Helpful Resources

Pestalozzi
Training Resources
Education for Linguistic and Cultural Diversity (DIV)
Diversity, the bricks and mortar of Europe.
How can we live together and learn from each other?
by
Author: Robert Etlinger - Austria
Silvia Jindra - Austria
Editor: Pascale Mompoint-Gaillard
The Pestalozzi Programme

Council of Europe Training Programme for education professionals
Pestalozzi Training Resources

Diversity, the bricks and mortar of Europe.
How can we live together and learn from each other?
by
Author: Robert Etlinger - Austria
Silvia Jindra - Austria
Editor: Pascale Mompoint-Gaillard
Last edition: April 2012
The opinions expressed in this work are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the
Council of Europe.
2
Theme: Methods for benefiting from diversity in the classroom
Expected outcome
 To learn from each other

 To reduce prejudice and encourage tolerance through affective learning and increasing sensitivity to values
 To develop critical skills such as: being capable of solving problems, listening, being able to ask questions, answering,
reasoning, debating, discussing, presenting, cooperating and moderating.
Target group
Type of training School level Subject area

Initial training Secondary level Civic education, language, ICT
Brief description of the unit
The rational for this unit is that if we want to communicate sensibly and reduce misunderstandings, we have to adjust our
concepts, opinions and tastes between us. This unit addresses this issue through 3 activities: in the first activity the differences
in our minds are made obvious with the help of a game. We want to show that we first of all have to know the differences in
order to reach common goals and companionship; in the following activities, we want to build a house (“The housing area”)
together with the learners. All the participants move together into a fictitious housing area where step by step they learn how
to live in an intercultural society. We should bear in mind that communication and different activities are an integrated part in
the life of the tenants of a house. For the time being we propose some short training units which can be extended and worked
out in more detail.
3
Methods/techniques used
Simulation game, role play
Time 120 minutes
Introduction  10 minutes
Activity 1: A taxi ride  40 minutes
Activity 2: Getting to know each other  10 minutes
Activity 3: The community room  50 minutes
Activity 4: Debriefing/reflecting  10 minutes
Resources
Taxi: 2 Maps (of the same city)1 Appendix 1

Model of a coat of arms (you can use any shape)
Flipchart (or poster – A1 or A2), flipchart marker
Pin board
1
Simon, Fritz B.: Meine Psychose, mein Fahrrad und ich. Zur Selbstorganisation der Verrücktheit. 2002
4
Introduction: The trainer presents the aims of the unit and learning outcomes. This is followed by a group
presentation: finding out about the participants and their experience
Finally, the trainer introduces the topic. (10 minutes)
Activity 1 A taxi ride! 40 minutes
Notes
 General aim:
 To develop awareness that our behaviour patterns, our concepts and ideas help us to find our way
in society and to get some orientation in life
 Specific aims:
 To demonstrate how we have to adjust our concepts to each other (our “interior map”) in order to
communicate sensibly and reduce misunderstandings
 To demonstrate the need to be aware of the differences in our minds in order to reach common
goals and companionship
 Methods/techniques used:
 Simulation game
 Resources:
 The map (appendix 1 at the end of the document)
 Practical arrangements:
 Arrange the room so that participants can pair up back to back, sitting on chairs. There should be
enough space between the different pairs so that the task can be carried out without disturbance by
the others.
5
 Instructions/procedure:
 Starting point: Say “Someone wants to pay a visit to someone (e.g. friend / colleague….) who lives in
the housing area mentioned above. He gets on a taxi. “
 Split the students into pairs of two. For each pair you will need two chairs put together so
that the students are sitting back to back (they are not allowed to face each other).
 One of the students takes the role of the taxi driver, the other one takes the role of someone
in the taxi control centre. Both of them get a map.
 The position of the taxi is marked on the taxi driver’s map. On the map of the taxi control
station the taxi driver’s position as well as his destination (= the housing area) are marked.
 Task: The man / the woman in the taxi control centre must guide the taxi driver to his destination
which is the housing estate. Between the two students (= taxi driver and taxi control centre) there
must not be any eye contact. Besides, the students are not allowed to see each other’s map. Only
oral communication is possible. (10 minutes)
 In the course of the game the two partners realise that their maps do not match. Thus they
must try to adapt their respective maps to the map of the partner so that they succeed in
finding the right route. To reach this goal they must ask questions, must listen to their partner
and must communicate in an appropriate way.
 After the game:
 Question: “What factors can be helpful to adapt the „mind map“ of one partner to the „mind
map“ of the other partner ?”
Step 1: (7 minutes)
 The two partners discuss the following questions:
- Which attitudes and actions were helpful in order to be able to solve the task
successfully? (Possible answers could be: attentive listening, asking questions, repeating
what the partner said to make sure that he could be understood. )
- Which aspects prevented sensible communication? (e. g. shouting at the partner, insulting
him, being impatient ….)
6
Step 2: (8 minutes)
 In a group of 4 to 6 students the students should
- agree on 4 important rules (they should be listed according to their importance), which
help to solve such tasks
- agree on two reactions which definitely prevent sensible communication. (Each rule should
be written on a card)
Step 3: (10 minutes)

 Each group presents their respective rules by explaining them. (Cards should be pinned on the
pin board)
Step 4: (5 minutes)
 Compare the results in the group. You can make them visible by writing them on a paper
which can be put on the wall of the classroom.
 Tips to trainers:
 Activity one, or activity 2 can be carried out independently as a start up. A different order is
possible (e.g. you can start with exercise 2). In any case activity 3 should follow after activity 2.
 Debriefing/reflecting:
 How did you feel while doing this exercise?
 Could you use it in your classroom?
 Can you see any other uses for this activity?
7
Activity 2 Getting to know each other? 10 minutes
Notes
 General aim:
 to learn from each other
 Specific aims:
 To get to know each other
 To raise awareness of stereotypes
 Simulation game
Make room for participants to move around comfortably.
 Instructions/procedure:
 Pupils who do not know each other build up a class community.
 Starting point: The participants have all moved into a new house. They do not know each other.
They should try to get into contact with each other so that they get to know each other better.
 Task: each participant should find a partner whom he/she doesn’t know yet.
Each pair looks for a quiet place to carry out the activity.
 Participants write down what they think their partner is like ( only use appreciative presumptions) e.g.
about eating habits ( "I think that you like pizza"….), about one's family ("I think that you have 1
brother who is younger than you), … (5 minutes)
 Each student introduces the other partner.
 At the end, all the presumptions are corrected. The participants introduce themselves, talk about
themselves and say if the presumptions were right or wrong. (5 minutes for a group of 12
8
participants)
 If the trainer disposes of enough time, the activity can be further reaching if learners write their
comments on their partner in the left column of a table, and then write the reason why they think
this about their partner in the right column.
 Engage learners in a discussion:
- How did it feel to be described by your partner? How did you feel during the process of writing
your comments?
- What can students learn through this exercise? What have you learned?
- How useful would this activity be in your classroom?
Activity 3 The community room 50 minutes
Notes
 General aim:
 To encourage communicative learning in a social environment: to listen what the other one says, to
ask questions, to answer, to reason, to debate, to discuss and to cooperate
 Specific aims:
 To rouse curiosity about the other;
 To learn more about class colleagues and their respective cultures
 To encourage tolerance
9
 Creative expression
 Resources:
 A model of a coat of arms (you can use any shape)
Groups of 4 will gather around tables.
 Instructions/procedure::
 In the housing estate new communities have been formed.

 Now the community rooms should be furnished.
 The learners should create a coat of arms. On this coat of arms they should present their interests,
their hobbies, their likes and dislikes. They should draw these things on the coat of arms so that
they reflect their personality.
 The coats of arms should be put on the walls of the classroom. (15 minutes)
 The learners form groups of four ( when there is an uneven number, try groups of 4 and/or groups
of three).The groups should get together according to the common interests, hobbies … etc which
have been painted on the coats of arms.
 The groups with similar interests form one community. (5 minutes)
Task: Each community must create something.
1) they should furnish the community room in a way that it is accepted by everyone. Each member
should have the feeling that living together takes place in a pleasant environment. The different
ideas of the students should be taken into account as well as cultural differences (example: the
parents' living room, the function a living room can have in different milieu …)
2) they plan, and draw a room ( either on a piece of paper, a board or with the help of the
computer). (20 minutes)
Presentation of the results in plenary. (10 minutes)
10
Possible further activities: Working on different conflicts in “the housing area
 Method = fishbowl: The learners who are active in this role play are either sitting or
standing the room and the other learners are sitting in a semi-circle, so that they can
observe those engaged in the of the role play (like fish in a fishbowl).
 Give out name cards assign a role to each participant involved in role play to make sure
that each person acts according to a role.
 Summarise the problem situation to solve (or to analyse with a specific angle; for example
regarding stereotypes produced in the first part of the activity).
 Let the learners do the role play (10 minutes)
 Have one of the observers moderate a discussion about the stereotypes, the conflicts, and
their resolution (or non resolution) with the whole group. (10 minutes)
 Tips to trainers (or teachers)/anticipated difficulties:
 During the first part of the task 1), the trainer should make sure that the group tries to
accommodate each participant’ wishes, without forgetting the more discreet, quiet ones
 Debriefing/reflecting – Follow up activity:
 What have you learned during this activity?

 How useful would it be in your classroom?
 Did you feel that this activity could reinforce stereotyping attitudes if not well moderated?
11
Activity 4 Debriefing session (for teachers/trainers only) 10 minutes
Notes
 General aim:
 To promote the use of this unit in classrooms
 Specific aims:
 To evaluate the level of comfort acquired by trainees with the methods

 To reflect on the quality and usefulness of the unit
 Dialogical approach
 Instructions/procedure::
Lead a discussion with the group of teachers/trainers using the following questions:
 What are 3 key things you have learned during the activities?
 What are the implications for your teaching?
 How might you follow up these issues in your teaching?
 What would be the challenges of using this unit in your class?
 What would your pupils gain from such an exercise?
 What follow up work might you be able to do?
 What other questions are raised by this unit?
12
Evaluation and assessment

1 3 4 6
See activity 4
Appendix 1: G
Activity 1
Taxi driver F
Your position is A
Follow the instructions of the taxi control centre.
Drive to your new destination.
Task: Taxi, adapted

Source: Simon, Fritz B.: Meine Psychose, mein Fahrrad und ich. Zur A
Selbstorganisation der Verrücktheit. 2002
13
Taxi control center

guide the taxi driver from A
to
1. Parkstreet and then to
2. Kingsroad
Task: Taxi, adapted

Source: Simon, Fritz B.: Meine Psychose, mein Fahrrad und ich. Zur
Selbstorganisation der Verrücktheit. 2002
14
Pestalozzi
Training Resources
Living through a storm
by
Author:
uthor Lovorka Zergollern-Miletić - Croatia
Editor:
Editor Ildikó Lázár

Pestalozzi

Living through a storm
by
Author:
Author Lovorka Zergollern-Miletić - Croatia
Editor:
Editor Ildikó Lázár
Council of Europe.
2
Pestalozzi
Theme: Learning about differences in perception and expression
Expected outcome
to benefit from cultural and social diversity in the classroom and school;
to raise teachers’ awareness of different reactions to the same experience
to try to find the sources/origins of the differences in perception and expression
Target group

Initial training and Foreign languages, visual arts, civic
Primary and secondary level
in-service training education

These didactic materials are designed to raise the participants' (i.e. teachers') awareness of the existing differences between
people – depending on their respective personalities and the cultures (in all senses of the word) that they belong to. The
materials are based on the participants' reactions to the footage of a sea storm. The expected goal is that the participants will
better understand differences between various types of personalities, as well as cultural and linguistic differences, and, last but
not least, the interdependence of language and culture (Wierzbicka 1992, Sapir 1949, Whorf 1956).
Individual work followed by a comparison of associations in response to visual input in pair work, group work, and as a whole
class discussion
Time 120 minutes
Resources
A short video scene (pictures for the additional activity).
3
Pestalozzi
Tips to trainers on the overall unit
During the initial sub-activity the participants should react spontaneously, and should not be distracted by anything.
If you conduct this activity with pre- or in-service language teachers, you may spend more time discussing the linguistic
manifestations of differences in perceptions.
Activity 1 How we feel about a sea storm 120 minutes

