). Communication breakdown. California Job Journal, 28, 1-9
[2] Sternberg, R (Ed) (1999) The Handbook of Creativity. CUP

Keywords:

Erasmus KA1, creativity, storytelling, soft skills, eTwinning.