eTwinning seminar

Czestochowa, 22nd November 2019

ORGANIZED BY:

eTwinning National Support Service Poland

Speaker: Chris Williams, United Kingdom

“CONTACT IS THE KEY”

Forming stable and sustainable project partnerships

“From cave paintings to eTwinning"

What makes a good school partnership ?

Three goals this afternoon

1.Presentation

2.Icebreakers

3. Exercise

1. PEOPLE

Who is your presenter?

Chris Williams Currently: Freelance consultant International School Partnership Specialist British Council Schools Ambassador Comenius Expert >>> Erasmus+ Global Learning Association – more on Saturday Chairman of the Nettleham Woodland Trust Chairman of the Sincil Community Land Trust Previously: First degree (BA) in European Studies (History and French) 34 years in large secondary schools as History teacher, deputy head and acting head At Lincoln Christ’s Hospital School (LCHS) - 1986-2007 – full-time in senior leadership. - 1990-2007 - International Co-ordinator - 2007-present – part-time as Consultant

LCHS and pupil partnerships (1989-2000: link with USA – school band exchanges)

1991 - present: link with Belgium, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands (France to 2001) – conferences (and football)

1992 - present: link with Czech Republic, Denmark (1996) and France (2001) – conferences, language visits

1997 - present: China – exchanges, teacher placements (Also for shorter projects: Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Finland, Guadeloupe, Hungary, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sri Lanka and Turkey)

oooo

And after ‘stepping down’ from leadership in 2007, I continued to support the school and others, home and abroad, often in workshops like this, both hosting visiting Comenius and now Erasmus KA1 groups, and travelling as a presenter to places like Georgia, Poland, Ukraine and Portugal

So here I am in Poland! And this is my own little entrepreneurship story.

Becoming а (little) entrepreneur (2007 to the present)

FOR PROFIT ... I assess applications for the British Council; ... I organise and lead Erasmus+ KA1 courses for the Global Learning Association; ... Some schools ask me to lead staff training and write applications How do I gain ? These organisations pay fees and provide income ... and my wife and I go on theatre weekends ... and the tax man also benefits

NOT FOR PROFIT Example 1 (Sometimes called 'social enterprise') ... I am involved in the Nettleham Woodland Trust. We have acquired land, planted 25,000 trees, created a one hectare lake and now manage a 30 hectare nature reserve of Woods, meadows and water open to the community 365 / 24 / 7. The wildlife like it too! We are volunteers, some with great expertise and experience. We apply for grants and give our time. How do we gain ?

NOT FOR PROFIT Example 2

I am involved in the Sincil Community Land Trust. We work in a poor, densely populated area of Lincoln with terraced streets over 100 years old. The permanent residents in the community like the area despite the problems of mobility and decay. There are empty, derelict houses. We aim to bring them back into use as homes for families waiting on the city's housing list. We are volunteers from different backgrounds. We apply for grants, give our time and engage experts if necessary. How do we gain ?

Perhaps your students could discuss and develop these ideas

Perhaps they could find some local examples

Enough of me! Who is your neighbour?

2.CONTEXT A thinking moment

RELATIONSHIPS

THEORY

REALITY PRACTICE

CONTEXT A second thinking moment

A GREAT IDEA

PLANNING

EVALUATING DELIVERING

CONTEXT A third thinking moment

3. PARTNERSHIPS

No two partnerships are identical

What will make a partnership fail?

Brainstorm in small groups

Share

What makes a good partnership ?

Brainstorm in small groups

Share

Why LCHS partnerships succeed ?

• Support from senior leadership

• Trust between partners

• Succession planning

• Shared purpose

• Simplicity

4. PRACTICALITIES

SMART targets

Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant

Time-bound

Someone else said,

“Kiss”

…..”Keep it simple, stupid”

What makes a good partnership ?

• Communications

• Respect

• Achievability

• Flexibility

• Time

= CRAFT

C for Communications (or Contact)

• Have at least two different methods

of contact with your partner(s)

• Have at least two people in each

school able to lead the project

• Exchange school calendars

• Identify pressure points e.g exams

• Identify quiet times e.g. holidays

R for Reliability (or Respect)

• Do what you agreed

• Don’t ignore your partner

• Consider your partner’s needs

A for Achievability (or Attainability)

• Learn from others e.g. eTwinning websites

• Start with something simple and quick e.g. ‘The view from my window’; ‘A day in my school’; ‘Our school meals’

https://www.britishcouncil.org/school-resources/find

• Build up in stages e.g. British Council resources go from ‘Our school’ to ‘Our local community’ to ‘Our wider world’

• For greater impact and relevance in schools

– Involve more than one class if possible.

– Link to wider curriculum if possible.

Snowflake before snowball

Acorn before oak

tree

F for Flexibility (or Fortitude)

Some of your original ideas will have to change – you will have to compromise and be flexible.

F for Flexibility (or Fortitude)

Despite excellent preparation ... things may go wrong ...

... some parts of your project may have to change. Be flexible.

• Be strong and brave

- show fortitude

T for Time

• Respect the schedule

- better a half-finished product on time than something late

- the other partner needs you to be punctual

T is also for Trust

Learn to trust your partners

Three goals this afternoon

1.Presentation

2.Icebreakers

3. Exercise

Our learning today - revision lesson

C = ?

R = ?

A = ?

F = ?

T = ?

“Let me tell you a story” Once upon a time there was a young teacher

Who was in despair because of a difficult class.

He met these children (aged 12) four afternoons every week and tried to teach them Humanities.

He was rescued by the wise words

of the deputy headteacher

“Contact, not content, is the key”

Further information

Classroom resources for international projects:

https://www.britishcouncil.org/school-resources/find

In-service training providers (ADVERTISEMENT!)

e.g. organising Erasmus + KA1 courses:

http://globallearningassociation.org/

Chris Williams: crw197@gmail.com