The
3rd short term joint staff training event of the project I.D.E.A.! Together We Can! - Individuals
with Disabilities Education Aim - took place in Montorio Romano, Italy,
from 27th to 31st May and was successfully accomplished.
There
were 24 participants - teachers, coordinators and education staff – in the
meeting at Istituto Compreensivo “Giuliano Giorgi” to attend several
training sessions and workshops concerning Italian inclusive school (the
evolution of the school inclusion in Italy and the importance of the values
enclosed in the concept of inclusion, the school documents about SEN students,
the emotional / psychological variables of the teaching / learning process and
best practices for inclusive education, hypothesis of workshops and research);
the Italian Excellence in Deafness (education of children with deafness and
sign language in context and as means to express emotions); expressivity
through painting, art, oral and writing; showing feelings and emotions through
inclusive media, tools and strategies, dramatization; a case study - working on
an official platform for the elaboration of PEI; cooperation with a catering
and hotel management (high secondary) school (from school to job: training for
an independent life). There was also opportunity to learn about heritage of
local, regional and national culture, therefore enhancing knowledge and European
citizenship.
All
planned activities focused developmental skills and social inclusion of
students.
The
Italian team was tireless throughout the mobility, planned and organized all
activities carefully, following the project’s plan, gave support to partners at
all time, ensuring their safety and well being; they were always present,
escorting the group and providing translation for each activity and, consequently,
communication in English with and within
the international group.
Sunday,
26.05.2019
Arrival day for all partners. In the evening all
partners gathered at restaurant/pub Mamma Mea for welcoming dinner and presentation of new team members in mobility.
Monday, 27.05.2019
At 8.30 a.m. the group was transported to
Monteflavio’s library, a small but very cozy restored building.
At 9.00 a.m. started the official welcoming of
the partners, in Monteflavio, in the presence of the Vice Principal Milani
Maria Antonella, the mayor of Monteflavio - Ferrante Lanfranco, the mayor of
Montorio - Di Bartolomeo Domenico and the mayor of Nerola- Granieri Sabina.
This was also the moment to introduce part of the Italian Erasmus team.
Afterwards, took place both the official presentation of partner coordinators
and teams of the the i.d.e.a.! Together
We Can Erasmus+ project and the Italian coordinator presentation
of the Italian legislative system for inclusiveness with time for debate.
At 9:45 a.m. the "Inclusion Protocol"
- that each Italian school must fill in and share with the Regional School
Office, the school staff and the public – and PEI - an Individualized Educational
Plan for disabled students – were presented through PPT presentation and open
discussion supported on Italian legislation; there was also time to clarify
some specific information related to identification, selection and development of
measures, decision and application procedures, parent’s role and implication in
the process.
At 10:15 a.m. it was time for coffee break in
the presence of some parents and students, a small snack with typical sweets
and cakes.
At 10:40 a.m., partners and host staff, in mixed
groups, exchanged observations and ideas on a given case study, as well as on
the official platform SOFIA for the elaboration of PEI according to ICT
guidelines. Groups simulated the filling of a PEI, with the given information, considering
measures to overcome needs; groups were formed by elements of the various
countries, sharing different opinions according to each one’s reality in
comparison to the Italian one.
After lunch, the group visited Villa Adriana – an interesting and
enriching visit to an emblematic UNESCO World Heritage Site and a large Roman
archaeological complex which granted some understanding of local history and
culture.
Dinner was served at 19.30 p.m. at Torres Enoteca in Montelibretti. In this
restaurant some students of the catering and hotel management (high secondary)
school in Palombara Sabina stage
every year. Moreover, young people are often given the opportunity to work with
a temporary contract aimed at vocational training and inclusion. An informal
moment to strength bonds among participants and share some musical traditions of
each partner’s cultures with singing performances.
Tuesday, 28.05.2019
Morning started at 9:00 a.m. with a warm welcoming
reception in IC “Giuliano Giorgi” Montorio Romano in the presence of the
Headmistress Mrs. Mariangela Francucci.
The students from infant, primary and lower
secondary levels interpreted the Italian and European anthems and other songs. Then,
a public presentation of the different partners took place, with the exchange
of some souvenirs, in the presence of the school staff, students, some parents
and local residents curious with the friendly excitement that was sensed in the
courtyard of the school in Montorio
Romano. After that, there was a tour around the premises.
Then, at 10:00 a.m. started a plenary session at
school with university Professor Maria Teodolinda Saturno on the topic “Meeting
the emotions - the inclusive education in Italy and the psychological variables
in the good practices”.
Maria
Saturno is a Special Needs teacher at the Art School “G.C. Argan” in Rome.
Expert in inclusive education for deafness and learning difficulties; she held
Italian L2 courses for foreign and deaf students. Her studies and long
experience in videos and theatre production (Orazio Costa’s apprentice and
assistant) addressed her towards educational research and inclusive use of
different didactic tools and media: drama, video, writing, visual arts and web.
Lecturer to Special Needs Teachers trainings in some Universities in Rome, she
is now working as an author and a blogger as well as a lecturer. The goal of this training and research session
was to promote a community of practice based on the comparison and reflection
on the methodologies and best inclusive practices, with reference to the
emotional variables of the teaching/ learning process.
