Visibility of eTwinning Projects Group July 2023 Newsletter
Collaboration in an eTwinning School by Victoria Șerban and Daniela Bunea
Collaboration is the key to success in eTwinning , the online platform for European teachers where they develop projects and exchange teaching ideas , and the advantages gained by collaborating are numerous and farreaching for both teachers and students . We are two passionate teachers who have embedded eTwinning into their curriculum and demonstrate on a day-to-day basis how collaboration – both inside and outside of the school – can lead to new learning methods and innovative pedagogies .
The benefits of collaboration in eTwinning are numerous . Collaboration projects encourage teachers and students to think outside the box and come up with creative solutions to problems . By working with peers , teachers and students can share their ideas and build on each other ' s strengths to come up with new and innovative approaches to challenges .
eTwinning connects teachers and students from different cultures and backgrounds , promoting tolerance and understanding . Through collaboration , teachers and students develop their awareness and eventually respect for other cultures and build up their skills needed to communicate effectively with people from diverse backgrounds .
Through collaboration , teachers and students improve their language skills and become more confident in their ability to communicate in a foreign language . Working with others who speak different languages can help students learn new words and phrases and develop a greater understanding and appreciation of other cultures and ways of life .
Within the framework of an eTwinning School , collaboration means actually displaying a strong commitment to sharing and teamwork . We are teachers of English as a foreign language , and our students are between 11 and 19 years old . Every year we try to involve many of them in eTwinning and Erasmus + projects , and we do this by working as a team . We plan many of our eTwinning endeavours together , we organise common activities and we share our experiences and practices with colleagues in the school and in the county .
We usually start by collaborating on adding to the eTwinning action plan at school level and use it to drive innovation and change constantly and methodically . These added bits usually originate in the needs of the students and staff at that particular moment .
Collaboration is carried on by developing common meaningful activities within the projects we are involved in , with our European and pan-European partners , which is a fitting way of fostering a wide variety of skills , transversal soft skills included . We usually “ keep it simple ” while motivating all partners , creating and giving clear instructions for teachers and students , complying with our syllabuses , using the resources available , avoiding overloading , and above all being patient .
Successful collaboration between students is customarily achieved through continuous support , motivation , and teamwork . Collaborative learning is a social skill . In the
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