Introducing filmclip
Click here for the introducing filmmclip:
www.culturalfusion.eu/video/mobilityfilmclip.htm
Mobility
One of the most interesting aspects of internationalisation is to organise a real physical exchange with students abroad. Not only for them to do some sightseeing, but most importantly to experience a new way of life. Students will visit school, stay in hostfamilies, so they are really immersed in a new culture.
If you are interested, you can read in this module which steps you have to take to have a succesfull exchange.
First make sure that the school board, parents and the students support the idea. Form a workgroup of teachers who will carry out the project. Insure that there is a clear and appropriate division of tasks within the workgroup. Once that is taken care of you can search for partner schools.
2008, St. Canisius, Almelo, the Netherlands visits the Liceo Classico e Linguistico Statale Aristofane in Rome, Italy
Finding a partner school
There are different ways to find a partner school:
Or in Europe:
If you have found a partner school you will first have to put down some common goals and expectations of the exchange. This can be done by email/ videoconferencing. For example, if the goal of the trip is to improve the english language of the participants, then the hosts should provide as many opportunities as possible for the exchange students to practice speaking english.
Secondly, it is very important to meet your future partners during a preparatory visit. Not only to make sure that the project is supported but also to make solid and clear arrangements. During this visit you will see the school, meet the hostfamilies, make common goals about the exchange or project, the number of students, etc. This visit will help you to ease your concerns and make you feel more comfortable sending your students over. But also will make the hostfamilies familiar with you.
Select participating students
Activities
Infomeetings
It is very important to arrange some preliminary information meetings with your students to make clear arrangements about the rules, the program and what students can expect from the program. But also what will be expected from them.
It is also important to organise an information meeting for the parents. Parents will then know exactly what their son/daughter is going to do and they will have the opportunity to ask questions.
Trip and Organisation
Exchange 2006, St. Canisius, Almelo, The Netherlands and Paul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch, South-Africa
PR and communication
PR and communication is of great importance when you want to make sure that there is sufficient support within the school. More can be read about this in de module PR and communication.
Before the exchange:
During the exchange:
After the exchange:
Evaluation trip
Of course the exchange has to be evaluated by pupils, partners, and the workgroup. This way you can make sure that the next exchange and especially the organisation will be easier. For more information you can go to the module Project done … what’s next?
www.Etwinning.net (Partners)
www.europeesplatform.nl (BIOS for European Funding)
www.canisius.nl (St. Canisius High School website for examples of exchanges and web based reports)
Apply for the Financial aid for the exchange a year in advance
It is highly recommended to visit the partner school before hand to make good judgements about your partner school.
It is best to make a memorandum of understanding between your school and the partner school. In that case, both school have an obligation to fulfill the common goals.
Don’t forget to notify the administration and the teachers that you and your pupils will be absent.
When organizing the programme, take into account that the guests also want some spare time.
Put a programme booklet in the staffroom / advertise on the school website
Students can be provided with a certificate of participation in the exchange that they can keep in their portfolios.
Be prepared for the possibility of an exchange student/hostfamily situation not working out. In that case, you can easily solve this problem without hurting the feelings of the hostfamily, by telling them, the student is homesick. Normally the student can easily be placed together with one of his/her friends.