This document provides information about the British Council's Connecting Classrooms program. It includes:
1. Contact information for project managers in various countries involved with the program.
2. An overview of the Connecting Classrooms program, which builds partnerships between schools in the UK and other countries to develop cultural understanding and global skills.
3. Details on the three core components of the program: collaborative learning projects, international recognition awards, and professional development for teachers.
2. British Council Contacts
UK
Ruth Cocks Project Delivery Manager
Stephen Hull Project Delivery Officer
Mexico
Bruno Hernández Project Manager
Venezuela
Mark Gregson Project Delivery Manager
Jamaica
Camille Neil Project Delivery Manager
Trinidad and Tobago
Allyson Pantin Project Delivery Manager
3. What is Connecting Classrooms?
British Council Connecting Classrooms builds lasting
partnerships between groups of schools in the UK and
around the world.
Through these partnerships,
the programme develops
trust and understanding
between different
communities, and gives
young people the skills and
cultural awareness they
need to live and work in a
global society.
4. Connecting
Classrooms has
three core
components which
will be delivered
worldwide.
COLLABORATIVE
LEARNING
Collaborative
Curriculum
Projects
RECOGNITION
International
School Award
PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
To embed the
international
dimension
Next
5. Collaborative curriculum projects
Enable learners to
interact across
Geographical
boundaries
to enhance their
understanding of each
others societies,
languages and cultures.
Back
6. Professional development
To enable teachers
and school leaders to
build capacity, support,
international
partnerships and
embed the international
dimension within the
culture and ethos of the
schools involved.
Back
7. Recognition
Schools that participate
in Connecting
Classrooms become
eligible for the
International School
Award, recognising the
school’s commitment to
forming international
partnerships and
developing global
citizens
Back
9. Connecting Classrooms
Country Pilot Schools Cohort One
Schools
Cohort Two
Schools
Brazil 25 25 25
Mexico 15 15 15
Venezuela 10 10 10
Colombia 10 10 10
Argentina 8 10 10
Cuba 5 5 5
Chile 10 10 10
Jamaica 5 5 5
T&T 5 5 5
Total 93 95 95
10. The Programme
Year 1
Contact seminar preparation workshop
• making the most of the contact seminar
Contact seminar, 4 days
• Meeting partners, forming partnership,
planning joint project work
• School visit and case study
Joint curriculum projects
• Starting curriculum related joint project
activities
Year 2
Cluster grant
• UK and LAC cluster receive £2,500 for
project work.
• Cluster co-ordinators receive £1,000 for
co-ordinating partnership
Joint curriculum projects
• Curriculum related joint project activities
Professional development opportunities
• Developing practitioners’ skills e.g ICC
ISA?
Year 3
Cluster grant
• UK and LAC cluster receive £2,500 for
project work.
• Cluster co-ordinators receive £1,000 for co-
ordinating partnership
2009-10
International Leader Award
International Schools Award
Pilot
11. The programme impacts on actual
curriculum delivery and entitlement
though policy dialogue and partnerships
with ministries and government agencies,
curriculum bodies, local authorities or
districts.
Partnership work is
embedded in the ethos and
curriculum of the
organisations participating
and based on mutuality.
The programme reaches
millions through strategic area
links, media partnerships, high
profile events and conferences
and pre-established networks.
Scope &
dissemination:
Sustainability:
Systemic impact:
Values
Partnerships
within the
model are
characterised
by three
principles:
Editor's Notes
You might like to show the film at the beginning of the session – it lasts about 4 minutes and you will need sound.
This session will take about 45 minutes.
Introduce team (add officers overseas)
Ruth:
Read this slide then play the video
In order to respond to different educational priorities around the world, Connecting Classrooms also offers flexibility through a unique menu of additional options.
Connecting Classrooms recognises that education systems are different around the world and therefore allows us to “think globally but act locally”.
Collaborative Curriculum Projects and school links are the key focus for CC LAC.
The main aim is to create the opportunity for clusters of schools to from sustainable partnerships through developing joint projects which focus on pupil to pupil collaboration to create global citizens of the future
This will be provided through access to the leadership tools already produced and also through the opportunities provided to the international co-ordinator course.
We will talk more about the ISA later
Connecting Classrooms in the LAC
Highlight total numbers of schools – 3 year programme, Started with leadership focus (SLANT) now largely focussing on school links and collaborative curriculum projects but the leadership work with pilot cohort still continues and your schools may be interested in accessing the toolkit for example.
Next year another 95 schools.
Overview of CC Programme
Up 3 years of organised activity – hope partnerships will continue for many years.
Professional Development – for teachers and Principals. Vital that school leaders are supportive and understand the international partnership. Teachers can develop skills for leading international work within the school.
Partnership – workshop to prepare for Contact Seminar, Contact Seminar to meet partners and plan joint projects, Joint Curriculum Projects for students and teachers to learn together
£1,500 per school (actively working on partnership – not ‘sleeping’ partners!).
Year 2 MED schools visit UK, Year 3 UK schools visit MED. Visits should be done in this order unless there is very good reason for a swap. There is more budget for MED schools (as there are more of them) so we need to be able to plan how much budget is required each year. It also alternates the visits – Year 1: contact seminar in MED.
Visits organised by schools themselves – apply for funding from BC. Who visits, for how long etc can be decided by the schools using the travel grant as the whole amount or through raising additional funding.
Partnership
Partnership between schools, not the British Council!
We provide opportunities to meet, framework to work within and grants to enable visits. They must establish the partnership and keep it alive themselves with the support of colleagues in their schools. BC is here to help. Important you set the ground rules for your partnership together, understand each others’ expectations etc.
Important!
Contact Seminar is not a one off seminar – it’s the beginning of a long term partnership
Expectations that schools will work together, communicate, produce project materials
Very important to establish good relationship at the contact seminar
ISA and CCO
Overview of the programme. We will go over the grants and timeline in more detail now this is just to contextualise
The next two slides are in addition if this session is being run at the ICC course rather than at the contact seminar.