BUILDING BRIDGES PROJECT

Virtual exchange between Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California, USA and Colegio Salesiano Santísima Trinidad in Seville, Spain.

CONTEXT

The Santísima Trinidad Salesiano College was established by the Salesian order in 1893. The institution combines primary, secondary, and professional schools. In total, 1,600 male and female students are enrolled in this institution. There are 317 students enrolled in 6 grades of elementary school. Students at that level are now immersed in the modality of bilingual education (English-Spanish).

In the secondary school grades there are 376 students and at the Baccalaureate level there are 303 students.  The latter can choose between science and technology or social sciences. The vocational school within the institution is attended by 614 students in 12 groups. In recent years, this educational center has become increasingly involved in various European initiatives in the field of education.

This educational center regularly participates in programs together with partners from Switzerland, France, UK, Ireland, Poland and also Slovenia. They are also currently carrying out two KA229 projects. In the field of vocational training, the institute also participates in a number of initiatives, including Leonardo da Vinci and Erasmus, currently K102 for secondary and K103 for higher education. The school sends students to practice in different companies, at the same time as receiving students from abroad.

Starting in the school year 2014/15, the school also has an Erasmus Charter and participates in higher education mobility programs. The exchange project includes a project coordinator and two other teachers in the project team.

Due to their strong orientation towards international integration, projects are an integral part of the overall story of the institution and management is closely involved in their preparation, implementation and change.

JUSTIFICATION

The project BUILDING BRIDGES is a partnership for the exchange of good practices between an American and a Spanish school. During past cooperation, we have identified several common challenges: how to make sense of the knowledge youth acquire in the system, how to motivate them for permanent acquisition of knowledge and its practical application. In addition to this, we aim to help them stay in the educational system, know more about culture and help them develop competencies necessary for a successful entry into the labor market and to achieve their life goals.

In terms of project vision, we wish to establish a learning environment, where students will be more actively engaged in the pedagogical process. Consequently, higher motivation and active learning styles will lead to better results and more meaningful knowledge.

Active student involvement in the pedagogical process is the main idea, which is also the focus of specific project goals. Precisely defined and easily measured goals are oriented towards the involvement of teachers as well as students who will then be able to introduce changes, improvements into the process itself. The goals also guide towards specific methodology and content preparation as well as foresee clearly defined dissemination activities.

The project is strongly included in the development strategy of both schools. For neither of the participating schools, is this project the first step towards building an environment in which students can actively co-shape the learning process. We are aware of the project’s need to aim for the strongest possible effect for both organizations.

Every teacher and student participating in the project will improve their personal motivation. The fact of participating in an international environment will provide the additional encouragement and inspiration for innovative approaches at work and when learning. Additionally, we are convinced that the participating teachers will gain new knowledge by observing work of the partner school and, to a similar extent, by observing their own teaching. Students will gain certain skills in a foreign language communication and teamwork, as well as develop intercultural and social competences.

OBJECTIVES

The objective is to create a virtual learning environment due to the current Covid-19 situation of inability to travel where students will be more actively involved in interpersonal relationships with students from another cultural environment. Thus, it is believed that they will achieve better results and more knowledge through motivation and more active ways of learning. With this we will achieve an improvement in oral and written skills and we will provide a more effective and lasting learning context, which will give students better conditions to be able to improve their foreign language level.

In the long term, the objectives are aimed at achievement by students of the skills and competencies necessary to reach good learning outcomes and a good communicative ability in a foreign language and, above all, to develop a certain level of civic engagement and preparation for the future professional development with the knowledge of another cultural and educational reality.

LINES OF ACTION

Activities proposed by trimesters:

1st term:

-Introduction in English/Spanish of each participating student, following the model proposed by the California High School.

-Explanatory video on a topic of cultural interest, by a teacher from each school, which will lead to the completion of different activities in the subject of English.

-Debate recorded by teams, mixing students from the two schools, on a topic of social and cultural interest.

2nd term:

-Individual or team video recorded, of a certain duration and following the established guidelines, about the city in which the students live (Seville, Manhattan Beach, California).

3rd term:

-Video on what they have learned about the culture and language of the partner country of the project, based on the videos, explanations and debates carried out in the previous terms.

STUDENTS INVOLVED

The project will focus on 4th ESO students.

EVALUATION

This exchange will be evaluated with criteria established in the program of the English subject in 4th ESO corresponding to blocks 1 (Comprehension of oral texts) and 2 (Production of oral texts: expression and interaction) of the same.

Likewise, the project will be evaluated quarterly by both institutions with the premise of maintaining it over time, improving it and overcoming all the difficulties that may arise from its implementation; and to achieve, in the short-medium term, a real exchange of linguistic immersion between the two schools.