Between 20th and 25th October 2022, the second learning teaching training mobility took place in Novi Sad, Serbia. Groups formed by 2 teachers and 5 students from the three partner countries attended the meeting and participated in the activities.
Apart from presenting the school in Serbia, students getting to know each other and share things related to their countries and culture, the aim of this meeting was for students from Romania and Italy to learn things about the cultural heritage of the Bačka region of Vojvodina and about the women scientist Mileva Marić Einstein and position of women in education through time which we chose as a starting point of reference in our activities. Moreover, this was a great opportunity for students to practice their English, but also their digital skills, communication skills and form connections so that all the next activities in the project run smoothly. This was also an opportunity for teachers to share ideas, spend more time together to discuss project ideas for the future, possible problems, dissemination for all the schools involved.
On Thursday 20th October the participants gathered at information session where they were welcomed by the school principal and project coordinator followed by introduction to the Learning Session programme.
The first ice-breaking activity the students were asked to present themselves and tell what they like, then to present the peer next to him/her and repeat his/her favourite thing.
In the second ice-breaking activity they had to write 2 true and 1 untrue sentences about themselves and then the others should guess which one was untrue.
After the break our students presented our school and Serbian school system from their point of view, later on we organised a school visit.
Our participants were at the official reception in City Hall where the Mayor Assistant informed us about the history facts and purpose of the City Hall and Mayor.
After the visit the participants were divided into 5 groups with members of each country being given a link with a Treasure Hunt Game with description of the specific cultural, geographical and historical features. In groups they tried to locate old buildings, churches and monuments after solving a riddle and making a group selfie as a proof. They learnt facts about Novi Sad cultural sites and famous persons.
In the afternoon the participants had the Kahoot quiz (link) on all the information they learnt that day. At the end the coordinator organised a welcome dinner for all participant’s in order to make a better connection among them in a friendly environment.
In the morning of 21st October the participants went to the town to visit the museum of Vojvodina in order to get know better about the history of this region and its trade marks. The second stop was the Galery of Matica Srpska where students had an opportunity to become acquainted with the work of Uroš Predić- Serbian famous artist. During their visit they receive a card and a task to find a piece of art in front of which they can explain their point of view and answer the questions. This activity was very useful and interesting for the children. Then we visited the innovative and meaningful exhibition “Time and universe” which was organised within the celebration of Novi Sad as a European Culture Centre. After the lunch break students had a task to record a radio podcast where host students should ask guest students about their experience and impressions about Novi Sad history, culture and art exhibitions.
On Saturday, October 22nd students and their teachers visited Petrovaradin fortress where they were engaged in several tasks through experiential learning. They visited Petrovaradin catacombs accompanied by a guide who shared important information about the history and importance of this place.
The students had the task to document this visit by making photos and collecting information of the important sights. Also they were given a Scavenger hunt game and asked to find landmarks of Petrovaradin fortress and its meaning.
The next destination was the little town of Sremski Karlovci, an important cultural, spiritual and wine region. Here, the students took a stroll through the town with a guide who took them to visit The Orthodox Cathedral of St Nikolai, Clerical High School of St. Arsenije, The Patriarchal Court and the first Serbian secondary school, Karlovci Grammar School. The visit ended by going to the Viewpoint. The participants learnt about the interesting facts connected to the culture of Sremski Karlovci using their skills- collaboration, communication and problem solving skills. They were asked to find an item and answer the question connected to the particular item. Afterwards, we discussed the importance of the trail for local people and its tourist valorisation. In addition they were asked to take a picture and group selfies as a preparation for the following task of making a tourist brochure.
On Monday two workshops were held: Women in science: Mileva Maric Einstein and women heroes of Novi Sad and Gender equality in education and stereotypes.
15 students were divided into 5 groups, each group having three students- one student from Serbia, one from Romania and one from Italy. The groups were given the following tasks:
- do a short research of the live of Mileva Maric Einstein
- make a corresponding poster in the Canva application
- read a short text about one prominent woman of Novi Sad
- discuss with other groups the social positions and possibilities of women to get educated in 19. and at the beginning of the 20.century.
When they finished recording the role play, everybody had a lunch break after which the groups watched a short interview with the modern women scientist where they could hear some of the challenges modern women scientists face.
The students then briefly discussed the position of women scientists in the past and now and they wrote a short script for the second interview.
During the workshop, the students and the teachers were interviewed by the TV crew so the project also appeared in the media. The students had the opportunity to give their opinion and impressions about mobility
After the break the second workshop was conducted. Students were divided into 5 groups. They discussed the stereotypes related to gender and gender roles in daily life. Their tasks were to stand out and defend their point of view and to find an example from their experience to back up their opinion. The point of the workshop was to raise awareness and to activate their critical thinking and they achieved this goal.
They also discussed gender stereotypes connected to future career choice and education in STEM subjects nowadays.
In the morning of 25th October we first had an ICT Workshop: Creating one tourist brochure for Novi Sad, and another for Petrovaradin and Sremski Karlovci. The students learnt to use Canva in creating a brochure, select representative pictures and add convenient text which would attract attention. Link to the brochures.
In the following workshop each group of three participants had the task to create a Poster.
They had to make a presentation poster based on 2 elements: the pictures from the visited sites during mobility activities, the explanation of the importance and their opinion of what they have learnt during all activities.
After lunch the participants had a Traditional Dance Workshop. They learnt to dance a traditional dance “Bačko kolo” which is accompanied by traditional music and costumes. In the afternoon the students made an evaluation of the learning session submitting the feedback collector. After that we had a short performance of modern dance and songs done by our host students.
The learning session was closed with a ceremony where the students and teachers were given presents and certificates of attendance.
Most answers showed positive feedback regarding the LTT, a few answers showed that things can be improved a bit regarding the number of activities (less walking). All the planned outcomes were fulfilled. By the opinion of the participants’ team work, English language knowledge, communication and social skills have been improved along with cooperation and speaking in public. The most useful activity was Treasure hunt game (8), although the participants liked other activities as well. Overall, the results of learning and mobility experience were excellent and the accommodation arrangements good.
Erasmus+ team Primary school “Žarko Zrenjanin”
Milana Rangelov, Mirjana Tunguz, Radoslava Rimski, Aleksandra Spasić project coordinator