(with a group of 15 or
16 student teachers)
Notes
Specific aims
aims:
to raise awareness about differences between individuals;
to enhance open-mindedness and foster the development of multiple perspectives.
Resources::
Resources
the footage of a sea storm found at http :www.youtube.com/watch ?v=TzAL2T2KDqc&feature=related
pictures for the additional activity (see variation below)
Practical arrangements:
arrangements:
The activity may be divided into two parts, the break taking place after step 7.
Procedures:
Procedures:
1. Individual work: Watch the footage of the sea storm and do not communicate with anyone in the
group (2 minutes).
2. Individual work: Describe the feelings you had watching the footage in writing (3 minutes).
3. Group work: Read out loud, one by one, what you have written down. Take notes of your peers’
reports so that you can later comment on them and discuss them (10 minutes).
4
Pestalozzi
4. Group work: Have a look at your notes. Compare your colleagues’ reactions to the footage to your
own and comment on the similarities and differences. Think of possible reasons for those reactions.
Comment on your peers’ oral expression (i.e. the language they used) (10 minutes).
5. The small groups prepare to give a report on their discussions to the whole class (10 minutes).
6. Whole class: Each group reports on their discussions. The others take notes (10 minutes).
7. Whole class: Discussion (15 minutes).
8. Individual work: Imagine how different people would react to the same footage. The people in
question are as follows: a sailor, a poet, an ecologist, a physicist, a child of 8, a teenager, a nomad
from a desert, a person living in a big city. Write down how you think they would react (10 minutes).
9. Pair work: Compare your notes. Try to justify why a certain person would react in the way you
envisaged (5 minutes).
10. Group work: Every pair reports on their discussions to the whole group (10 minutes).
11. Group discussion: Conclusions (10 minutes).
12. Every group reports on their discussions and conclusions to the whole class (10 minutes).
13. Discussion and debriefing (15 minutes).
Debriefing/reflecting:
Debriefing/reflecting:
When you were asked to imagine you were a sailor, a child of 8, or a nomad from the desert, did
you manage to discard clichés and stereotypes?
Were your guesses about people’s reactions relying on stereotypes based on superficial information
or on extensive in-depth knowledge of the world?
Do you think that this type of activity would raise your students’ awareness regarding differences in
people’s perceptions, opinions, behaviour and emotions?
Can you think of any adaptations of this activity for students at different age and proficiency levels?
Tips to trainers:
trainers:
It is important that the participants do not communicate with one another while watching the footage
and writing their own comments.
Try to pair up students so that they work with partners that they are not necessarily best friends
with. You may also want to re-group trainees for the second part of the activity.
5
Pestalozzi
It is also very important to maintain peace and order and a friendly and tolerant atmosphere during
discussions ☺. Consequently, the trainer’s facilitating and time-keeping skills play an important role.
A variation:
variation:
A simpler and shorter version of this activity could be conducted with the help of photographs. Show
a large picture of an overcast sky with dark clouds and see what this might mean to your trainees.
Ask them to imagine what the same sight may mean to a farmer, a homeless person, a couple on
the beach, a bus driver, etc. Then proceed the same way as above. (Other good conversation
starters include photographs of a family at home, people “in action” in the street or at work, or
children at a school.)
References
Sapir, E. (1921). Language. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Inc. &World.
Whorf, B. L. (1989). Language, Thought, and Reality – Selected Writings of B. Lee Whorf – ed. by John B. Carroll. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: The M.I.T. Press.
Wierzbicka, A. (1992). Semantics, Culture, and Cognition (Universal Human Concepts in Culture-Specific Configurations). New
York/Oxford: Oxford University Press.
6
Pestalozzi
Training Resources

A shoebox full of memories
by
Author: Hugo Verkest - Belgium
Editor: Ildikó Lázár


A shoebox full of memories
by
Author: Hugo Verkest - Belgium

Council of Europe.
2
Theme: Diversity of belongings – diversity of exchanges
Expected outcome
 to benefit from cultural and social diversity in the classroom and school
 to observe, to exchange and to interpret the visual data embedded in familiar and personal stories,
 to express ideas, opinions and feelings with imagination, humour, creativity and sensitivity,
 to increase curiosity about the world around us and help to achieve a better understanding of past events, people and
places, living things, and the work people do.
Target group

Civic education, foreign or second
Initial and in-service teacher training Primary and secondary level languages
Religion / ethics / social and life skills
It is now a commonplace to note that we live in a massively visual society today. Social life is visual in diverse and
counterintuitive ways. Consequently, there are many more forms of visual data than simple images that we can bring into the
classroom. Objects, memorials and buildings carry meanings through visual means just like pictures. In our houses, streets and
squares there are rich supplies of materials for exploring linguistic and cultural diversity. In this unit, teachers and students
explore objects collected within different environments and supplement them with personal stories and biographies. The benefit
of these explorations is the discovery of the cultural heritage of each participant. Empowering objects with words, stories and
comments gives the participants an original means to verbalize their way of thinking. In addition, through enquiry, teachers and
3
their students will be able to identify changes in their local or regional environment. This kind of exercise raises awareness of
the passing of time, of the importance of remembering certain moments from the past and anticipating activities in the future.
During the presentations the participants will become aware of their own and their partners’ interests and profiles through
discussions about objects, images and narratives about daily activities or rituals.
Individual research, presentation, pair and group discussions, writing narratives, creating an exhibition
Time Whole unit (with a group of 12 participants, and including variations): approximately 8 sessions of 90 minutes
Activity 1  15 min (+ cca. two hours at home)

Activity 2  10 + 5 min per participant (max 20 participants) spread over several sessions
 15 min
Variation A  15 min
Activity 3 Variation B  30 min
Variation C  30 min
Variation D  30 min
Activity 4  180 minutes
4
Activity 1 Introduction to the shoebox full of memories 15 minutes in

class and approximately
2 hours at home
Notes
 General aim:
 to be able to observe and select objects / symbols in participants’ own home and neighbourhood,
 to explore the use of a range of objects as symbolic tools,
 to sort objects into different categories.
 Resources:
 Worksheet with the 6 tasks
 Prepared box made by the teacher
 Shoeboxes
 Objects selected from participants’ private collections
 A classroom with tables
 Grouping:
 Whole class, individual, whole class
 Procedure:
1. The trainer announces the activity and gives out a worksheet with the description of the task.
2. Each participant will have to select six objects at home and will place them in a shoebox.
3. The six objects will include at least two old-fashioned objects and two objects that they got for free,
linked to their living room, their family or friends, their neighbourhood, their city, their country and
Europe.
5
4. The inside of the box will contain objects, short stories, poems, reflections linked to these six areas
and the outside can be illustrated by graffiti, pictures, stamps and newspaper items again related to
their own home, family or friends, neighbourhood, city, country and Europe or the world (see
worksheet below).
5. The trainer can either just talk the participants through the worksheet, explaining what sort of
objects, news items, photos they can collect or he or she can show his or her own shoebox during
the introduction to give a few concrete examples and to give some theoretical insights about the
meaning of symbols and emotions. It is usually a pleasant surprise for the class to listen to the
trainer’s or teacher’s story either in this introductory phase or during the show and tell session (see
Activity 2).
One shoebox per participant, objects and pictures collected by the participants :
1. Place an object into the shoebox that is connected to your personal interest and is usually in your
own room or house. On one of the outsides of the box you can put a colour you like.
2. A second object is related to your flat or house or the friends or family you live with. You can take
a picture and paste it on one of the sides of the shoe box. Examples: a digital photo of your family,
a family tree, a belief held by people in the house,…
3. The third object to be placed into the box should be related to your neighbourhood. It can refer to
the environment and linked with a colour or a local story or a name of a street in your
neighbourhood.
4. The fourth object refers to the village/town/city you live in. Try to find an object, a photo, a
newspaper item to express the activities in the city or bring something from their home that is
related to the bigger community. The newspaper item can be pasted on of the outside of the shoe
box.
5. The fifth object should refer to your national identity, or rather your “national branding”, so look for
a stamp, a historical person or one or two products and write down words for the colours (white
refers to… red refers to….)
6. The last object is the shape of a star in which you should write a question about Europe or the
world.
6
 Debriefing:
 It is important to explore and discuss what participants mean by national identity or “national
branding”.
 It is important to determine a deadline for the whole group or each individual in the group to bring
their shoeboxes into the classroom for a presentation.
Activity 2 Presentation to an open forum with a follow-up discussion 10 + 5 minutes

per person
Notes
 Specific aims:
 to become more confident when communicating/talking about their collection
 to respond to open questions about their experiences and offer their own ideas using short phrases
or alternative methods of communication
 Resources:
 worksheets with the shape of ‘empty boxes’
 paper to record their questions
 shoeboxes
 You will need a classroom with tables and one or two desks in front of the blackboard.
 The teacher needs worksheets and a table to record his comments and reflections.
 The participants have the choice to come in front of the class or tell their story from their place if
the tables are arranged in a circle or U - shape.
7
 Grouping:
 Individual, pair work, group work, whole class
 Procedure:
1. The boxes are presented one by one. The participants have 10 minutes to do their presentations.
Their task is to explain why they brought the selected objects and how these fit the criteria. They
should prepare their stories in advance and they are invited to create an exhibition.
2. Each presentation is followed by a 5 minute discussion period. The others can ask some questions
about the presentation. One of the rules is that the owner of the box has the right to pass if he or
she thinks that the question is too difficult to answer.
 Examples:
Boite mémoire (professeur FR)

a) objet: une bague en opale entourée d’éclats de diamants, montée sur or gris anneau en or
jaune couleur : rose saumon doré.
b) objet: un fume cigarette en ambre et or ayant appartenu à mon arrière grand père et que
j’utilise pour fumer mes cigarillos favoris (1 par jour à l’heure du thé)
photo : représentant le dessus de ma cheminée à Boulogne (adresse fixe).
c) objet: un caillou ramassés aux jardins Albert Khan (à une rue de chez moi) : fondés par le riche
collectionneur Albert Khan et devenu musée où on présente les autochromes du monde qu’a
commandité A. Khan au début du XXème et des expo. sur la découverte des civilisations du
monde.
d) journal édité par la ville de Boulogne-Billancourt « Sortir », un ticket de métro-bus parisien.
e) identité nationale: une fourchette à escargot (pour changer des grenouilles),
écrivain :Chateaubriand,
couleurs : rouge pour enthousiasme et passion, blanc pour clarté d’esprit et goût de la critique,
bleu pour le secret des sentiments et des idéaux
f) dans l’étoile : jusqu’où ira l’élargissement de l’Europe ?
8
 Shoe box (Student from CZ)
 Tips for the trainer:

 It is valuable if the teacher/trainer can take some digital pictures of the boxes (in the presence of
the owner). These pictures can also be useful for the final exhibition. The pictures can also be part
of a subsequent introduction to this activity with a new group.
 During the session it is important for the trainer to take notes in order to keep track of the
comments and reflections of the participants.
 During the presentations it is important that the teacher/trainer has some questions in mind to
facilitate this activity. For example,
 Have you ever lost this object? Are you afraid of losing it?
 What does it mean to you? A souvenir or a present? Or something else?
 What value does it have for you?
9
 Do you keep it in a secret place or hidden somewhere?