The first part of the day was dedicated to the
evolution of the school inclusion in Italy and to the importance of the values
enclosed in the concept of inclusion.
The emotional variables were the subject of the
narration and viewing of video-documentaries of some inclusive projects realized
at school.
In the afternoon participants attended an
expressivity workshop (both in painting and oral) with the pupils of the 5th
year of the primary school of Istituto
Comprensivo “G. Giorgi”. The
activity focused on the autobiographical narration: a story told by a boy with
the purpose of bringing out emotional empathy, a sense of identity with regard
to diversity. All in all, after a brief period of quiet, with background music
and along with the images of an under the sea video, the students were invited
to draw some aquatic element. As soon as they finished drawing, they went to read
a 30 meters length roll of a SEN student’s diary. Afterwards, they answered
some questions on paper and interview format related to that diary. The aim was
to know what emotions it aroused in them and what deductions they made about
the author of the diary.
It was followed by a moment for exchanging
views, sharing opinions, reflecting and debating, also on emotions and the
narrative-autobiographical method. Self-assessment activities were held at the
end of the work session and workshop.
The lecturer also displayed examples of the work
of some young people integrated in regular classes, for example in reading, painting,
video and theater projects (emotions brainstorming).
The group had dinner at Agriturismo and frantoio Palmieri in Acquaviva di Nerola - an agrotourism
and olive oil mill. The area where the grouping of schools is situated is very
rich in agriculture, especially olive groves. So, at dinner this day, we had
the opportunity to taste various delicacies made with local products.
Wednesday,
29.05.2019
In the morning the group was driven to the city
of Rieti.
At 9:30 a.m. began a visit to a catering and
hotel management (high secondary) school, named Istituto professionale per i servizi alberghieri e ristorazione -
Ranieri Antonelli Costaggini, that has the strongest level of inclusion in
Rieti. The group attended a presentation of its best practices and projects for
the inclusion of SEN students as well as their experience and participation in
Erasmus+/European projects. Then, it was time to pay a visit to the
kitchen and the laboratories where students train according to the
institution’s "open classes" project. We tried some sweets made by
the students and had the opportunity to interact with them acknowledging their
catering skills and communication abilities in a foreign language.
After, it was time for a brief tour to the
beautiful historic center of the city of Rieti, the capital of the Sabina region.
In the afternoon, back in Nerola, the Italian
team carried out two workshops: infant school kitchen workshop and primary
school traditional, popular music and dance workshop that enabled participants
to observe class strategies from kindergarten to primary school (cooperative
learning, tutoring, peer to peer education).
So, in one workshop we made butter cookies with
5 year old students that comfortably performed tasks in small group dynamics. In
the other workshop traditional dances and songs were taught by a local cultural
group in an attempt to keep alive the culture of their ancestors.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to attend the InsideOut jigsaw workshop about emotions which will be held in an
already scheduled Webinar.
Meanwhile, the 3rd coordinator’s meeting
occurred to discuss, assess and deliberate on the following topics: monitoring of activities and short-term joint
staff training events; project’s indicators, mobility tool access, dissemination procedures and celebration
of Erasmus Day 2019
planning. There was also place for some useful information given by the
croatian coordinator for the next mobility to this country. The meeting was
interrupted at 16h30 and restarted at around 18h00 to complete its agenda.
Despite the persistent rain over the last few days,
we were not deterred from making another cultural visit in order to understand
a bit of Nerola’s history, this time to Castello
Orsini (Orsini Castle), right next to the school: a medieval 10th century Romanesque style castle situated on top of
a hill above the town; documentation places the castle in the hands of an
aristocratic Roman family - the Orsini - by 1235. Ultimately, the
castle would be sold in 1728 and, in the 1867 attack on Rome, it was used as
shelter by the Garibaldini. The castle is now
transformed into a hotel.
Thursday, 30.05.2019
On this day, awakening was quite early in order to
be in Rome at 9:00 a.m. to visit the Public Institute for Deaf Students. After
a welcoming speech, there was a plenary session with a trainer specialized in
linguistics and hearing impairment - Maria De Monte - the issue being children
with Deafness: identity, family, linguistic exposure and communication
difficulties and use of sign language in context.
After that, speakers Mele E. and Gianfreda G .
talked about emotional language and expression: the sign language as a means to
express emotions; how the "oralist" and the "signing" of a
child expresses his/her own emotions, teaching emotions in a formal educational
setting and the role of schools in the education of a deaf person.
Speaker Accardo A. referred to special didactics
in the compulsory school and to education for deaf children in Italy.
From the speeches, simultaneously translated into
the English language, it could be perceived the process of inclusion of deaf
people in Italy: its legal, social, didactic context, experiences and good
practices that were disclosed by primary and lower secondary school teachers with
a long didactic experience with people with deafness and multideficiency.
Then, lecturers guided the group along a visit to
the school in the ISSR (Istituto Statale
per Sordi di Roma- State Institute for the Deaf in Rome)
Formerly an exclusive institute for deaf
children, it now presents itself as a school where true inclusion is practiced.
