"mLOL" update: 3rd project meeting “Methods in Learning Processes”

Report by Michael Jozefiok and Jonas Feuchter

And thus ended the third meeting of the Comenius-Project “mLOL”. From the 22nd to 26th May 2013 the four partner countries (Finland, Italy, France and Germany) met at the Italian school “IIS Pertini-Santoni” in Crotone, Italy. Overall there met about twenty teachers and students to discuss about the individualization of learning processes together.

The participating German team was made up of Christian Graack, Alexandra Hilweg, Jonas Feuchter and Michael Jozefiok.

The journey began on Wednesday the 22nd May at the Mercator Berufskolleg Moers by taxi direction Airport Duesseldorf. We first flew to Zurich and got there in the plane direction Lamezia Terme. In Zurich we had a stay of about two hours. So we had time to look at the airport and buy something. The plane was too late and so we arrived late in the evening. In Lamezia we rented a car and drove to the “Hotel Casarossa”. The first day ended late in the evening after the arrival.

The first project day started on Thursday at 08:00 a.m. with the breakfast at the Casarossa Hotel and the meeting with the teachers and students from France, Finland and Italy. At 09:00 o’clock we arrived at the Pertini school in Crotone, Italy where we met the Italian project members. After a short talk we were guided around the school. At 10:00 a.m. we all had a coffee break. The Italians offered us nice biscuits and coffee. Half an hour later we started with the workshop and after a short introduction we created in groups of five people concept maps on the topic of “Methods in Learning Processes”. The Concept Mapping should be a improvement of the classic Mind Mapping. The concept map has a heading and many subitems which have subitems too. The points will be connected with arrows and every arrow will be equipped with a conjunction.

After creating the maps, we observed teaching lessons with put-into-action learning methods. At one o’clock we got lunch consisting of regional cheese, bacon, pasta, … - delicious!!!

After lunch we students played volleyball and football together in the sport hall and on the football field outside. Finally at two o’clock we analysed the teaching session and at

half past four o’clock we returned to the hotel to freshen up and after that we drove back to the city and spent there our freetime.

In the evening at eight o’clock we had dinner in a small and cozy restaurant where we got different fish dishes and whine, water and soft drinks to drink to it. The evening was very nice and during it we students became friends and at late eleven o’clock we drove back to our hotel. The hours at the restaurant passed to quick.

The second project day started at 09:00 a.m. with a visit of the Santoni school. The school is specialized in art and we got a tour through all areas of it.

We saw paintings, sculptures and much more. Also we saw the rehearsal room of the school fitted with guitars, a keyboard, drums and we even got something sung and played by students. The tour took half an hour and then we got a coffee break with little cakes and biscuits. After the break we drove back to the Pertini school and continued the workshop.

It was 10:30 a.m. and then the German team presented their methods. Their method was “Cooperative Learning”. First the students worked out a solution alone and then they had to form groups. This method is supposed to provide safety for the weak or quiet student, and facilitate the individual responsibility of each student. After that they presented also methods for partner work which the teacher and students had to discuss about in groups.

Like everyday we had lunch at one o’clock and after it we walked around in old Crotone and visited a museum. In the evening at eight o’clock we had dinner in restaurant where we ate different varieties of grilled meat. The food was great and after a funny time at the restaurant we drove back to the hotel.

On Saturday we visited “Le Castella Marine Reserve”. The day started like the others at 08:00 a.m. with the breakfast. An hour later was the departure for “Le Castella”. We arrived at “Le Castella” after one hour by car. All teachers and students had a trip on a boat in the Marine Reserve Acquarium. The weather was good but it was windy and the waves were big. On the boat we had time to talk with the students from the other countries. It was a very nice trip through the beautiful nature. After the boat trip we had time to buy souvenirs or post cards. Le Castella was only a few meters away from the shops.

At 1:00 p.m. we had lunch in Caporizzuto. The lunch had many transitions and because we were near the port there was a lot of seafood and kinds of fish. It was fantastic and it smelled and tasted very good. After the lunch we drove back to Crotone to have time to go shopping. The French and German students went with the Italian students to the beach. The weather was sunny but in the evening it was windy and the water was cold but there was no excuse not to swim.

At 08:00 o’clock in the evening all teachers and students had dinner in a small nice restaurant.

After dinner the teachers sat together and all pupils were in a small Italian restaurant and have eaten pizza and watched the Champions League final. It was nice to talk with Italian and French students about football and their other leisure activities. This was the last evening and we had to say goodbye to all. In the three days we all have become friends, talk about our hobbies and friends and exchanged numbers. Late in the evening we drove to the hotel and packed our suitcases. Our trip was nearing the end.

Sunday the 26th May was our last day in Italy. We had to get up at 05:00 a.m. because we had to drive back to the airport in Lamezia and we had to return the car. The flight back to Zurich departed at 9 o’clock and two hours later we arrived. We had to wait nearly four hours at the airport because the flight back to Duesseldorf was at 14:40 p.m. . The airport in Zurich is very big and nice and we had enough time to went through it. At 04:00 p.m. we arrived in Duesseldorf, Germany. A nice and helpful trip with interesting lessons and useful experiences ended there.