 Do you show it to everyone?
 Where is it situated in your room or house?
 Is it unique and irreplaceable for you?
 Is it conceivable that you will give it to someone else?
 Is it easy for you to talk about it? Why? Why not?
 Do you take it with you when you go abroad?
 What kind of emotions does this object evoke?
 Did you inherit it?
 Can you wear it?
 Reflection/evaluation:
 Would you use this activity in your classes? If yes, how would you incorporate it in your teaching?
 Can you think of variations on this activity that would be more appropriate for your students? What
would you change? When would you use it?
 What would be your overall aims when introducing this activity?
 If you have worries or reservations about using this type of activity, why do you think it might not
work well in your classes?
Activity 3 Change of perspective 15 minutes
Notes
 Specific aim:
 To practice changing perspectives with the help of objects
 Resources:
 one object and a stick or pen
10
 Tables arranged in a square shape
 Grouping:
 individual work
 Procedure:
1. One object is selected by the owner and he or she has to write a monologue from the point of
view of the selected object. (It is important for the trainer to give an example before the participants
start this exercise. It is useful if he/she uses one of the objects from his/her box and explains that
the monologue can contain elements of the past, the present and the future linked with people. It is
not necessary to give all the details. A monologue can go like this: I am the ring of ... Most of the
time I am on her right index finger. Her friend gave me to him when he was 24 years old. I was
bought in a shop when my giver was on holidays...)
2. Alternatively, the participants can receive an empty label on which they can write the text and stick
it to the object. The first two words “I am...” can be given.
3. This exercise can be oral and then the participants present the stories one by one. If some objects
are similar, then the trainer can ask them to come together and make a joint presentation.
4. Otherwise it is possible to make a ‘silent exhibition with some tables’ on which the selected objects
with the labels are displayed. The trainer has a stick or pen and when he or she turns it around
and points it at the object the owner starts telling his or her monologue.
 The following activities can be seen as alternatives or variations. It is not necessary to do all of
them. The trainer can make a choice based on the target group but the participants could also be
given the possibility to choose one of them and clarify in advance their selection. It may be useful
to print out the exercises on a worksheet and to include one example with each.
11
Variation A Written dialogue with two objects from one box 15 minutes
Notes
 Specific aim:
 To be able to speak and to develop and sustain ideas in a ‘written performance’
 To apply thinking skills in a ‘written performance’
 To write and perform their own simple scripts and to make connections between the participants’
objects and their own lives.
 Resources:
 Boxes and paper
 Grouping:
 individual work
 Procedure:
 The owner of each box creates a first draft of a dialogue between two of his or her selected
objects at home. The owner must put the objects in a special context (landscape) and link the
dialogue with an emotion or a value before presenting the dialogue to the whole group in class.
12
Variation B Chat between two or three different objects from two or three different boxes 30 minutes
Notes
 Specific aim:
 To be able to speak and develop and sustain ideas in a ‘written performance’
 To apply thinking skills in a ‘written performance’
 To write and perform their own simple scripts and to make connections between their objects and
their own lives.
 Resources:
 Everybody’s shoebox
 Grouping:
 Writing and drawing in pair work, group work, acting out for the whole class
 Procedure:
1. The owners of the boxes have to be sitting next to each other. They have a common sheet of paper
and they select one object from their own boxes.
2. They put the objects in front of them in a special position or in a triangle on the paper and they
discuss first where the objects are situated (in a realistic or virtual space). One of them starts the
dialogue with a question or an introduction of the object, the sheet of paper being moved from one
participant to the other and back as the dialogue unfolds. The end product can be an open-ended
story.
3. After the written phase they can present their dialogue or conversation to the whole class. They can
add a picture or a drawing of the two objects.
13
Variation C Chat between two similar objects from two different boxes 30 minutes
Notes
 Resources:
 Everybody’s shoebox
 Chairs in a circle
 Grouping:
 Pair work, group work, whole class
 Procedure:
 In some cases some objects will be the same or very similar: rings, bracelets, pens or watches, so
people will be invited to take on the role of their similar objects and share their experiences in a
written exercise.
14
Variation D Shape your words 30 minutes
Notes
 Resources:
 Paper and pencils
 Grouping:
 Individual, whole class
 Procedure:
 Select an object from your box and make a drawing of the shape of the object by using all the
words that the owner wants to associate with that object. It is good to give a simple example. You
can start with the shape of an apple. On the line you put all words in relation to the apple
(afterwards you erase the line). All the silhouettes of the selected objects can be cut out and
collected on one sheet of paper.
15
Activity 4 Box exhibition 180 minutes
Notes
 Specific aim:
 to work out an exhibition and a photo essay or poster with personal material
 Resources:
 Desks, notebooks, headphones, papers, posters
 An empty room, big enough to give visitors the possibility to look around and give some comments
 Grouping:
 individual, pair work, group work, whole class
 Procedure:
Create an exhibition of the boxes in combination with a poster in which you find a short description of the
boxes. At the end of this project, the production manager makes the final notes about the participants’
work, any insights they might have expressed, and samples of work produced to illustrate the points they
had made. The participants should be encouraged to express and record their perceptions of their own work
in this project.
This exhibition could be seen as the summary of all the activities done during this unit. In this case the
participants must show their boxes in combination with a poster(s) using words and pictures. They can invite
people from outside their group when it is in a semi - public space. It is important that the facilitator of
this course can take up the role of curator and collect enough information to give everyone enough space
and time to work out his part of this exhibition.
16
A checklist may be useful:
1. What kind of texts will be linked with the box on the poster?
2. Will you use an eye–opener or eye–catcher?
3. Will you use only words or short stories to justify the contents of the box?
4. Will you use a notebook with headphones so that the visitors can listen to the stories.
5. What will be in front/highlighted and in the background when you present your box as an
installation?
6. Is there a balance between words and pictures?
7. Is it allowed to touch the objects? Is it allowed to write some comments on the margins of the
poster?
8. How would you make exhibition ‘attractive’?
For the exhibition the participants must think over the content:
1. Is there a ‘main’ message, a theme that you want to emphasize in your poster?
2. Do you want to refer to other boxes that were presented?
3. Do you want the visitors to only look at your exhibition?
4. Will you create space and time for questions and extra comments?
5. Is there time and space during the visit for identification or for self – reflection?
6. Will you give visitors the possibility to write to you? How will you arrange this?
7. Will you include in your presentation a lot of information to read and to discover?
8. Will you integrate some questions in your poster?
17
Activity 5 Exploration of a cartoon 60 minutes
Notes
 Resources:
 Copy of the cartoon
 Worksheet with questions
 Tables arranged so that both group work and whole class discussion can be easily managed
 Grouping:
 indiviual work, pair work, group work, whole class
18
 Procedure:
a. Observation, interpretation and questioning
1. In the classroom, ask small groups or pairs of students ‘to read’ the cartoon and make up discussion
questions based upon the cartoon or arising from its main themes.
2. Then ask each group to write their best questions up on the board.
3. As they do so, note the similarities and differences in the questions from different groups.
4. Finally, ask the students to form new groups to discuss the questions they find most interesting. We
use this cartoon in a more personal and affective way. Each selection can spark off different types of
discussion.
b. Personal investigation (worksheet)

Answer the following questions individually:
1. Which 3 boxes would you claim? You can give them a colour.
2. Which one would be your favourite box? You can give it the colour red.
3. Why did you lose it?
4. Why are these boxes so valuable and irreplaceable?
5. What would be the content of your three boxes?
6. What kind of objects would you put in these boxes?
7. Which of your objects would be part of one of the boxes?
8. Which box would you ignore? Why?
9. Do you think that there is a reason that some boxes were put together? What kind of relationship is
there between them?
10. Do you think that there is a reason why some boxes are left alone?
11. What would be the question of the person who lost one of these boxes? What could be the answer
of the assistant at the Lost Property Office?
12. What would be the story to explain the loss?
13. Which box could you bring to the Lost Property Office?
14. Do these labels refer to ‘property’? Why? Why not?
15. How would you describe the attitude or the behaviour of the assistant in the Lost Property Office?
16. Which events, words, stories could be in the boxes of culture, honour, common sense, tolerance?
19
Discuss your preferences and answers with your neighbour. What were some similarities or differences in
your choices and answers?
Exchange answers and reflections with the whole class.
Write down three insights that you gained during this exchange.
 Be aware that a cartoon is just a ‘snapshot’ and that in discussing it we have to place it in context,
and fill in what happened before and at the moment in time of the cartoon.
 It is advisable to spread the presentations of the boxes over the course of a week. This way each
day some students could present their boxes, introducing a much awaited break from conventional
activities.
 There must always be time for questions and space for the display of the boxes.
 Pay attention to objects with a high emotional or financial value.
 As a trainer/teacher pay close attention to what the participants say as this could give you a better
and clearer view of their personality, needs and expectations.
 The trainer/teacher should introduce the shoebox full of memories to the students by helping them
to collect objects linked with various experiences. S/he intends to help the students transfer their
ideas to diversity, thereby extending their understanding of the use of images or visual data. It is
this way that conceptual development takes place – existing ideas are used as the foundation for
new ideas and insights.
 Using cartoons and completing the questionnaire can generate a lively discussion. It is amazing how
well participants can voluntarily express themselves about cartoons. It is stimulating to tune in to the
wealth of information, reactions, and feelings in our students and teachers. The advantage of graphic
materials is that they are so readily available to the teacher, and so immediately motivational to
most students. We should never discourage our students because they like simple-minded cartoons.
We should rather try to help them find modern orientations, discuss what they are really searching
for and develop together with them realistic models of behaviour that are fit for our world and which
have the potential to help them to find their own way.
20
 In a world of global civilisation, only those who are looking for a technical trick to save that
civilisation need to feel despair. But those who believe, in all modesty, in the mysterious power of
their own human ‘being’, which mediates between them and the mysterious power of the ‘World
Being’, have no reason to despair at all (Havel).
 Without the heritage of cartoonists there would be considerably less humour in the world than there
is today. (Verkest)
 What did you learn about the ‘background’ of your trainees/students?

 What did you learn about the way they express themselves, especially their emotions and memories?
 What kind of cultural diversity did you discover?
 Did you enjoy the activities? Why? Why not?
 Which activity was the most attractive and exciting?
 Did you say anything to the facilitator about the project? If so, what was it?
 What feelings did the activities evoke in you?
 Did you recognize some pronounced experience? Could you describe one?
 Did you learn any new words or expressions during the activities?
 In your own words, write on these lines what the contribution of this activity is to diversity:
21
Many trainers/teachers feel that the best way in which they can record participants’ progress in this exercise is to make notes at the end
of the school day. These could be made quite quickly during the lesson or while activities are still fresh in the mind. Useful headings under
which such notes could be recorded include the following:
 Participant’s comment: what it revealed about conceptual development, curiosity, general interest, or sympathy towards the material
introduced during the presentation of the boxes.
 Participant’s statement: a record of statements giving insights into ways of thinking.
 Creative / imaginative work: notes on how the participants can contribute imaginative, creative ideas to discussions.
 Levels of reasoning: the ability to reason about the roots, the influence of the objects on personal life
 Evidence of conceptual development: the ability to think of their object as symbols of or metaphors for concepts
 Records of any outstanding responses to a particular stimulus: it is important to notice these responses as starting points to reflect in
depth about circumstances or topics which some participants find exciting and meaningful.
References
 Bage, G. (1999). Teaching and Learning History through Story. London: Falmer Press.
 Havel, V (1995) Selected Speeches and Writings 1990-1994. Prague: Lidove Noviny.
 Howes, G. (2007). The art of the sacred. London: Ibtauris.
 Klippert, H. (2004). Lehrerbildung. Unterrichtsentwicklung und der Aufbau neuer Routinen, Basel: Beltz.
 Konijn, S. (1987). Symbolen leren zien Hilversum: Gooi en Sticht.
 Lavaud, L. (1999). L’ image. Paris: Flammarion.
 Meyor, C. (2002). L’affectivité en éducation. Pour une pensée de la sensibilité. Bruxelles: De Boeck.
 Ricoeur, P. (1991). Temps et récit 1. Paris : Seuil
 Verkest, H. (2001). A picture says more than a thousand words. London: CiCe proceedings.
22
Appendix 1
Le symbole suppose un jeu de renvois d’un sens premier à un sens second, une intention signifiante par laquelle le sens immédiat du discours se trouve
traversé pour tendre vers un autre ordre de significations.
Le symbole s’enracine dans une réalité qui en déborde les cadres. La dimension linguistique et non–linguistique est essentielle pour comprendre le
fonctionnement du symbole. Il ne peut y avoir de symbole sans langage. Tout symbole incite à parler. Il n’ y a pas de symbole sans un début
d’interprétation ; la où un homme ou une femme rêve, prophétise ou poétise, un autre se lève pour interpréter (Ricoeur). L’interprétation, l’assomption du
sens dans le discours, est donc le prolongement naturel et nécessaire du symbole. Mais on doit dire que le discours interprétatif la réserve de sens
véhiculée par le symbole. Les présentations de l’ œuvre personnel sont liées aux rythmes de la vie, les énigmes posées par la condition humaine comme
la naissance ou la mort, ou la puissance des éléments cosmiques, réalités qui se situent toutes aux frontières de l’humain et de ce qui le dépasse.
Cette activité symbolique s’ancre donc bien dans cet effort par lequel l’homme apprivoise ce qui excède ou fragilise son humanité. Le symbole est lié à un
rituel d’hospitalité. Présenter un symbole devant une audience s’accompagne de paroles (histoires ou anecdotes personnelles), d’émotions (à gérer) qui
montrent ou disent ce qu’on peut faire avec l’objet)et les objets. Les objets ont toujours une valeur exceptionnelle pour le propriétaire. ( Seef Konijn)
23
Pestalozzi
Training Resources
Tell us your stories
by
Author: Theodoros Maniakas - Greece


Tell us your stories
by
Author: Theodoros Maniakas - Greece
Council of Europe.
2
Theme: Folktales from all over the world
Expected outcome
 to benefit from cultural and social diversity in the classroom and school
 to familiarize students with some cultural universals
 to learn to appreciate and preserve your own and others’ traditions and cultural values
 to involve parents and the local community in school life
Target group

Civic education, foreign or second
Pre- and in-service teacher training Secondary level
languages
Empowerment of linguistic and cultural minority groups can lead to their smooth integration, and further academic and social
success (Cummins, 1999). The self-esteem and self respect of all students in a classroom / school environment should be
guaranteed. Every student’s identity and individuality are important and contribute to the beauty of the cultural mosaics of each
society. By pointing to similarities and differences that make people equal in every respect, we can promote the idea of
cultural universals, i.e. understanding the issue of cultural relativity, cultural differences and the equality of cultures. During this
session trainee teachers will become familiar with ways to make students get to know each other’s culture and elements of the
language spoken at home. The session will allow trainees to try out the activities and methods that they can later apply in
their classrooms.
3
Ethnographic research, project work carried out in pairs, results presented to the class and larger public
Time 360 minutes