Classes do not exceed 12 students and the only condition for the creation of a
new class is that at least one deaf student participates in it. All students at
this school learn sign language to communicate with each other. Within the
visit there was a presentation of the educational framework of the deaf student
and their families, as well as a reflection based on the emotions of
non-listeners concerning their relationship with deaf peers, how they
understand them and interact. We listened to the testimony of two school
teachers, clearly very involved in this school’s system that revealed a bit of their
experience. At the same time, participants had the opportunity to listen to the
university of Roma 3 dean, who gave an important account of practices occurring
in higher education to foster the full inclusion of deaf students in
university.
After lunch, there was time for an amazing walk
into Renaissance and Baroque Rome: Piazza
del Popolo, via del Corso, Piazza di Spagna / Trinità dei Monti, Trevi Fountain,
Piazza Venezia, Colosseum, … Italy’s
capital, is a sprawling, cosmopolitan city with nearly 3,000 years of art,
architecture and culture on display. In every corner, ancient ruins evoke the
power of the former Roman Empire.
Returning to Montelibretti,
we dined at the already familiar Mamma
Mea, with its magnificent appetizers, pastas, pizzas and friendly service.
Friday, 31.05.2019
The last day began in the parish center of
Nerola, where students and teachers of lower secondary school in Acquaviva di
Nerola presented their projects for inclusion and emotions. We heard some
famous interpretations of Beethoven,
Anthem of Joy, and John Lenon’s Imagine.
We watched the PPT presentations of the projects undergone by the students, of
course, in English.
In this party atmosphere the exchange of mascots
took place. Each coordinator made a small speech summarizing the adventures and
experiences of the mascot to be delivered in his/her country and welcomed the
new mascot, which will travel to a new country after this mobility in Italy.
Then, caregivers offered a coffee break full of local
sweets, salads and pizzas. It was also possible to dialogue with some very
friendly students who showed great enthusiasm and curiosity about each
partner’s country.
At 10:45 participants were divided into 3 groups
to enroll in different workshops; Feelings
in Action in Montorio lower secondary school; I love leggere (I love reading) at the lower secondary school in
Monteflavio and Food and Art workshop
in Acquaviva.
In the Food
and Art workshop in Acquaviva participants attended cooking, modeling and
painting activities. Teachers guided students to work out chickens made of egg
white, olives and carrots. In another room the pupils made chocolate filled
cookies soaked in coconut – hum! Delicious! Other group of students created
varied images of plaster and clay and painted them.
Curiously, there was a student who showed up
playing the concertina which cheered others and got them to sing and dance for
a moment.
Back in Montorio, where we started this journey,
we were welcomed by a group of students in an English class that got us involved
in the activity Feelings and Emotions.
The well-known emoji were the
starting point for small groups to work out how to recognize and express
feelings and emotions; it was followed up by letter soups, short dramatizations,
implicating students and teachers, to foster vocabulary and behavior. The class
had three students with specific support but whose difficulties were completely
diluted in this inclusive activity.
I love
Reading in lower secondary school in
Monteflavio, gave way to the observation of cooperative learning, tutoring,
peer to peer activity upon a previously reading assignment. Again, in a set
environment (low calm music, teacher’s warm voice, at ease attitude in class)
students were asked to draw /write their perception of certain elements
suggested by teacher’s given mottos. At the end, they were supposed to have
expressed their inner emotions and perception of reality. This way, they should
learn how to deal with emotions and feelings of their own and of peers, fight
exclusiveness, solitude, reinforce self-esteem and relationships. There was
also time for a different follow up activity: watch digitally retold stories
that the students disseminate through QR (Quick Response) codes, and
association of reading, writing, oral and digital skills.
Last but not least, the time came for the final
outcome of this marvelous week – a magnificent open to the public musical
celebration in Nerola’s main square: a performance of the infant and primary
school, all about inclusion and emotions, supported in famous Disney Stories
and characters.
It was noticed the great commitment of all
community: students, teachers, auxiliaries, families. Each school class, properly
adorned, presented an excerpt from a Disney film, both in Italian and English.
Congratulations to all of you! You filled our
hearts with joy and happiness!!
To end up, a final roundtable was held to share
some ideas about inclusive school vs. special school: the Italian team prepared
a brainstorm to foment reflection upon weaknesses and strengths of the subject;
made available major literature and scientific studies that support pedagogical
and didactic options. Participants were given the opportunity to share
impressions and information, make comparisons to one’s realities and gather
knowledge and data to foster inclusive practices in the nearby future.
As it should be, the farewell dinner at Ristorante Allo Scapicollo in
Monteflavio was very lively and once again the partners contributed with their
vocal talents, interpreting songs from their countries. A chance to taste some more delicious Italian
food, laugh together, strengthen friendship bonds and farewell wishes.
Adio Roma!
Grazie a tutti!
Non chieduti di cosa ha bisogno il mondo…
Chiediti cosa ti rende felice… e poi fallo!!!
Il mondo há bisogno solo…
… di persone FELICI!!
Antoine Saint-Exupéry
