OUTDOOR LEARNING. Teachers and staff team building – working together and build cooperation projects

ERASMUS K1 PROJECT

about the course

Duration
5-12 days
Location
Soverato
TOpic

course description

Why Is Team Building Important?

Team building is probably the best way to build collaborative, high performing teams that will also increase faculty morale and student performance. The benefits of team building programs incorporating the differences in the four basic personalities as well as team bonding and camaraderie activities are so important that many schools have incorporated team building strategies into their standard training curriculum for staff development.

 Building and maintaining a positive team culture and atmosphere is every bit as important as paying the electric bill. It’s not just something you should think about. It’s something you need to start doing immediately and is crucial to your school getting through these tough economic times, not just barely hanging on for dear life but charging forward.

“Enthusiasm, pure and simple, should be one of the most highly prized traits of your staff… and it’s contagious!”

Teachers’ values and ethics, school cohesiveness and school atmosphere are the main factors having an impact on students’ learning and on the wider community. We can have the best teachers and tools in the world but if we don’t have a consistent approach to learning and effective working teams then our teaching will have a limited impact.

Team building is undoubtedly one of the best ways to build high performing teams whose collaborative work will have an impact on the school and consequently on student performance. There are many ways to build a team spirit among teachers.

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” – Plato

The problem met by new teams is the general confusion that exists among team members. Which role does each member have to assume? What kind of relationship should be advocated? How can we use the competencies and experience of individuals to serve a team purpose? Do we need clear established rules and policies or do we leave each member free to reach their targets the way they want?

Enhance team performance through design and leadership

Great teams are energizing and productive, delivering breakthrough results. In an effective team, everyone understands how to contribute in ways that support team outcomes that go above and beyond what any individual could accomplish alone. But teamwork isn’t easy. Even the best teams, with the most well-intentioned colleagues, can encounter problems that hinder their collective accomplishments.

In this training, you will learn strategies and facilitation techniques for building great teams and creating successful team dynamics. You will develop skills that enhance communication and trust, and align team members around shared goals so they can effectively plan, communicate, execute, and deliver.

Designed for managers and team leaders, this team-building training will teach you how to cultivate maximum team productivity by understanding how to navigate the stages of team development and address team challenges. It includes team leadership techniques for local and virtual teams.

LEARNING GOALS:

  • Understand different terms, definitions and approaches in the literature of outdoor education/outdoor learning, experiential, adventure learning
  • Learn about the European and the global framework, the EU documents and guidelines and the connection with the Green Deal
  • Experience tools and methods using concretely outdoor activities learning with other teachers
  • Strengthen team building and brainstorm about conflicts at school, exploring relationships among teachers, conflict management methods and guidelines 
  • Develop different types of lesson plans experimenting creativity, critical thinking and working in nature empowering team building and improving the internal school relationships

Target Group

Participants can be any Teacher at any level of education working in a public or private school or educational institutions

program/Training Modules

INTRO/METHOD

Like all our programs, the present one is flexible and adaptable to special requests, depending on the subject taught or on the starting level of the participant.

Furthermore, in line with the JUMP Academy method, our courses are based on a strategic balance between formal and non-formal education, indoor and outdoor education and the team takes care of a very important aspect of international mobility which is the intercultural learning which we develop with short excursions and facilitating the interaction with local partners, businesses and citizens of our territory. Each local context has its own economy so it’s always useful, in training programs, to get in contact with concrete examples (experiential learning and real based learning).

We always try to connect our learners to local teachers and students to cooperate in developing innovation and networking for future projects. If possible, inside the program, a morning is spent inside a local school, visiting, observing, and cooperating in the realization of one or more lessons. The proposed program JUMP works, in European dimension and with an international spirit, at the local level and, according to the period of the training along the year and the weather, it is possible to change some sessions and add visits and meetings, in cooperation with our network of partners including schools involved in European projects).

 

WEEK DAILY SCHEDULE 

Saturday or Sunday:

Arrival of participants, transfer and welcome. Lodging and logistic support. Depending on the arrival time the participants are helped to have a meal or fulfill any other need.

Monday morning session:09:30 – 12:30

Meeting in the lobby of Villa Gabriella International, welcome, first briefing by the organizers, presentation of the team, logistics information, gadgets distribution and start of the program. Walking down to the city center. Outdoor team building activity “The Mission Impossible game in Soverato”. Getting to know the important places of the city, the orientation points, traditions and cultural elements, interacting with local citizens.

12:30 end of the morning activity with a debriefing and logistic info

Free time for lunch or to enjoy the beach

Organized lift from the city center to the Villa.

