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Learning through games to keep children at school
Start date: Oct 1, 2015, End date: Sep 30, 2017 PROJECT  FINISHED 

Tackling the problem of early school leaving is the one of the priority targets of Europe. In the Europe Strategy 2020, it has been planned to reduce the dropout rate to %10 from the current 15 %. We aim to contribute the solution to this problem with this project “learning through games”. Using games while teaching lessons will be an effective method to increase pupils achievement and to keep pupils aged 6-10 at school. The reasons of absenteeism and early school leaving are the low socio-economic level of families, parents' attitudes towards school, pupils' feeling inadequate in lessons, pupils' not feeling belonging to school, the inadequate interest of teachers in pupils, not existing role models around disadvantaged pupils especially in Romanies. Thanks to the project we will reduce these disparities in learning outcomes affecting pupils. We aim to reach pupils by teaching through games which creates amusing learning atmospheres. In recent years it has come out that to provide permanent learning, rather than just to tell the subject, the feelings of a child should be involved. Because it was found that learning consists of 20% mental, 80% emotional. Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, the professor of the psychology , recommends that learning environment should be not only disciplined but also fun and added the game is very important for children of primary school age. Freud defined children’s mental health as “love and play”. Game is children’s most important and serious work. They learn everything in games; they repeat what they learn in games. While children are studying, we must find ways to benefit from games. Taking into consideration this information, games are chosen as an effective way to reach pupils. Thanks to games, we will help pupils express themselves, increase their self-confidence, make them feel themselves valuable, provide them learning environment where the inequality of opportunity in education is reduced, provide comfortable learning environments, encourage pupils use their creativity, develop their problem solving skills and digital skills and provide permanent learning. This project is based on the exchange of good practices. Each partner will share good practices about teaching through games which makes learning enjoyable. The number of partners is 6. We have a partnership consisting of Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Italy, Greece and Turkey. Participants will handle these methods and techniques: Games for developing creativity (Turkey); aiming to increase pupils creativity, games in Learning by doing (Romania); focuses on “doing” in addition to the “hearing” and “seeing” that occur in traditional learning, learning outside school (Greece); learning out of the classroom by playing, helping pupils recognize their environment and the world, games in ICT for learning (Poland); improving pupils’ digital skills; games in cooperative learning (Italy) aiming pupils’ work in groups and feeling belonging to the school, developing social skills. While applying these defined teaching methods and techniques, activities containing games will be performed to make the learning process fun. Basic need of pupils in the 6-10 age group, the game, will be met. So the learning atmosphere will be more fun and it will increase pupils’ desire to come to school. In the first year there will be 3 transnational meetings and 3 learning/teaching/training activities; in the second year 3 transnational meetings and 3 learning/teaching/training activities will be organized. As pupils are little, they won’t be taken to the partner countries. Only teachers will be in these learning/teaching/training activities. We expect our pupils to be happier, more active while learning through games. This project will reduce the negative attitudes towards school and provide them an entertaining learning environment. Teachers and pupils will get to know the teaching and learning process in partner schools. They will understand their situation better by seeing the differences and similarities. They will realize the diversity in languages and cultures. They will also have a desire to improve English as a common language. This project will provide the opportunity for teachers to see the teaching methods and techniques on the spot, facilitating the sharing of best practices. Teachers will have enriched the teaching methods and techniques they use in their schools and help them to develop their career and to meet needs of pupils faster and in a different way. The project will increase the interest of the stakeholders towards the school. The participatipang schools will be an example for the other schools in the neighborhood. Shared methods and techniques in learning/teaching/training activities will be collected on the website and in a manual and the project results will be available for everyone. As a result , this project will contribute a solution to absenteeism and early school leaving problem.
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