For the (student) teachers:
4 times 90 minutes of teacher training sessions (including trying out, reflecting on and evaluating the activities) and a few
hours of field work
(For students: approximately 12 teaching periods of 60 minutes and a few hours of field work and preparation at home)
Activity 1: Introduction to the collection of materials  90 minutes

Activity 2: Transliteration  90 minutes
Activity 3: Printing and preparing to present  90 minutes
Activity 4: Presentation of stories in different artistic format  90 minutes
 When you pair the trainees (and when they later pair their students), it is important that the pairs consist of members
from diverse cultural / linguistic / social backgrounds as much as it is possible in the given group.
 Times given in the description of the activities are only indicative of the length of each stage. Timing will depend on the
number of trainees (students), the depth of analysis and discussion, the number of available reference books and
computers, etc.
 Recommend the involvement of parents, especially during Activities 1 and 2. Their participation is expected during the
presentation of the projects.
4
Activity 1 Collection of materials 90 minutes in class

followed by about
two hours of field work
Notes
 General aims:
 to collect materials from interviews with relatives/friends
 to practice reading, speaking and listening skills in mother tongue
 to practice translating, writing and summarizing in English (or the language of the lesson)
 to learn to appreciate and preserve your own and others’ traditions and cultural values
 to improve group dynamics by encouraging collaborative work.
 Grouping:
 Whole class, pair work
 Procedures:
1. The trainer introduces the topic of proverbs and fables and the values they transmit within a culture.
2. The trainer explains and demonstrates the types of materials that should be collected: any authentic
material (proverbs, folktales, fables) from interviews conducted with the participants’ family members,
friends, or acquaintances. Trainees will have to interview their parents / grandparents (or neighbors /
friends) in order to record old stories, fables, etc. in the interviewees’ mother tongue. (See Appendix
1 for an example.)
3. Trainees (students) are paired. The reasons for making trainees (students) work in pairs are first to
support each other (within the pair) and to create an atmosphere of collaboration, and secondly, to
arrive at more concrete decisions when it comes to interpreting the stories. Also, when interviewing a
close relative alone, most people tend to be biased so it is wise to have a second researcher
present, possibly someone from a different linguistic, cultural or social background for a different
perspective.
4. The stories, fables and/or proverbs should be recorded electronically or otherwise.
5. Afterwards trainees will classify this material in categories of myths / legends, folktales, proverbs.
5
 Resources:
 Paper, pencil, tape recorder or video if necessary to record the spoken language
 Photos of mythical legendary personae to accompany the texts (either the trainer/teacher brings
these or the trainees/students have to collect them to accompany the stories)
 Trainees should be careful not to use long and complicated materials: passages to be of average
length; it should be mentioned that if there is an overlap of texts, new materials should be provided.
 Trainee teachers may benefit from learning new ways of designing questionnaires or interview
schedules together with their students. The introductory session to the field work will definitely have
to help trainees (and later their students) find the right elicitation techniques in order to be able to
record some fables and tales.
Activity 2 Transliteration and translation of passages / texts 90 minutes for

trainees, possibly 240 minutes
and up for their students
Notes
 General aims:
 to practice translation, transliteration and mediation in both the original language of the collected
stories and in the foreign language
 to show trainees ways of developing students’ reading and writing skills, and especially the art of
“summarizing”
 to share different points of view and come to a consensus will help students in their overall
communicative competence and performance
 Grouping:
 Pair work
6
 Resources:
 Dictionaries, thesaurus, reference books; paper and pencils or computers
 Procedure:
With the help of reference books and dictionaries, trainees (students) in pairs will work on the original
texts and ultimately will write them in English (or in the foreign or second language they study). They
don’t have to provide a word-to-word translation, instead they can paraphrase the original texts keeping
the meaning and the main idea of the text. The main idea or message should be pointed out and
presented explicitly. It is at this stage that they should also classify the texts.
 Trainers should explain beforehand the need for both translation and transliteration of the chosen
texts.
 Transliterate and/or translate the texts obtained in Activity 1. Make sure the main idea and morale
are clear to all.
 Trainers supervise and guide participants in order to ensure a successful completion of this task.
 Later on teachers can use the various texts to teach grammar, syntax, or reading comprehension in
their other classes. Material from this project is not to be filed and put away as it is usually the
case. It should be used as educational material during the school year and beyond the classroom.
 Familiarize yourselves with the language and culture the stories are written in. Make an introduction
at the beginning of Activity 2.
 This is also a valuable opportunity to discuss similarities and differences in approaches, values,
lifestyles.
7
Activity 3 Printing and presenting the materials in class 90 minutes for

Notes
 General aims:
 to give trainees/students the joy of looking at their own work on paper (work satisfaction!)
 to share knowledge and know-how when it comes to the findings of the field work but also when
using printers and PCs
 to practice social skills needed for all group work
 Grouping:
 Pair work
 Resources:
 PC’s and printers, photocopiers and material to make puppets, figurines and banners, pictures and
the like
 Procedure:
 During this activity trainees (and later their students) will proofread, edit and print or draw their
documents. Drawings, pictures and other accompanying materials will be created (i.e. puppets,
figurines, banners). They will continue to work with the same partner, profiting from this activity both
socially and pedagogically.
 This stage is crucial for the success of the whole project. Participants should have the ability to
work with PCs and printers, be able to make puppets, figurines and to color them.
 Make sure that the necessary material and equipment are available at school; make sure that a
technician is also on duty. A breakdown of a photocopier, for instance, can be very inconvenient.
 Use different colors of paper; multicolor presentation is more attractive and effective.
 During the preparation of the project posters monitor to see if all presentations are more or less of
the same length.
8
Activity 4 Presentation of the results 90 minutes for

Notes
 General aims:
 to present the end product to the whole group
 to empower the minority languages and cultures and show common values
 to involve the parents of the students in the school ‘s life by inviting them to this event
 to have a poster presentation and an exhibition of the works for the parents and friends to see
(possibly to also present short sketches based on the findings).
 Resources:
 Computers and audio equipment
 School amphitheater, equipment and costumes for the sketches and the plays
 Procedure:
1. The posters should first be presented within the class and trainees/students should be encouraged
to read and comment on each other’s work. (They may want to further improve their posters or
clarify their wording before the posters are shown to the larger public.)
2. Poster presentations of the material can also be organized in the school premises. Preferably this
should take place after the school hours, in the evening. It can be part of a multicultural festival
including food, music and dances. Parents and guardians and the local community will be invited to
visit the exhibition and attend the sketches, plays, and recitals. Both the original languages and
English (or any other foreign language) should be used.
 It is good to keep in mind that the aim is to also empower the minority languages and cultures and
9
show common values as they are derived from a variety of proverbs, folktales and myths / legends.
 The whole activity may be recorded and filmed on DVD in order to distribute it afterwards to other
schools.
 Care should be taken that all poster presentations are visible and at eye level.
 The whole atmosphere should be one of festivity and joy; create a good atmosphere and use humor
in the amphitheatre. After all we must keep in mind that trainees (and later their students and
parents) have invested a lot of work to complete their projects.
 Posters can be supplemented by sketches. (See the Story of Nasrudin in Appendix 1, for instance,
that one student can read out loud to the class/audience, while his or her team mates act it out.)
 Project results presented on the posters should not be ranked, assessed or penalized by the
trainer/teacher.
 The role of the trainer/teacher is very important during all four stages. It is necessary for a
successful outcome to organize and guide students from the very beginning and to inspire them with
ideas and help them with advice. Careful mentoring, in other words, is a must for this project.
 Can I make my students work on something new concerning the other? What benefits and difficulties
do I foresee?
 What materials, examples and research techniques can I show my students to help them collect
stories and fables?
 Am I ready as a teacher to review, discuss and revise the stereotypes and possible ethnocentric
views that may surface during these activities? How can I best help my students be more open,
tolerant and receptive of the other?
 Do I believe that my students and broader (school) community would benefit from this experience? If
yes, how? If no, why not?
10
Assessment
One way to evaluate the session is by asking trainees to fill in the table below:
I agree I don’t agree

1. The activity was really fun 1 2 3 4
2. It helped me become more social 1 2 3 4
3. I developed team work skills 1 2 3 4
4. I understood my culture better 1 2 3 4
5. I appreciate now the equality of cultures 1 2 3 4
6. I look forward to similar projects 1 2 3 4
7. I learned about the cultural universals 1 2 3 4
8. I liked to see my community involved 1 2 3 4
9. My classmates are equal being different 1 2 3 4
10. The activity was an “eye opener” 1 2 3 4
References
 Cummins, J. (1996). Negotiating Identities: education for empowerment in a diverse society. Los Angeles: California Association for
Bilingual Education.
 Cummins, J. and Danesi, M. (1990.) Heritage Languages. Toronto: Garamond Press.
 Edwards, J. (1985). Language, Society and Identity. London: Basil Blackwell.
 Fleras, A. and Elliott, J. L. (1991). Multiculturalism in Canada: The challenge of diversity. Scarborough, ON: Nelson Canada.
 Idries, S. (1984). The exploits of the Incomparable Mullah Nasrudin, Pan Books Ltd.
 Huber-Kriegler, M., Lázár, I. and Strange, J. (2003). Mirrors & Windows – an intercultural communication textbook. Strasbourg: Council
of Europe.
 Skutnabb-Kangas, T. & Cummins, J. (eds.) (1988). Minority Education: From shame to struggle. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.
11
Appendix 1A
A sample short story for Activity 1 (Original in Turkish)

“Nasrudin and the pot”
Nasrudin was expecting guests for dinner but he didn’t have a pot big enough for all the food. So he went to his neighbour to borrow a big
pot. The next day, Nasrudin took the big pot back to the neighbour. But he also gave him a smaller pot as well. The neighbour was
surprised and a little puzzled, “While your pot was with us it had a baby,” said Nasrudin. The neighbour smiled and said nothing. Some time
later, Nasrudin asked his neighbour to lend him the pot again. The neighbour was happy to do this, thinking he could get another small pot
from the crazy Nasrudin.
The next day, Nasrudin went to his neighbour’s house but without the pot.
“I’m afraid your pot died,” he explained to the neighbour.
“Died!” said the neighbour, “How can a pot die?”
“Well,” said Nasrudin, “If a pot can have a baby, then it can also die.”
Questions for the teachers:
1. Looking at the original, do you see any familiar words?

2. Have you heard any stories similar to this one?
3. Do you know of any other stories by Nasrudin?
Questions on the content and the meaning of the short story:
1. What is the main idea of the story?

2. What is the symbolism of the baby pot and of the dead pot?
3. How do you react to old “wisdom” stories?
4. Draw a comic strip with the above story
5. Rewrite the story in the form of a dialogue / play and present it in class
12
Pestalozzi
Training Resources
Transitions in education  transitions in life:
Keep an eye on it!
by
Author: Elisabeth Furch - Austria


Transitions in education  transitions in life:
Keep an eye on it!
by
Author: Elisabeth Furch - Austria
Council of Europe.
2
Theme: Benefiting from diversity through understanding major transitions in life
Expected outcome
 to benefit from cultural and linguistic diversity in every educational and/or learning environment;
 to raise awareness of the existing barriers in the national educational system concerning; cultural, linguistic, social,
gender, and religious diversity and its impact on teachers’ decisions about young people who are dependent on this
system;
 to make it obvious how difficult it is to understand the existing reality in our educational systems especially for people
without a high competence in the language of the country where they live;
 to raise teachers’ awareness of how important education is in our societies in order to have equal chances for a good
job and for full acceptance by society.
Target group

Initial training, in-service training, Primary level, secondary level, All humanities, social sciences,
NGOs, social workers trainer training psychology