Monday afternoon session: 15:00 – 17:00

“Experience Calabria. A place to live, a place to love”. Presentation of JUMP and of the most important cultural elements of the region. Participants are asked to present themselves quickly and introduce their school in a creative or digital way using the internet and our screen.

Dinner organized for all the groups in a local restaurant.

Tuesday morning session: 09:30 – 12:30

Meeting on the terrace of Villa Gabriella.

First outdoor ice breaking game to get to know each other and create a good working climate.

Division in small groups and start of the indoors or outdoor sessions with the JUMP trainer.

Introduction to Module 1, Why team building and why outdoors? Discussing the Benefits of Team Building. Outdoor group dynamics to getting to know each other better

13:00 – 15:00 lunch break and free time

Tuesday afternoon session: 15:00 – 17:30

1st excursion to develop cultural knowledge, strengthen team building and socialization among participants.

“Walking tour to the old village of Soverato Superiore, visit to the Church of “La Pietà” of Gagini and exploring the narrow streets. Interacting with local people.

Free evening to enjoy the city center

Wednesday morning session: 09:30 – 12:30

Module 2, Encouraging tolerance and understanding. Creating an understanding and awareness of individual differences, personality strengths, and weaknesses. Breaking down barriers

Module 3, Building team spirit. Creating a sense of belonging and connectivity. Building self-esteem

13:00 – 15:00 lunch break and free time

Wednesday afternoon session: 15:00 – 17:00

Module 4, Team development – Building a community with a common purpose

Free evening to enjoy the city center or rest

Thursday morning session:09:30 – 12:30

Module 5, Creating a climate of cooperation and collaborative problem-solving

Module 6, Improving motivation. Improving communication within the group. Connection with nature and the outdoor ideal environments for team building

13:00 – 15:00 lunch break and free time

Thursday afternoon is (usually) free time.

The staff will provide some suggestions for possible activities or excursions. For example to Catanzaro city, Capital of the region

Friday morning session: 09:30 – 11:00 (shorter morning lesson).

Module 7, Bringing more outdoor learning for team building and teacher’s benefit in my school

11:00 free time to visit the local market which is nice and folkloristic.

On Friday – at an agreed time – usually in the afternoon – it’s organized as an excursion in a beautiful and unique old village with a final dinner. The staff enjoys it and there’s a professional guide with us.

Depending on the season the excursion starts in the morning or in the afternoon. From July to September it’s usually in the afternoon-evening for the high heat.

Saturday morning session: 09:30 – 12:00

Closing the course: Evaluation and delivery of formal certificates/Europass and admin documents.

Saturday afternoon:

Free time and last moments all the participants together for socialization.

Sunday: 

Departure of participants.

The indicated times may suffer some changes depending on the season (earlier in the winter time and later in the summertime). 

TRAINING MODULES:

Module 1: Why team building and why outdoors? Discussing the Benefits of Team Building. Outdoor group dynamics to getting to know each other better

Module 2: Encouraging tolerance and understanding. Creating an understanding and awareness of individual differences, personality strengths, and weaknesses. Breaking down barriers

Module 3: Building team spirit. Creating a sense of belonging and connectivity. Building self-esteem

Module 4: Team development – Building a community with a common purpose

Module 5: Creating a climate of cooperation and collaborative problem-solving

Module 6: Improving motivation. Improving communication within the group. Connection with nature and the outdoor ideal environments for team building

Module 7: Bringing more outdoor learning for team building and teacher’s benefit in my school

 

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of the training week teachers will have:

  • Understood different terms, definitions and approaches in the literature of outdoor education/outdoor learning, experiential, adventure learning
  • Learned about the European and the global framework, the EU documents and guidelines and the connection with the Green Deal
  • Experienced tools and methods using concretely outdoor activities learning with other teachers
  • Strengthened team building and brainstorm about conflicts at school, exploring relationships among teachers, conflict management methods and guidelines 
  • Developed different types of lesson plans experimenting creativity, critical thinking and working in nature empowering team building and improving the internal school relationships

certification details

JUMP certifies or 36 hours for 6 days course (6*6) or more if extra hours per day are needed. Or 30 hours for a 5 days course (6*5). 

The course can be also extended to a 2 weeks course with the options 10 days or 12 days course if asked and agreed, depending on the project of the sending organization. 

10 days are excluded the weekend (5+5), 12 days are from Monday to Saturday morning (6+6). 

At the end of the training, JUMP delivers a formal certificate of attendance and the team is at disposal to fill the Europass certification document according to the EU model template and other needed documents for reporting of the sending institution. 

 

Certification details

Costs

the cost is fully covered by the Erasmus grant. Write to info@associazionejump.it to ask for information on costs and the services provided to plan your mobility project in Soverato with JUMP.

How to apply

For info and registration about the course fill the form below or contact us to our mail.

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