Second LTTA in Vittoria, Sicily, Italy

The second Learning/Teaching/Training Activity was held in Italy. It lasted for 7 days (2 travel days and 5 working days). The Italian school prepared the program discussed and decided by the coordinators. The students introduced the PPS/Prezi/video format documents about their schools, cities, countries which they had prepared before the exchange. The program included usual project activities but also activities about the subtopic "European instruments- Europass, Youth pass, ECTS etc. and other national instruments/certificates" as well as sample cover letters.

Participants were: 6 students and 2 teachers from Turkey, 6 students and 2 teachers from Lithuania, 6 students (1 not accepted because of his belonging to vocational studies) and 2 teachers from Spain, 6 students and 3 teachers from Hungary and 24 students and 2 teachers from the Host country in Italy.

The certification instruments are extremely important but still they are not well known tools; a program was planned and a guiding example was displayed to the pupils. On the other hand, the Italian school implements a project that they apply in their specific economics and entrepreneurial education lessons called "Establishing Training firms by students and doing business imaginatively". The students assume the roles of real managers, employers, employees, accountants, etc. and display the firms when they organize a firm trade in their school. This application was observed and learned, later on practised while joining those activities with the student, disseminated in the partner schools and finally introduced in each partner school's curriculum.

Throughout the 5 working days, students spent time together with their peers, joined lessons, games, traditional dances, listened to each other's music, developed social skills, discovered each other's culture and lifestyle, way of thinking, enhancing teamwork, and practiced communicating in a foreign language. Teachers' duties were to supervise and guide the students and evaluate the exchange.

Teachers guided the completion of project objectives and all project activities performed were correlated to set aims. Expected project results were achieved upon completion of activities, as devised in the methodology of running the project. The practices were conducted in all partner school systems in a program and measured at local level first. This student exchange was at international level for these two activities so that students could work together, interact, develop teamwork and have results.

Students designed presentations in different formats: PowerPoint/Prezi etc. on the topics about their schools, cities, countries and two subtopics stated for each LTTA. The subtopic activities were different for each partner and comprised presentations of identified facilities and methodologies in the country, observations of current practices, cultural activities in school or visits to different partner institutions for the guest teachers and students.

During the LTTA, after the working program, pupils spent their free time with the host families and thus attaining first-hand experience on the way of life in those countries. Due to activities organized in host schools, they attended and observed lessons, used English as the communication language, joined the school games, developed communication and interpersonal skills, learned about practices, customs and traditions of other European citizens, as well as enhanced their teamwork skills in international multicultural environments.

Teachers were able to closely observe curricular characteristics in partner countries operating at systems of education, share feasible practices and methods on project topics, information which they can include in their teaching practice, developed teamwork and communication skills, and increased ability to promote flexible learning pathways among students.