STEP FORWARD – training in Corfu, Valletta, Dublin, Amsterdam and Helsinki

Project: STEP FORWARD, 2023-1-BG01-KA122-ADU-000130891
EU funding: EUR 9,745

Behind the STEP FORWARD project lies a careful analysis of our development needs, a strong motivation to learn and a positive attitude towards the teaching profession. We believe in the ideas behind Erasmus+ and invest in our teachers’ professional development, because each of us has different experience, needs, background and character. But we all share one goal – our students should receive the best, highest-quality teaching, and learning should be innovative, interesting and effective. We also care about building warm relationships, creating conditions for lifelong learning and constantly looking for new knowledge and motivation. This project is our bridge to becoming modern, well-prepared and knowledgeable teachers.

Our main goal is to modernise our teaching techniques and methods, boost teacher motivation and give our students an effective learning process. We aim to be an organisation at European level and to feel part of one big community. We are also looking for partners for future initiatives and strive to grow as individuals.

The project started in June 2023. As part of it, teachers from Easy English language centre attended courses in several European cities to gain new skills, knowledge and competences.

Corfu, Greece – July 2023
The first course was “Drama Games and Creative Storytelling – Breaking Down Ethnicity and Social Barriers”. We chose it because we want to create more creative lessons, bring in an innovative approach through drama and increase learner motivation.

Valletta, Malta – August 2023
The second course was “Creativity and Motivation in the Classroom with Teacher Training Development”. It is especially valuable for young teachers: it builds strong skills with digital learning tools while also developing teaching methodology and confidence.

Dublin, Ireland – August 2023
The next course was on the “Flipped Classroom”. Our colleague learned the ideas behind this methodology, which provides knowledge, resources and ideas for focusing on the practical side of the material rather than on theory.

Amsterdam, the Netherlands – November 2023
The project continued with the course “Leadership and Management for School Principals”. Our manager came back with a positively transformed vision of running an educational institution, strategies for effective communication and a complete approach to team building.

Helsinki, Finland – April 2024
The final course was “Structured Educational Visit to Schools/Educational Institutions & Training Seminars in Finland”. What makes it unique is the chance to experience the Finnish education system first-hand through lesson observations, workshops and training seminars.

Thanks to the project we gained a wide range of knowledge, skills and competences, came back full of new ideas for more effective and productive teaching, introduced management improvements and adopted successful practices from across Europe. We feel recharged and inspired – more confident, capable and knowledgeable. The new contacts open wider horizons and give us hope for future projects.

Watch a short film about our project: youtube.com/watch?v=CehF68eKk4w