When people go through major changes in their lives this situation is described as “transition” in the current scientific literature.
This term means “transformation, a big change in life, to live across borders” 1 and was mentioned first in the late 1990s in
studies done by the Anglo-American scientific community, especially in the field of social sciences. We can find transitions in
1
(Furch, E.: Transitionen - Bildungsbarrieren für Schülerinnen und Schüler mit Migrationshintergrund. - In: Erziehung und Unterricht, Österreichische
Pädagogische Zeitschrift, Heft März/April 3 - 4/06, öbv & hpt, Wien, S. 330)
3
everybody’s school career: a change from kindergarten to school, from one type of school to another, from one class to
another, or from one national educational system to another. In one’s private life a transition could also be caused by
migration, by a change of languages and/or cultures, a change of jobs, marriage, a new member in the family, etc.
To overcome the artificial and sometimes invisible barriers and challenges in everybody’s life, it is essential to raise awareness
about them, esp. among professional educators and social workers. The following training session aims to show that many
transitions exist and have to be passed by everybody. Professionals are advised to develop strategies to help their
pupils/trainees to become able to pass these diverse transitional phases successfully. The following activity aims to serve as an
eye-opener by looking at all the transitions in people’s educational and professional career as well as changes in their private
lives, including changes in their roles, group membership and language use.
Recalling transitions in life, reflecting on changes in pair work, presentation and whole group discussion, debriefing.
Time approximately 190 minutes
Introduction  30 minutes
Timeline 1 – Educational career  30 minutes + 10 minutes for debriefing
Timeline 2 – Professional life  30 minutes + 10 minutes for debriefing
Timeline 3 – Private life  30 minutes + 10 minutes for debriefing
Timeline 4 – Any other field of interest  30 minutes + 10 minutes for debriefing
(or alternatively one debriefing session of 30
minutes at the end)
4
Tips to trainers on the overall unit:
 Talking about transitions in one’s life can be a very personal and sensitive issue. As with every “inner journey”, some
very intimate reflections might surface, which can result in very difficult situations for the participants if they do not
know each other well. Therefore, this activity is not appropriate as a warmer or icebreaker with a new group.
 For the same reason, it is not appropriate to collect the task sheets at the end of the session. Those should be
regarded as pages in a very private diary.
 The trainer himself/herself has to be well informed about “transitions” and read extensively about the topic before
starting this session.
 It helps if the trainer fills in these work sheets about transitions in his or her own educational, professional and/or
private life before the session.
 It is useful to start the introduction with some input about transitions and clarifications about the aims of the session. It
makes the follow-up easier if the trainer can present some examples during this introductory phase (30 minutes).
 Everybody has to work individually on the 1st timeline (20 minutes) followed by a discussion in pairs (10 minutes). The
same procedure should be followed with the second/third/fourth timelines.
 A short reflection and debriefing session could be held after each timeline or alternatively a longer one (30 minutes) at
the end of the last session.
 You should never do the activities concerning transitions suggested below all at once! Please select the relevant one(s)
according to your target group.
5
Activity 1 Transitions in education  transitions in life: Keep an eye on it! 190 minutes
Notes
 General aim:
 To raise participants’ awareness of the number of transitions that individuals in our target groups
have gone through and to understand what these transitions mean for their educational, professional
and personal careers;
 To become aware of our own communication skills;
 To become more respectful and careful in contacting students/pupils/parents because in most cases
we only know a fraction of an educational/professional/private career.
 Specific aims:
 To see how transitions influence everybody’s life;
 To become able to change educational concepts and methods to ensure individual support in
heterogeneous settings – e. g. in preparing tests, exams;
 To become more sensitive to differences in the needs of students;
 To develop our own sensitivity in dealing with people in general;
 To be aware of the different contexts and variety of changes everybody has to deal with;
 To be aware of the influences of different barriers/transitions/changes in diverse contexts;
 To think about further concepts in order to break down barriers in our educational systems (e. g.
through research, projects, co-operation).
 Form a circle for the introductory phase – whole group
 Separate tables for individual work & pair work
 Form a circle again for reflection and debriefing (or smaller circles of 4 – 6 if the whole group has
more than 20 members)
6
 Materials needed:
 4 size A4 sheets per person – 1 for each timeline (see example in Appendix 1) over a period of
several sessions
 4 pencils in 4 different colours – 1 for each timeline
 Procedure:
Introduction: Hold an input session, including a definition of “transition” and its significance in one’s
educational and professional life and in the private sphere. Examples from the trainer’s life can be
enlightening. For further ideas and references, see the list of publications at the end of this unit.
Activity:
1. Have participants fill in the work sheet, indicating the starting point of their educational career as
well as all the different changes/transitions they have gone through up to the present (individual
work for 15-20 minutes).
2. Participants discuss their educational timeline with a partner (pair work for 10 minutes).
3. Elicit some of the pairs’ stories as a whole class activity and hold a debriefing session using (some
of) the questions below (10 minutes).
4. Participants fill in another timeline, this time about their professional career, indicating major
changes/transitions they have gone through up to the present (individual work for 15-20 minutes).
5. Participants discuss their professional timeline with a partner (pair work for 10 minutes).
6. Listen to some of the stories and debrief the activity using the questions below (10 minutes).
7. Participants fill in another timeline for transitions in their private life (individual work for 15-20
minutes).
8. Participants discuss their transitions in their private life with a partner (pair work for 10 minutes).
9. Listen to some of the stories and debrief the activity using the questions below (10 minutes).
10. Fill in a fourth timeline for transitions in any other area that you feel is appropriate for your trainees
(their daily life, their children's or parents’ life, etc.)
11. Participants discuss these transitions with a partner (pair work for 10 minutes).
12. Reflect on your discussions in a debriefing session by answering the questions below.
7
 What did you learn about yourself and your partner/pupil/student after having done this activity?
 How could you use this knowledge in your educational setting?
 Were you aware of the difficulties/important changes in the life of your partner/pupil/student before
doing this activity?
 Could there be a relationship between powerful feelings resulting from transitions in a person’s life
and his/her behaviour?
 What would like to change immediately in your educational context?
 Now that you acquired this new knowledge about the people you are working with, what kind of
training do you think you need e. g. in-service training to handle transitions and react in a
professional way, more knowledge about new methods, or a course in communication skills?
A variation:
After having discussed one kind of transition, you can add another line: an “emotional” line of the special personal feelings in connection
with having lived through these changes. It could be made obvious with another colour drawn on the same sheet of paper where the
timeline of a certain kind of transition has been written. Positive feelings could be drawn up to the top of field 1, negative on the bottom of
field 3 – always connected with this phase of life in the first timeline display.
If you add this “emotional” line, you will need much more time for the discussion in pairs than mentioned in the description above.
This variation can only be done if the trainer knows all group members very well so that there is no lack of trust or feelings of disrespect
within the group.
8
Title of training session:
Date of training:
Please mark: -- - + ++
How professional were your trainers?
Trainer(s):
How useful was the training session for you?
1. Do you know more about your pupils / students / other persons

after having done this training session?
2. Could you use the knowledge about transitions in your daily job?
If YES, in which way(s)?
3. Do you know now exactly what “transition” means?
9
4. Have you been aware of the difficulties / changes / barriers in the

life of your pupils / students / other participants before this
training session?
5. Could there be a link between powerful feelings resulting from a

certain transition in a person’s life and his/her behaviour?
6. Would you like to have more such trainings?
7. If possible, what would you like to change in your professional context immediately as a
result of your knowledge about transitions?
8. What kind of training would you personally need as a follow-up to this session (e. g. in-
service workshops to acquire more knowledge about individual learning, training in
communication skills, innovative ways of examining pupils, testing methods, etc.)?
9. Further comments:
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CO-OPERATION!
10
References
Bibliography:
 Denner, Liselotte; Schumacher, Eva (Hg.) (2004): Übergänge im Elementar- und Primarbereich reflektieren und gestalten. (Reflection on
and dealing with transitions in elementary and primary school) – Klinkhardt.
 Fthenakis, W. E. u.a. (1991): Übergänge und Brüche im Bildungswesen. (Transitions and Crashes in the Educational System) – München
: Ehrenwirth.
 Furch, Elisabeth (2006): Transitionen - Bildungsbarrieren für Schülerinnen und Schüler mit Migrationshintergrund. (Transitions –
Educational barriers for pupils with a migrant background) - In: Erziehung und Unterricht, Österreichische Pädagogische Zeitschrift,
Heft März/April 3 - 4/06, öbv & hpt VerlagsgmbH & Co. KG, Wien, S. 330 – 337.
 Griebel, Wilfried; Niesel, Renate (2004): Transitionen. Fähigkeit von Kindern in Tageseinrichtungen fördern, Veränderungen eerfolgreich
zu bewältigen. (Transitions. To support the ability of kids within educational institutions, to be successful in dealing with changes). –
Beltz.
 http://specialchildren.about.com/od/specialeducation/a/transitioneipk_3.htm
 http://jcd.sagepub.com/cgi/content/refs/35/2/107
 http://www.education.tas.gov.au/school/educators/guaranteeing-futures/pathway
 http://www.ihf.bayern.de/en/?Research_areas:Transitions_school_%96_higher_education_%96_work
11
Appendix 1
Work sheet:
On the two dominant lines in the middle of the task sheet, you should mark the starting point of your educational career and write down
the stages in a chronological order up to the present as in the example in Appendix 2.
Kind of transitions:
Name:
Date:
institution:
1. Facts,
2. Year:
age:
3. Your
My most successful transition / change / challenge (only one!):
My least successful transition / change /challenge (only one!):
12
13
1. Facts, institution: 2. Year: 3. Your

age:
University - PhD 1998 43 years
University – Diploma 1992 37 years
My most successful transition / change / challenge (only one!):
My least successful transition / change /challenge (only one!):

Pädagogische Akademie 1973 18 years
Gymnasium 1967 12 years
Kind of transitions: My educational career
Secondary school 1965 10 years

Primary school 2 1962 7 years
Primary school 1 1961 6 years
Kindergarten 1960 5 years
Example for a filled-in work sheet:
Name:
Date:
Appendix 2
Pestalozzi
Training Resources
Your choices matter!
by
Author: Olga Ferreira – Portugal
With the collaboration of Ana Gabriela Freire


Your choices matter!
by
Author: Olga Ferreira – Portugal
With the collaboration of Ana Gabriela Freire
Council of Europe.
2
Theme: Collaborative learning to benefit from diversity in the classroom
Expected outcome
 To benefit from cultural and social diversity in the classroom and school;
 To develop intercultural and plurilingual competences through collaborative work;
 To become aware that managing different points of view in a creative way enhances knowledge and contributes to
problem solving.
Target group

Civic Education, Languages, History,
In-service teacher training Secondary level
Visual Arts
Today’s increasing cultural and linguistic diversity can be used by teachers as a resource to benefit from in the school
community. Intercultural and plurilingual approaches are important tools in the development of a positive attitude towards
diversity, stimulating multiperspectivity and better interpretation and comprehension skills. This unit aims to raise teachers’
awareness of the educational process as inner development, based on personal and emotional experiences enhanced by social
dimensions. The path to achieve this goal leads through collaborative work, which requires skills of self-expression and
interaction in diversified contexts. Careful listening and observation during the activities is the starting point for teachers to
develop sensitivity to their peers’ competences, abilities and knowledge. Discussing and sharing different points of view in a
cooperative way will lead to critical perspectives, promoting broader insights. As a result, teachers should be able to help their
students to develop better choices and find creative responses to the challenges of living together and constructing democratic
multicultural communities. 1
1
Some of the activities proposed here are based on CIMA Project concepts and materials (see bibliographic notes).
3
Individual work and collaborative group work, involving projects, using pictures, literature, and the internet to compare
perspectives.
Time 360 minutes + autonomous work (120 minutes)
Activity 4  90 minutes (+ autonomous work)
Activity 5  90 minutes (+ autonomous work)
Tips for trainers
 The teacher must learn to act as an organizer and as a facilitator of the learning process.
 Each activity corresponds to a different phase of a methodological process that enables teachers to gain awareness about
the potential of active pedagogical methods.
 The aim is to improve teachers’ competences in the development of students’ skills and abilities for autonomous learning as
well as active participation in collaborative work.
 Alternative activities are possible in order to explore, compare and evaluate concepts.
Resources
Pictures, literary pieces
4
Activity 1 Negotiating the meaning of personal choices 60 minutes
Notes
 General aim:
 To reflect about the importance of mass media and global communication;
 To gain awareness about diversity in today’s societies.
 Specific aims:
 To stimulate careful listening, observation and mutual understanding;
 To develop skills of self-expression and communication;
 To convey positive and sensitive attitudes towards diversity;
 To encourage multiperspectivity.
 Individual and group work, using verbal and visual prompts
 A multimedia room;
 Some different multimedia materials, e.g. CD’s, DVD’s;
 A board (or any other support) for displaying pictures, poems, passages from newspaper and
magazine articles, texts in different languages, etc. (see Appendix 1 for examples).
 Resources (choose one of the following possibilities):

