In Medias ReStart
In Medias ReStart – integrative approach to teaching media, digital, reading, science, multilingual and multicultural literacy
Project In Medias ReStart, which is co-financed from the European Social Fund of the European Union, is conducted by three educational institutions. The holder (user) of the project is Matija Gubec Elementary School from Zagreb and the partners are Mario Martinolić Elementary School from Mali Lošinj and Marko Marulić High School from Slatina. It started on 30 November2017 and it is due to end by 30 November 2019.
The goal of the project is to develop extracurricular activities for the students from the third grade of elementary school up to the second grade of high school. Under them using the integrative approach to teaching would develop student competencies and skills in media, digital, reading, scientific, multilingual and multicultural literacy.
Professional training of education employees is also provided as a part of the project and they will develop and create contents and activities and educate their students through extracurricular activities.
Project goal
Researches have shown that students do not acquire enough knowledge in the area of different kinds of literacy during their formal education. The aim of this project is to improve different kinds of literacy as a foundation for acquiring key skills for lifelong learning. Furthermore, this project will improve the capacity of educational institutions to carry out the extracurricular activities aimed to develop several kinds of literacy. The target groups of the project are elementary and high school students and educational employees.
What is literacy?
Nowdays to be literate does not mean just to be able to read and write. Modern literacy implies to understand concepts and contents, critical thinking, analysis and validation of the information we are daily exposed to.
Without the basic competencies of literacy today we are no longer qualified to participate in social and political events and civic activities nor to cope with the multitude of information which we are offered and which we have difficulties to analyse and choose properly. To be active participants of today's society of knowledge we have to be able to find, critically validate, analyse, use, choose, utilize, even produce a piece of information and that′s why we need skills and tools which we have to learn and use.
Kinds of literacy
Literacy is divided according to different areas of knowledge and skills which we have to obtain to acquire competencies to use them and in the In Medias ReStart project we will be dealing with the six basic kinds of literacy:
1. Media literacy
Media literacy is usually defined as the ability to access, analyse, evaluate and send messages by using the media. Furthermore, we have to add critical evaluation of media content, recognition of human values and ideas in them and developing our own attitudes. Media literacy is important for critical understanding of media, evaluating media messages, recognizing false and hidden messages, defending from manipulation, but also for creating our own media message.
2. Digital literacy
The Croatian National General Curriculum calls digital literacy digital competency and defines it as „qualification to safely and critically use informational and communicational technology for work, personal and social life and in communication. Its key elements are basic informational and communicational skills and abilities: using computers to find, evaluate, store, create, show and exchange information and develop affiliate networks by using the Internet“
3. Reading literacy
PISA defines it as „understanding and using written texts, reflecting on them and the ability to engage with the text while reading it to achieve personal goals, develop knowledge and potential and actively participate in society.“ It is considered that reading literacy is the foundation for success in all other subjects and a precondition for successful lifelong learning and active participation in social and political events. Moreover, researches show that the level of reading literacy in a country is a better indicator of economic growth than academic achievement.
4. Scientific literacy
Under the term scienticic literacy PISA cites scientific knowledge and science itself, then understanding of scientific processes – the ability to find, interprete and apply conclusions based on evidence: describing, explaining and predicting natural phenomena, understanding scientific research and interpreting scientific data and conclusions and in the end applying scientific knowledge in one of the three main contexts: life and health, the Earth and environment and science and technology.
Today it is almost impossible to understand the world around us without knowing the basics of natural sciences and the methods of learning and discovering them
5. Multilingual literacy
In today's global world, to be able to successfully communicate it is important to know and understand e few languages. That knowledge becomes equally important as the knowledge of your mother tongue because at every step we meet different language matrices. Multilingual literacy is therefore the ability to purposefully use language for understanding spoken/written texts or expressing yourself in a written form.
6. Multicultural literacy
Multilingual literacy refers to unerstanding the others and different from us to be able to establish dialogue between cultures. This kind of literacy helps us fight against prejudice and stereotypes, better understand other cultures, customs, beliefs, symbols and form positive attitudes towards differences.
Integrative approach
With the In Medias ReStart project, within extracurricular activities and with modern and interactive approach to topics, students will have an opportunity to know how to analyse and critically evaluate given information by acquiring the basis of these six kinds of literacy.
Lesson plans are conceived in such a way that one content could be regarded and evolved through acquiring and improving a few kinds of literacy, and students will under the leadership of their teachers actively participate in creating materials, they will be associates and partners in creating and forming the curriculum in this field of education , they will learn to critically and proactively think, act, find their way and express themselves in information extremely demanding surroundings.
Along with the improvement of literacy skills, the project contributes to achieving equal possibilities, gender equality, non discrimination, sustainable development and environmental protection. The goal of the project is to educate students about their social responsibility towards the society and nature and to enable them to become actively involved in informing the public about the up-to-date topics by producing media contents and within education campaigns. The project will also encourage promoting the principle of good governance, including the cooperation with the civil society.
Extracurricular activities
The project will develop five programmes of extracurricular activities:
- The programme for the third and the fourth grades of elementary school
- The programme for the fifth and the sixth grades of elementary school
- The programme for the seventh and the eighth grades of elementary school
- The programme for the first grade of high school
- The programme for the second grade of elementary school
The main information about the project
The project is co-financed by the European Union from the European Social Fund
The name of the project: In Medias ReStart - integrative approach to teaching media, digital, reading, scientific, multilingual and multicultural literacy
The implementation period of the project: 30 November 2017 – 30 November 2019
The total value of the project is 1,.442.364.79 kn. The amount of the EU co-financing: 100%
The holder:
Osnovna škola Matije Gupca
Matija Gubec International School
IB World School
Zagreb, Hrvatska
www.os-mgubec.hr
The partners:
Srednja škola Marka Marulića Slatina
Slatina, Hrvatska
www.ss-mmarulica-slatina.skole.hr
Osnovna škola Maria Martinolića
Mali Lošinj, Hrvatska
www.os-mmartinolica.skole.hr
Contact: administratorprojekta@os-mgubec.hr
