1. Developing and managing an international project
Developing a project already begins with the first contact made between future partner
schools. Contact seminars, organized by National agencies, are specifically intended
at finding partner schools based on specific topics or fields of work. Some schools hit
it off from the minute they meet while others need to look elsewhere for potential
partners, such as the portals E-twinning or Gateway, just to mention a few. Once a
school has found its eligible partners a preparatory meeting is recommended allowing
them to come together and define their project's goals and the roles each partner will
play in the project; prepare the work plan for the duration of the project, fill out the
project application and get to know and understand each other better, as well as their
mutual goals and ways of working.
Once the project has been approved, in order for it to develop the way it was set out in
the application, it is very important that it is monitored from day one. There are certain
things to consider in keeping a project intact. The project's overall success will depend
on the response and feedback of the students and teachers from all partner schools,
from the families of the participating students, from the local region and other
municipalities and institutions. That is why it is always good to keep on the lookout for
unpredictable changes that might occur along the way in comparison to the primary
goals set out in the application. As the project progresses it is important to monitor to
what extent the project goals are being met; how satisfied the project participants
(including the students, teachers, parents and the wider public) are; what impact the
project is making on each individual partner school; what impact it is making in the
region and how the partner schools will make further use of their rich experiences in
the future. Constant monitoring and evaluation should be done on a regular basis to
ensure that things are going the way they should.
1.1 Monitoring
Regular monitoring is crucial to the project's positive outcome and conclusion. It should
include:
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