 Objects lying in trainees’ pockets, purses, suitcases, bags and so on (Appendix 1A);
 Images of diversity in today’s societies (age, gender, languages, styles, races, professions, etc.): photos
of people in busy streets of big cities, photos of shops, advertising, passages from newspaper and
magazine articles, texts in different languages, poems, video clips, songs (Appendix 1B);
 Internet products: YouTube footages, emails, posts, blogs, videos, materials from social networks
(Appendix 1C);
5
 Activity guides:
 Worksheets (Appendix 2)
 Observation and comments grids (Appendix 3)
 Procedure:
1. Choose one of the above options and display the items on a desk or on a board as appropriate.
2. Each teacher observes the materials (selected according to one of the possibilities referred to above)
and chooses something in response to the following questions: What is (for me) the most significant
item on the board/table about our present world? Why is that the most important item? What does
it mean to me? (Individual work)
3. The participating teachers are divided into groups of 4 or 5. First, each group must share the
following tasks: who will take notes and make a synthesis? Who will present the results of the group
discussion in an oral report? Who will be the group’s observer? When this is decided, group leaders
and observers receive the appropriate worksheets. Then each teacher presents him/herself to the
group through his/her choice, explaining the reasons for choosing the selected item. Everybody can
ask questions about the choices made by each member of the group.
4. Group work: The same groups prepare to present and analyse the choices made. After this
presentation, the group observers talk about their observation notes to the whole class.
5. Whole class: Finally, the whole class discusses the choices made by the groups. The different
contributions to the discussion may reveal how the class can benefit from diversity as a resource.
 For this activity grouping is best done following a diversity pattern based on age, gender, place of
birth and other possible criteria.
 Ensure that the worksheets go to the group leaders and that the observation and comments grid
gets to the observer in each group.
6
 The group’s observer: during the whole activity, one of the group members must fill the observation
grid about the diversity inside the group answering the following questions: What contributed to a
particular choice? Are there interesting remarks about personal backgrounds and experiences? What
are the main comments of the group? Are there some generalised ideas? Was it possible to observe
opposing points of view?
 Time must be carefully managed!
 How could you make use of this activity in a variety of subjects or in an interdisciplinary fashion?
(Teachers could organize and develop the activity together with students in an interdisciplinary way,
integrating for example: Civic Education, Languages, History, Visual Arts or Project Work.)
 How and where would you organize this activity for your students? (Teachers need to manage and
organize a timetable to work as a team and provide practical arrangements to support the students’
work - different spaces and different resources, as an auditorium, a language lab, the library or a
media centre.)
 How would you evaluate the students’ development? (It will be important for teachers to consider the
activity of assessment as a quality improvement. Providing evaluation grids and self- and peer-
evaluation guidelines and encourage the use of these as instruments of self- and peer-reflection in
order to develop both autonomous learning and collaborative work.)
7
Activity 2 Discussing and clarifying concepts – identity, language and cultural diversity 60 minutes
Notes
 General aim:
 To gain awareness about identity, language and cultural diversity.
 Specific aims:
 To explore, analyse and compare literary texts;
 To identify and clarify concepts of identity, language, cultural and diversity;
 To discuss plurilingualism and pluricultural identity.
 Individual reading of literary texts, group work and whole class discussion
 Comfortable space for group work
 Resources:
 Two literary texts (by Portuguese authors in the present example) to provide deeper reflection and
discussion about the concepts of language, culture, identity and diversity;
 Observation and comments grids (Appendix 3)
 Procedure:
1. Each participant is invited to read two poems (Appendix 5) individually.
2. The class has to be divided into groups with one observer in each group of participants. Worksheets
8
have to be distributed and the observation and comments grid has to be given to the observer in
each group. The group members join to comment on the two texts. Each participant is encouraged
to express his/her own feelings about what he/she has read. Then, the group analyses the different
points of view. The team must discuss language, culture and identity in order to clarify concepts.
3. The whole class discusses the concepts, giving examples and personal perspectives. Finally, the
observers give critical comments and remarks about interactions and possible prejudices and
stereotypes identified. They present a synthesis about the development of the activity inside the
team.
 Trainers must present the two poems to the participants together with some thought-provoking
questions and comments to elicit participants’ ideas.
 The group observer: during the whole activity one of the group members must fill in the observation
grid about the diversity inside the group: What are the main comments of the group? Are there
some generally accepted ideas? Was it possible to observe opposing points of view? Was it possible
to identify prejudices and stereotypes?
 Time must be carefully managed!
 What other concepts and issues could these poems trigger discussions about? (These poems could
stimulate further research about the concepts and complementary issues, including tolerance,
democracy or citizenship.)
 In your experience, what are students’ and parents’ expectations from schools with cultural and
linguistic diversity?
9
Activity 3 Exchanging ideas, making decisions and planning together 60 minutes
Notes
 General aim:
 To plan a joint project
 To promote autonomy and collaborative work;
 To encourage criticism and stimulate creativity.
 Specific aims:
 To present, share and discuss ideas and proposals;
 To argue and use communicative skills and abilities in an interactive way;
 To promote mutual understanding and collaboration;
 To improve planning skills within group work;
 To learn and accept that there is a way to a consensus;
 To provide resources to help benefit from linguistic and cultural diversity.
 Group work, project work and whole class discussion
 Multimedia room and/or computer access
 Resources:
 Computer
 Observation and comments grid (Appendix 7)
 Examples and suggestions for planning grids (Appendix 8)
10
 Procedure:
1. Have teachers work in groups and agree about the most consensual choice in the group and
underline the main ideas, in order to obtain a media production related to diversity (e.g.: a power
point presentation, a video, an audio, a poster, a dramatic text, a medley of images, texts and/or
songs, a fashion presentation, an art festival, etc.) (for an example see Appendix 9).
2. Teachers develop and share ideas, present proposals. Different communities must understand this
final production. It is also advisable to use different languages taught in school.
3. In groups, teachers discuss and fill the planning grids and assign tasks.
4. Critical debate: Each group will present their planning grid to the whole class, taking notes about
practical suggestions. Each group’s observer will intervene and comment on the work done,
developing a critical perception and taking into account any prejudices or social stereotypes
observed.
5. Teachers revise their group’s planning grids.
6. Whole class: Display plans for everybody to see.
 It will be important to encourage and support the groups with ideas, examples and a bibliography.
 Trainers must recognize formal and informal skills and competences in the group in order to
stimulate discussion and to provide support to the group dynamic during the development of the
project (Appendix 9).
 Trainers must support and encourage participants to fill the grids (assessment and resources,
selection of data collection methods, logistics, preparation of field work, reports, treatment of the
information collected, testing and adjusting, etc)
 The group observer: during the whole activity one of the group members must fill in the observation
grid about the diversity during the group discussions and other processes inside the group. The main
task is to answer the following question: “Have you noticed any prejudices or social stereotypes
during the negotiation process?
 It is important to pay attention to prejudices and social stereotypes, promoting critical debate and
attitudes of acceptance.
 Different activities are possible, such as debates, interviews, role-playing, photo and documentary
sessions in order to explore more deeply and promote positive attitudes towards diversity.
11
 How can teachers encourage collaborative work? List a few ideas.
 Think of ways for teachers to help strengthen democracy in the group?
 How can teachers promote tolerance and respect for difference? Do you know of other activities that
will have similar results?
Activity 4 Researching and creating multicultural tools 90 minutes

(+ autonomous work)
Notes
 General aim:
 To promote autonomy and collaborative work;
 To stimulate creativity;
 To gain awareness of and deal with diversity.
 Specific aims:
 To develop research competences;
 To deal with plurilingual skills and cultural diversity;
 To provide incentives for reflection and criticism;
 To learn to handle different kind of resources;
 To develop a multimedia product, performing activities and/or other activities.
 Group work, research and whole class discussion
 The practical arrangements depend on the projects’ requirements according to each Global Project
Plan and the Week Plan.
12
 Resources:
 Computer
 Observation and comments grid (Appendix 7)
 Global Project Plan and Week Plan (Appendix 8)
 Other resources depending on each group project.
 Procedure:
1. Group activities will follow the pre-defined steps, either the Global Project Plan or the Week Plan.
2. Group members should agree on sharing tasks: research activities, materials production and the
writing of short reports.
Doing research could involve reading bibliography, finding other support, underlining interesting
information, discussing ideas, choosing materials, making decisions, etc.
Producing materials mean sharing tasks according to each Global Project Plan (e.g.: writing texts
and/or reports, conducting interviews, compiling a news magazine, a website, a blog, organising a
photo/arts exhibition, producing a video or a short movie, developing and performing art
production, a fashion presentation, an art festival, and so on. Some group members could be in
charge of writing short reports about the research process in order to promote group self-
regulation.
3. Each group should introduce information about their findings using an e-learning platform to
ensure networking concerning intercultural issues.
4. The work should end with a group feedback session for the whole class
 The groups should use different resources and supports for their productions/performances, including
different languages and with the perspective of presenting them to different communities.
 Trainers need to manage and organize the work together and provide practical arrangements
(different resources and different spaces: an auditorium, a language lab, a multimedia room may be
needed).
13
 It will be useful for each group to have a “tutor/facilitator” to help follow the planning grid and
support the team with ideas, examples, and a bibliography.
 Trainers must encourage trainees to go deeper in their research and enrich their productions with
new ideas and new approaches.
 The revised activities must be rehearsed before the final presentation!
 Debriefing/reflecting (See Appendix 11 - power point):
 How important is critical reflection to modify attitudes towards prejudices and social stereotypes?
 How can teachers manage and organize a timetable to work together and provide practical
arrangements to support trainees’ projects?
 Is it necessary to give students support in specific areas in order to meet the projects’ needs?
 How can this be developed into an interdisciplinary session, coordinating different subjects, as Civic
Education, Languages, History, Geography, Visual Arts or Project Work?
 Trainers (and then teachers) may need other specialists to give technical support to the trainees’
(and then the students’) productions if needed. What kind of specialists do they need?
 Students should be encouraged to use their mother tongue, even if it is regional, minority or a
migrant language. How can teachers use this diversity as a benefit?
 Since different communities must understand the different productions, language teachers have a
crucial role. What kind of inter-linguistic approaches and activities may be led in order to develop
students’ skills (e.g.: memorizing texts; working on phonetic issues; comparing grammar, phonetics or
orthography; classroom activities including debates and discussions in the foreign languages taught
at the school)?
 How can language teachers use the Internet in the classroom? Why not use social networks to
motivate and stimulate students? As the web provides an enormous range of possibilities like blogs,
newspaper articles, online dictionaries, online translators, poems, grammars, speeches, declarations,
songs, films, etc., how can the language teacher manage all these resources?
 Social sciences and History also have an important role as they provide a scientific and cultural
approach to contemporary world subjects. What will be the main priorities?
 Moreover, what could be the contributions of other areas like science, technology or mathematics?
 In addition, how can art teachers give their contribution to benefit from diversity?
 Will it be important for teachers to consider assessment as an integrated and developing process?
How will they do that?
14
Activity 5 Presenting, sharing and passing on the material 90 minutes

(+ autonomous work)
Notes
 General aim:
 To interact and present productions to the community;
 To benefit from plurilingual skills and cultural diversity.
 Specific aims:
 To develop self-expression in an interactive way;
 To promote intercultural and inter-linguistic abilities;
 To improve communicative skills;
 To deal with different kinds of resources;
 To develop personal and social competences through collaborative work;
 To understand how to benefit from diversity.
 Whole class presentation and discussion
 Resources:
 The resources depend on the project orientation of each group.
 Activity guide:
15
 The practical arrangements depend on the project orientation and productions.
 Procedure:
1. Whole class discussion: Transform the project work into a public event. Link performing activities
as dance, theatre, sports, music and so on to the project results as appropriate and feasible.
Provide “marketing mix” initiatives in order to attract the audience: posters, flyers, radio
advertisements and so on. Coordinate the school event with the local community’s agenda.
Develop a specific coordination protocol with local authorities. Involve local grassroots
associations.
2. Project presentation in the classroom as well as to the whole school and community.
3. Whole class: Final debate and assessment.
 Resources, spaces, materials and time need careful management;

