The 4Cs: Creativity, Critical Thinking, Communication and Collaboration in Schools
Maja Markesic
Dates: April 4, 2022 - April 9, 2022.
Location: Europass Acadamy of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
Day 1
4.4.2022.
Upon arrival at the Europass Acadamy of Ireland and a warm welcome from the staff, we met the mentor Justine Nandale. The mentor presented the work of the Academy and the course plan and introduced us to the weather that awaits us, attractions and buildings that we should visit during our stay in Dublin. This was followed by the introduction of the participants, who presented their countries, cities and schools with short presentations. That's how we learned more about Finland, Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic and Croatia. In order to get to know each other better, we participated in a game known as icebreaker. We wrote our favorite color, the animal we would like to be, the person who is our role model in the fingers of our own palm drawn on the paper... The paper had to be crumpled and thrown in the middle of the room. Then, the people came to the center of the room in turn, lifted and straightened the paper, read what it said and tried to guess which of the participants it belonged to. The first day was concluded with a discussion about the expectations we have from the course and the topics we think should be mentioned, but which are not included in the program. The participants wrote their proposals on self-adhesive pieces of paper which they stuck to the board. The pieces of paper remained as a reminder on the board until the end of the course.
Day 2
5.4.2022.
The second day started with an activity that will motivate us for further work (Warm-up activity). We played a very energetic and fun game where we had to touch the knee of other game participants, but at the same time try to protect our own knees. The game was followed by a discussion about motivation and factors that influence motivation. We all remembered how important it is to be aware that teachers are role models for their students. They are the ones who discover the student's potential, inspire him and encourage progress. By working in groups, we were supposed to come up with a solution on how, in a classroom where there are excellent students and students who achieve below-average results, to divide the students into groups that will achieve equal results and how to motivate the students to work. Each group presented their idea to the other groups. By exchanging experiences, we came up with a lot of fun ways to motivate students: • a social game, • by asking questions while throwing the ball to the students • quiz • acting • start the lesson by doing something unexpected (darken the room, singing a song...) • song and music • a short video, • a riddle, • tongue twisters Fun apps that can serve as motivation and are also recommended for learning English: • https://lyricstraining.com • www.Freerice.com • https://panel.genial.ly/templates/games • https://geoguessr.com/ • www.learningapps.org We started the communication chapter by playing the game Describe what you see and watching a clip of the Mr Bean episode. We have seen how different it is when you personally watch an event (clip) from a re-recorded version of the same event (clip). This activity started with one person facing the screen and watching the clip and telling the other what was happening, while the person listening tried to write down as many details as they could hear. After a few minutes, people would switch places. At the end of the activity, a recording of both clips was played so that the participants could see what the person they were playing with tried to convey to them with words. After that, we remembered the types of verbal and non-verbal communication and played several games that we could use in working with our students. We can encourage verbal communication in the classroom with the game Small talk. It is necessary to form two circles, inner and outer. The inner circle rotates so that each person in the inner circle talks for one minute to a person who is a member of the outer circle. By rotating the circle, it is necessary to change the topic of conversation. We remembered the types of non-verbal communication: facial expression, hand work, nodding, eye contact, body position, way of dressing, appearance, breathing... Under the guidance of the mentor, the participants played the game Do what I do, a motivational exercise (Warm-up activity). Each person writes down one action on paper, the person next to them takes the paper and mimics the given action (driving a motorcycle, cooking, hunting, swimming, washing an elephant), and the other participants guess what the person showed.
Day 3
6.4.2022.
The third day started with a picture of a brick. All participants had to write what a brick can be used for in a given time of 90 seconds. At the end of the activity, the conclusion was that in the last 30 seconds, the participants became more creative in their writing. The mentor introduced the participants to the stages of the creativity process. Then we tried our hand at writing a haiku poem, a limerick poem and an acrostic and shared our works with others. With the Round Robin game, all participants took part in writing the same story. The activity started with the given topic of the story, and then each person would write one sentence and fold the paper before passing it around. The third day was concluded with an exercise in giving constructive feedback. Feedback rules: • Be determined • Start with the positive • Metoga sandwich: positive – negative – positive • To suggest how to be better • Comment on the job, not the person • It is not necessary to mention all the things that were done badly • Focus on progress • Avoid the word but, use the words and or at the same time
Day 4
7.4.2022.
We dedicated the fourth day of lectures to critical reflection. The 6 hats model is the way we can approach learning or a problem situation. The mentor presented this method step by step, followed by an exercise. All participants were divided into groups of three, each was given a verse and analyzed it using this model. An example of using the 6 hats model in lower grades of primary school: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUIiluJrWKg Through the conversation and guided discussion, we remembered why it is important to think critically about the media and everything we see and hear in the media and on social networks, and why it is important to teach the same to students. We continued by talking about cooperation. All types of cooperation in the educational system were mentioned, but the most attention was paid to quality cooperation with parents. Through the workshop, we tried to portray with dramatization how a parent would react to a student's misconduct, and how the teacher would react, and how to give constructive feedback to the parent. After that, we based ourselves on cooperation with colleagues and the goals we set before the start of the project (Smart goals). In order to emphasize the importance of cooperation to achieve a goal, all participants played games in which it was crucial to cooperate if they wanted to win. In the Up Nelson game, the participants are divided into two groups that sit behind the benches in two rows placed one above the other. One group gets a coin and has to pass it from hand to hand. The aim of the game is for the other group not to know which person has the coin. When the host says Up Nelson! all members of the group with the coin place their palms on the table. The other group must call out the person they think has the coin. Bank Robbery is a brainstorming game that we played in groups. We had to read the story we were given, and then try to deduce from the story who robbed the bank. One person from the group was given the task of monitoring how other members behave during problem solving and how they reach conclusions.
Day 5
8.4.2022.
On the last day, the course was evaluated. The participants reflected on the quality of the lectures, lecturers and how much they had learned in the past four days by creating posters. Each person presented their review. The activity was followed by the distribution of awards to the participants.
Day 6
9.4.2022.
The last day of our stay in Ireland was the first sunny and warm day. A perfect day for a trip. The journey to the west coast of Ireland was marked by the company of an unforgettable driver named Bud, who introduced us to the landscape, sights and culture of Ireland in a fun and unique way. We visited the magnificent Cliffs of Moher and the town of Gallaway.
