The project | The Walking Classroom

The Walking Classroom is an Erasmus+ project between two schools, Colegio Inmaculada of Alicante and Asker Videregående Skole. We will create a Walking Classroom that combines school with the benefits from doing pilgrimages.

A ‘Walk and Talk’ is well known in the organization life. We want to use it to create a new method of learning in school; from walk and talk to walk and learn. If we agree that movement stimulates nerve cells and neurotransmitters, which is important for learning, we will argue that we think better and in a more creative way when we walk. The idea is that this will help the students to achieve in- depth learning. This is off course also influenced by the sociocultural learning theory where the social component is very important, and the students learn from each other but with guidance from the teacher. Almost any subject can be included in this project, but we have singled out some. We would like to have walking classes of religion, history, social science, mathematics, natural science and physical education. It will be interesting to see both the intended and unintended consequences of the days walk. By walking together with students from another country we will also help the students achieve cultural competence. We will build bridges between the two countries. Building bridges and knowledge across borders is extremely important in today’s world where the contrasts between people are getting bigger and the rhetoric of many of the politicians are built on fear and opposition.

The concrete results that we expect is for example in depth learning of topics from the different subject, a better understanding and knowledge about the two countries pilgrimage routes, a better understanding of how Walk and Talk/Walk and Learn can be used inside and outside classrooms, an understanding of the benefits of being outside in the nature and a better ecological and sustainable understanding among the students. By achieving all the objectives and producing the expected results we will be promoting the social and educational value of European cultural heritage as well as a comprehensive approach to language teaching and learning. All of this will lead us to promote our most relevant priority, the strengthening of the profile of our teaching profession.

The participants of our project will be 12 students per school per year. 48 students in total for the two years. At Asker VGS there will be a selection process among the students in the first year of high school. The students must write an application in English where they explain what is their motivation for being part of the project and how they plan to keep up with the school work while they are in the project. Inmaculada School will also make a selection process in the first year of high school. Out of 120 students only 12 will be selected according to their English level and their academic and attitudinal grades. The students must be able to express themselves in a decent English (B1 level minimum) to carry out the project tasks with the Norwegian Students. They are also asked to have good grades since they will have to miss to weeks of the school calendar while working on the project. Two teachers from each school will travel with the students.

The activities will be short-term exchanges of groups of pupils traveling first in September from Alicante to Asker and then in April from Asker to Alicante. This will be done in the two years of the project. But as mentioned above, what is interesting is that we will not stay in the two cities, we will take our classrooms outside and make them Walking Classrooms.

The impact we expect in both communities will be big enough to affect all the students in both schools and their families and all the teachers. We also expect an impact in both cities aided by the local press and both schools social media. Through eTwinning we aim to impact many schools across Europe that will look for inspiration in our project’s TwinSpace. And we will also try to reach the whole Jesuit Education Community through Educate Magis. For our potential longer term benefits we would really like to have a clear feeling that Asker Videregående Skole is a real partner to Inmaculada School, working in future Erasmus+ projects with students mobilities and others with teacher mobilities. We truly believe that this will make both schools communities more aware of what it means to be citizens of the EU. We want to bring the European spirit to all our members.