 Trainers must provide support to the presentations and encourage trainees through positive attitudes
and constructive feedback.
 Teachers should give a special meaning to the trainees’ project, by spreading the positive and
creative results either in written articles, media reports or on internet sites and outdoor
presentations. Networking with trainees in other countries could also be a possibility.
 Good practices are to multiply!
16
Assessment
All the sessions should catalyse trainees’ positive and constructive attitudes aiming at values of tolerance and justice. The final goal should
have its focus on personal and social development, all the suggested activities pointing to a higher level of awareness about multicultural
issues in the present world. That is why observation and critical attitudes should be present during all the sessions. In addition, assessment
activities should always clarify and regulate all the process.
In this way, it would be interesting, at the beginning of the module, to give a quiz to the trainees concerning their concepts and
representations about multiculturalism. At the end of the module, trainees could respond to the same quiz, comparing both documents. (E.g.,
whom would you share your apartment with and why? What do you think about immigrants in your country?)
The observation activities should be present throughout the sessions. A final analysis and discussion should be followed by a final report
(Appendix 13).
References
 ADELMAN, Clem, “The language of teenage groups” in Sinclair Rogers (ed.) They don’t speak our language, London, Edward Arnold,
1976.
 PROJECTO CIMA (Compreender e Intervir no Mundo Actual). Relatório Final (polic.), Coordenação de Ana Maria Bettencourt, Lisboa,
Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, 1995 i
 BERNAUS, Mercè (Coord.), Pluringual and pluricultural awareness in language teacher education, Strasbourg, Council of Europe
Publishing, 2007.
 BIALYSTOK, Ellen, Bilingualism in Development, Language, Literacy & Cognition, Cambridge University Press, 2001.
 BYRAM, Michael, “Teacher Education – visions from/in Europe”, in Babylonia 3-4-03, www. Babylonia-ti.ch.
 CHARLOT, Bernard, Du Rapport au savoir. Élements pour une théorie, Paris, Anthropos, 1997.
17
 COUNCIL OF EUROPE, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, 2001.
 O Choque Linguístico – A Dislexia nas Várias Culturas, Dyslexia Internacional. Um Pacote de Formação Multimédia para alunos, pais e
professores. Bruxelas, Dyslexia International - Tools and Technologies (DI.T.T.), 2002.
 DEWEY, J., How We Think, Mineola, NY, Dover Publications, 1997.
 DEWEY, J., Experience and Education, NY, Touchstone, 1997.
 D´HAINAUT, I., « L’Interdisciplinarité dans l’enseignement general (Étude à la suîte d’un Colloque International sur l’interdisciplinarité
dans l’enseignement général organisé à la Maison de l’UNESCO du 1er au 5 juillet 1985) », UNESCO, Division des Sciences de
l’éducation, des contenus et des methods, 1985.
 DUBET, F.,Sociologia da Experiência, Lisboa, Instituto Piaget, 1996.
 FICHER, Glória (Coord.), O Ensino da Língua Portuguesa como 2ª Língua - . Formação de Formadores e de Professores, Lisboa,
Departamento da Educação Básica, 1998.
 MONTANDON, C., L’Éducation du Point de Vue des Enfants. Paris: Editions l’Harmattan, 1997.
 ROLDÃO, Maria do Céu, “Colaborar é Preciso”, in Noesis, Lisboa, Ministério da Educação - DGIDC, Out.-Dez. 2007, nº 71, pp. 24-29.
 The Training of Teachers of a foreign Language: Developments in Europe. A Report to the European Commission, Directorate General
for Education and Culture, August 2002.
 THORNTON, Geoffrey, Language, Experience and School, London, Edward Arnold, 1974.
 THORNTON, Geoffrey, Language, Ignorance and Education, London, Edward Arnold, 1986.
 WILLEMS, Gerard, «Language Teacher Education Policy Promoting Linguistic Diversity and Intercultural Communication. Guide for the
development of Language Education Policies in Europe – From Linguistic Diversity to Plurilingual education - Reference Study”, Council
of Europe, Language Policy Division, Directorate of School , Out-of-School and Higher Education, DGIV, Strasbourg, 2002.
18
 LEA - Language Educator Awareness Langue et Éducation au Prurilanguisme,

http://www.ecml.at/mtp2/LEA/presentation/LEA_Presentation.pps, [15 de Março 2008]
i*
CIMA Project (To understand and intervene in Today’s World) was conceived in 1989 in the High School of Education of Setúbal, initially
linked with UNESCO project Education for International Understanding. During 1989 – 92 school-years, several schools in Setúbal – Almada
developed innovative practices and introduced transversal curriculum subjects, like “Education for democracy and citizenship, Social
intervention in neighbourhood, Media education and Environmental education”
The team teachers and Teacher’s trainees also developed action-research focused on interdisciplinary and transdiciplinary methodologies.
In 1992 the Portuguese Ministry of Education introduced in schools an interdisciplinary area “School Area” which required teachers to
develop an interdisciplinary project in all classes. Since 1992, CIMA Project was designated as CIMA Project – School Area and received a
financial support by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Since then research was orientated to observe school projects and answer to some
questions such as: how to motivate teachers to that new area, concerning education for citizenship? How to organise training, discussion
and assessment about new methodologies? What obstacles remain in coordinating schedules, concerning the interdisciplinary and the
transdisciplinary approach? The third phase was to elaborate study case reports about team teachers that have developed projects under
CIMA Project methodologies and orientations.
19
Appendix 1A
Example 1: Choosing objects lying in trainees’ pockets, purses, suitcases, bags and so on.
Activity 1: Negotiating the meaning of personal choices
Depending on their possibilities, trainers may use one of the examples below:
20
Appendix 1B
Example 2: Choosing images of diversity
Appendix 1C
Example 3: Choosing Internet products as YouTube footages, emails, posts, blogs, videos, materials from social network
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiqG5VTx9EI
21
Appendix 2
Instructions – Worksheets
Pay attention to the sequence!
1. (Individual) Each teacher must look at the materials and choose something related to the following question: What is the most
significant thing to me about our present world? Why is that? What does it mean to me?
2. (Group work) Each teacher will present him/herself to the group through his/her choice, explaining his/her reasons for
choosing it. Everybody can ask questions in order to get a better understanding of the group member’s choices.
3. (Whole class) Different teams will gather in order to present and discuss their choices and the observations made.
The focus must be on answering the following questions:
How can the different teams (and the class) benefit from their different members?
How can we deal with diversity as a potential resource in order to cooperate and work collaboratively?
Appendix 3
Observation and comments
Each team must elect one person to observe the group diversity.
During this activity, one of the group members will observe and take some notes about the diversity inside the group and about what
contributed to a particular choice.
The group composition:
22
Choices:
Reasons/arguments:
Formal and informal skills:
Different points of view:
Teachers’ attitudes:
Personal expression / communicative skills:
Appendix 4
Activity 2: Discussing and clarifying concepts – identity, language and cultural diversity
1. (Individual) Each participant is invited to read two poems (see appendix 5).
2. (Group work) The group joins to read and comment on the two texts. Each participant can express his/her own feelings
about the two poems read. Then the group must discuss and find a definition about language, culture and identity.
3. (Whole class) The whole class discusses the concepts, giving examples and personal perspectives. Finally, the observers
make remarks and critical comments about the development of the activity inside the team in order to find difficulties, identify
prejudices and stereotypes and clarify concepts.
23
Appendix 5
Two poems
Fernando Pessoa Fernando Pessoa 1888-1935

Born in Lisbon. Between 1895
Fernando Pessoa
and 1905, he lived in South
Africa. He wrote under the
Fernando Pessoa 1888-1935
heteronyms Álvaro de Campos,
Nasceu em Lisboa. Entre 1895 e 1905, viveu na
Alberto Caeiro and Ricardo Reis
África do Sul. Escreveu quer sob os
as well as under the semi
heterónimos Álvaro de Campos, Alberto Caeiro
heteronym Bernardo Soares and his own name,
e Ricardo Reis, quer sob o semi-heterónimo
Fernando Pessoa. He is considered one of the
Bernardo Soares e Pessoa ortónimo. É
greatest Portuguese poets of all time. Poet and
considerado um dosmaiores poetas portugueses
prose writer. Despite being wellknown, there is still
de todos os tempos. Poeta e prosador. Apesar
much to discover about Pessoa even today. He is
de muito conhecido, Pessoa continua ainda por
certainly the most complex and diversified
conhecer. É, decerto, o mais complexo e
Portuguese writer.
diversificado dos escritores portugueses.
Não sei quantas almas tenho. I don’t know how many souls I have.
Cada momento mudei. I’ve changed at every moment.
Continuamente me estranho. I always feel like a stranger.
Nunca me vi nem achei. I’ve never seen or found myself.
De tanto ser, só tenho alma. From being so much, I have only soul.
Quem tem alma não tem calma. A man who has soul has no calm.
Quem vê é só o que vê. A man who sees is just what he sees.
Quem sente não é quem é. A man who feels is not who he is.
Atento ao que sou e vejo, Attentive to what I am and see,

Torno-me eles e não eu. I become them and stop being I.
Cada meu sonho ou desejo, Each of my dreams and each desire
24
É do que nasce, e não meu. Belongs to whoever had it, not me.
Sou minha própria paisagem, I am my own landscape,
Assisto à minha passagem, I watch myself journey -
Diverso, móbil e só. Various, mobile, and alone.
Não sei sentir-me onde estou. Here where I am I can’t feel myself.
Por isso, alheio, vou lendo That’s why I read, as a stranger,

Como páginas, meu ser. My being as if it were pages.
O que segue não prevendo, Not knowing what will come
O que passou a esquecer. And forgetting what has passed,
Noto à margem do que li I note in the margin of my reading
O que julguei que senti. What I thought I felt.
Releio e digo, «Fui eu?» Rereading, I wonder: “Was that me?”
Deus sabe, porque o escreveu. God knows, because he wrote it.
© 1930, Fernando Pessoa (himself) © Translation: 1998, Richard Zenith

From: Poesia From: Fernando Pessoa & Co. – Selected Poems
Publisher: Assírio & Alvim, Lisbon, 2005 Publisher: Grove Press, New York, 1998
ISBN: 972-37-1071-4 ISBN: 0-8021-3627-3
 Tendo por referência o poema de  While reading Fernando Pessoa’s poem, find
Fernando Pessoa, registe marcas de references to diversity.
diversidade.
 Reflicta, debata em grupo e comente o  Ponder in your group about the concept of
conceito de identidade presente no identity in this text.
texto.
25
Vergílio Ferreira
Vergílio Ferreira 1916-1996
Vergílio Ferreira
Born in Melo (Gouveia). Graduate

Vergílio Ferreira 1916-1996
in Classical Philology at the
Nasceu em Melo (Gouveia). Licenciado em
Coimbra Faculty of Arts in 1940.
Filologia Clássica pela Faculdade de Letras da
Secondary school teacher. Novelist
Universidade de Coimbra em 1940. Professor de
and essayist. Winner of the Prémio
liceu. Romancista e ensaísta.
Camões. One of the most important contemporary
Prémio Camões.
Portuguese writers.
É um dos mais significativos ficcionistas
portugueses contemporâneos.
Uma língua é o lugar donde se vê o A language is the place from where

Mundo e em que you see the World and in
se traçam os limites do nosso pensar which the limits of our thinking and
e sentir. Da minha feeling are mapped out.
língua vê-se o mar. Da minha língua From my language I see the sea.
ouve-se o seu rumor, From my language
como da de outros se ouvirá o da its murmuring is heard, as from
floresta ou o silêncio do others can be heard
deserto. Por isso a voz do mar foi a that of the forest or the silence of
da nossa inquietação. the desert. Therefore the
voice of the sea has been that of our
restlessness.
Trad. Instituto Camões
26
 Debata, explicite e comente o conceito  Discuss and explain the language concept
de língua presente no texto de Vergílio in Vergílio Ferreira’s text.
Ferreira.
 Como relaciona este texto com a  How do you relate this text to the linguistic
problemática da diversidade linguística e and cultural diversity debate?
cultural?
 Ponha em confronto os dois textos,  Compare both texts and underline the main
salientando as ideias que se evidenciam ideas. Make a final comment.
em cada um deles. Comente.
Appendix 6
Activity 3: Exchanging ideas, making decisions and planning together
1. (Group work) Agree about the most consensual choice in the group. Then, underline the main ideas, in order to obtain a
media production related to diversity (e.g.: a power point presentation, a video, an audio, a poster, a dramatic text, a medley of
27
images, texts and/or songs, a fashion presentation, an art festival. Different communities must understand this final production,
therefore it is advisable to use different languages taught at schools.
2. (Group work) Fill/Make a planning grid and assign tasks.
3. (Whole group) Critical debate: each group will present to the whole class their planning grid, taking notes about
practical suggestions. Each group observer will intervene and comment on the work done, taking into account any prejudices or
social stereotypes observed.
4. (Group work) Teachers consider final adjustments to the planning grid.
Appendix 7
Observation and comments
Each group must elect one person to observe the group’s diversity.
During this activity, you will observe and take notes about the communication style and the contribution of each member and the
consensual process within the group. The main question you will have to answer in the end is “have you noticed any prejudices or social
stereotypes during the negotiation process?”
The group composition:
28
Prejudices:
(Ex: gender prejudices, sexual orientation, race, old generation, immigrants, foreigners, minorities, and so on...)
Social stereotypes:
(Ex: beautiful women are stupid, men do not cry, boys do not play with dolls...)
Students’ attitudes:
(Ex: Is someone an attention monopoliser? Is someone a leader? Does anyone have a passive behaviour? Is there anybody who is suspicious
of stubbornness or bullying? Who has good collaborative skills?)
29
Appendix 8
Examples and Suggestions for Planning Grids
Project title:
Production:
Team:
Production Process
Names Production Process

Tasks:
Tasks:
Tasks:
Tasks:
Tasks:
30
Final assessment:
Individual Week Plan
Name:
Theteam’s name:
Project title:
Production:
31
Research Process
Tasks Where can I get the information? What can I do with this information (new ideas)?
Productions
Tasks What do I need to do? Time requested
32
Final report/ Obs./Comments:
Appendix 9
Example of a production made by students supervised by a teacher attending the teacher training during the pilot phase.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV5YV-bIxS4
33
Appendix 10
Activity 4: Researching and creating multicultural tools
1. (Group work) Group activities will follow the pre-defined steps, either the Global Project Plan or the Week Plan.
2. (Group work) Group members should exchange ideas and agree to share tasks: doing research activities, producing
materials and writing short reports:
Doing research could involve reading bibliography, finding other support, underlining interesting information, discussing ideas, choosing
materials, making decisions, etc.
Producing materials mean sharing tasks according to each Global Project Plan (e.g.: writing texts and/or reports, conducting
interviews, compiling a news magazine, a website, a blog, organising a photo/arts exhibition, producing a video or a short movie,
developing and performing art production, a fashion presentation, an art festival, and so on. Some group members could be in
charge of writing short reports about the research process in order to promote group self-regulation.
4. (Group work) Each group should introduce information using an e-learning platform to provide networking concerning
intercultural issues.
5. (Whole group) The working session should end with a group feed-back.
34
Appendix 11
Debriefing and reflecting (Power Point)
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
Appendix 12
Activity 5: Presenting, sharing and passing on the information
1. (Whole group) Transform the project work into a public event. Associate performing activities as dance, theatre,
sports, music and so on.
Provide “marketing mix” initiatives in order to attract audience: posters, flyers, radio advertisements and so on.
Coordinate school event with the local community agenda.
Develop a specific coordination protocol with local authorities.
Involve local grassroots associations.
2. (Whole group) Project shown in classroom as well as to the whole school and community.
3. (Whole group) Final debate and evaluation.
Appendix 13
Assessment and evaluation

Other possibilities of evaluation
Self evaluation sheet:
What did I learn?

How did I work?
Were my attitudes collaborative?
Did I try to understand the others?
Have I done my best to improve the project?
42
What can I do better?

...
Peer evaluation sheet (inside the group)
Autonomy
Commitment in the activities
Research work
Skills and contribution
Knowledge contribution
Critical contribution
Creative contribution
Productions
...
Groups’ evaluation (Classroom):
Presentation quality
Organization
Time use
Balance
New ideas
Materials
Information
...
As some activities could require a joint work of several areas such as Languages, History, Visual Arts or others, it would be important for
teachers to consider skills and knowledge in their own disciplinary area.
43
Pestalozzi
Training Resources
The Black Sheep
by
Author: Hilal SEZGİN- Turkey


The Black Sheep
by
Author: Hilal Akyüz - Turkey
Council of Europe.
2
Theme: Drama activities for raising awareness of cultural and social diversity in the classroom
Expected outcome
 to experience the feeling of being excluded / different
 to develop multiple perspectives
 to learn to accept otherness
 to benefit from cultural and social diversity in the classroom
 to introduce drama activities in the field of intercultural education and diversity education
Target group

Initial and in-service teacher Languages, education for
Primary and secondary level
training democratic citizenship
Everything that is not known to us and not introduced to us is strange. Whatever this unknown and strange thing is, sometimes
it frightens us, sometimes it makes us laugh, and sometimes it causes disgust. Although we may not know anything about new
people or things, we sometimes react to them with prejudices, biased and intolerant attitudes. As educators we cannot interfere
in the lives of families or tell them about how to think and act, but we can be resourceful in our teaching to help our students
learn to respect their classmates.
Teachers usually know the background of their students and are aware of the diversity present in their classrooms. Yet, this
does not mean that every teacher welcomes this variety at school. Teachers, and especially student teachers, are often so
involved in following the curriculum that they even forget about the diversity in their own immediate environment. If we could
provide our students with a classroom climate where no one is excluded and no one feels bad about being different, we would
3
profit from cultural and social diversity to the full. And children brought up in such an environment would never be the ones to
start a war.
The aim of this unit is to remind trainees of the unexploited diversity and richness present in their classrooms. This training
unit is NOT aimed for learners at school. First of all, it is teachers and trainee teachers who should learn to regard diversity
as a resource in their classrooms, and only then can they become effective in teaching their students to benefit from diversity.
Viewing short videos, drawing, reflection, mime, drama, collaborative work and whole group discussion.
Time 225 minutes
Evaluation  30 minutes
 This unit consists of a group of drama activities followed by different pre- and post-drama activities, aiming to lead to a
discussion and problem solving tasks.
 Give trainees time to remember and reflect as it takes time to recall and talk about past experiences but do not force
trainees to share possibly unpleasant experiences.
 Do not allow trainees any time for reflection until you finish with Activities 1 and 2.
 For classroom implementation do not limit yourself to the materials the author suggests, you can explore the same topic
using relevant movies, books, music, ads, etc. At the end of the unit there is a list of suggested prompts.
4
Activity 1 The black sheep 15 minutes
Notes
 Specific aims:
 to experience the feeling of being excluded / different through film
 to be able to write about feelings
 Resources:
 a computer
 a screen or projector
 downloaded video or internet connection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLj1kboVhz8
 pen and paper for each trainee
 Make your computer and internet connection ready before you start your training.
 Procedures:
1. After greeting your trainees tell them that you are going to watch a video together.
2. Make sure that every trainee has a pen and paper.
3. Don’t tell them what they are going to watch and why.
4. Ask them not to talk until the activity is over.
5. Watch the video.
6. Wait for 20 seconds in silence.
7. Watch the video again.
8. Ask the trainees to write down the feelings they had when they saw the video.
 Reflecting will take place after Activity 2 is finished.
5
Activity 2 Monuments of exclusion 50 minutes
Notes
 Specific aims:
 to express feelings through mime/dramatizing
 to determine what is excluded as the other / the different
 to be able to talk about positive and negative feelings
 Resources:
 Pen and paper for each trainee
 Mime, drama, group work, whole class
 Make sure that trainees have enough space to move around and form monuments.
 Procedures:
1. Ask your trainees to form small groups of 3 or 4.
2. Ask each group to form a monument with their own bodies, giving the monument a name or title
which shall summarize what they have seen.
3. When the groups are ready to show their monument, ask them to do so one by one for the whole
class to see.
4. The others watching the monument should try to guess the name of the monument.
5. The group stops being a monument and reveals its name.
6. The next group presents its monument to the whole class, the others guess what the title might be,
and so on.
6
7. The activity goes on until every group has shown their monument to the whole class.
8. Finally, ask each trainee to write again about the feelings they had when they formed the monument.
They should write on the same sheet they used in Activity 1.
 If you have a camera you can take pictures of the monuments, and later use them for different
activities, for group sharing, reflecting, etc.
 Please warn trainee teachers after Activity 2 that this video may not suitable for the lower primary
school classroom, as it may affect some little children negatively.
 After having finished Activities 1 and 2 you can start reflecting by asking each trainee to tell the
whole class what feelings they described after watching the video, and while forming the monuments.
What would they have called the monument if they had had to name it themselves?
 Ask the trainees if they have felt this way before in their life?
 Ask the trainees if they might have students who might feel the same way in their classroom?
 Ask the trainees how they react and what they do if someone in their class is excluded?
 Before finishing the activity warn them again that this video is not suitable for young learners.
Activity 3 Turning black into white 50 minutes
Notes
 Specific aims:
 to use creative techniques to illustrate solutions to problems of exclusion
 to develop multiple perspectives
 to build cohesive groups
7
 Resources:
 flipchart – with enough paper for every group of 3 or 4 participants.
 coloured pencils, markers
 print-outs of pictures in the Appendixes for Activity 3a and b
 Drawing, colouring, group work
 Before you start, you should have the pictures in the Appendixes for Activity 3a and 3b printed and
each picture should be glued or pinned to the middle of a flipchart poster.
 Procedures:
1. Ask the trainees to form groups of 3 or 4 or if you know your students or participants, then group
them yourself as you see fit from a team building point of view.
2. Give each group a flipchart paper with one of the pictures in the Appendixes for Activity 3a glued to
the middle.
3. Ask them to change the unhappy situation in the picture. In other words, each group should turn the
picture into a happy situation by drawing, colouring or using any other creative method on the
poster. They can also do this by writing onto the posters. Allow them 25 minutes for this.
4. You can walk while the groups are working and give ideas if they cannot get started by themselves.
5. When the time is up, you ask the groups to show their posters and to explain how they turned the
the sad world into a happy one.
6. Then you can show on the screen or as a print-out the pictures in the Appendixes for Activity 3b.
7. Allow trainees to enjoy the happy side of inclusion.
 Ask trainees if they have similarly unhappy situations in their classrooms. Allow enough time for
discussions and an exchange of experiences.
8
 Ask them how they can use these pictures in the classroom. (For example, they can show these
pictures to children, post them on the walls, and ask them to go to the pictures they like most.
Then children could explain why they chose a certain picture and could perhaps also talk about
similar personal experiences.)
 Ask trainees if their pupils could act out the scene: children do the same activity as above, but then
as a follow-up, they have to act out the story. (For example, the black duckling is played by one
student, 3 students play the role of the yellow ducklings, and they change the scene by helping the
black duckling to climb the chair, all hand in hand in the end. Of course, it is best if children find
their own solutions to turn black to white.)
 Discuss with the trainees how the second set of pictures can be used in the classroom as examples
of how animals manage to be friends despite their differences. (For example, pupils can be asked to
find a similar story to tell from a movie they have seen, a book they have read, or based on their
own experiences of making friends, etc.)
 This activity becomes more difficult and demanding if instead of turning the pictures into happy
ones, you explicitly ask your trainees to “draw solutions to include what is excluded” in their
pictures.
Activity 4 Being in someone else’s moccasins 50 minutes
Notes
 Specific aims:
 to experience the feeling of being excluded through role-play
 to express feelings through drama activities
 to learn to talk about positive and negative feelings
9
 Resources:
 Role cards (See Appendixes for Activity 4)
 Improvised role-play, group work
 Make sure that trainees have enough space to move around and act out the situations.
 Procedure:
1. Divide the classroom according to the number of trainees into groups, you can give out all four role
plays at one session or you can give two role plays and divide the class into two groups.
2. Before you give out the role cards, tell your trainees that they have to act out and solve the
situations on the role cards, and that everyone in the group should have a chance to act.
3. Then trainees should have about 30 minutes to discuss the situation, find a solution and allocate a
role to every member of the group.
4. When the groups are prepared, they should start by first reading out the situation and then acting
out their sketch and the solution.
5. You can again record the plays or take pictures, which you could use for further activities or
debriefing and reflecting.
 Ask trainees about what was difficult to act out, which role was annoying / funny / etc., and let
them discuss the situations they were given.
 What did the situation remind you of? Are there any similar situations in our society / surroundings
/ school?
 The same situations or similar ones can be used by trainee teachers later on with their classes: in a
language class, in a democratic citizenship class, etc.
 Ask trainees if they can use these role-cards, and what they would change to suit their pupils’ needs
and interests better.
10
Evaluation and assessment 30 minutes
Ask your trainees to answer the following questions individually in the form of a composition and assure them that their papers will be
treated confidentially:
Notes
1. Before we talked about diversity today, I had not been not aware
of the following ...
2. During the training I remembered an event where I felt different /

excluded …
11
3. Having attended this session, I feel that there is a need to deal

with diversity in school / no need to deal with diversity ...
4. If I have a chance to apply some of these activities in my

classroom, I would try out the following activities …………………………
…………….……………………………………………………………………………………………….
because ………………..………………..………………..………………..…………………………
............................................................................................................................. ..................................
5. Further comments you would like to add ...
Your overall impressions and comments would be highly appreciated. Please don’t hesitate to also share your ideas with the author of
this training unit: hilalakyuz@hotmail.com
12
Activity 5 Look behind the mask 30 minutes
Notes
 Specific aims:
 to experience the feeling of being excluded / different through videos
 to enable trainees to talk about positive and negative feelings
 Resources:
 a computer
 a screen or projector
 internet connection http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLj1kboVhz8
 two videos for Activity 5
 Viewing videos with the whole class
 Procedures:
1. Show trainees the video again about the black sheep.
2. Then show them the two videos for Activity 5.
3. Leave enough time for the debriefing session.
 Ask trainees about the differences between the videos.
 Explain to them that the two other videos were taken in order to create educational material, but
with the aim to be similar to the first one.
13
 Ask them why in the last two videos the sheep do not run away from the masked sheep. Do they
know of places where people are not afraid of “the other”?
 Discuss diversity again with your trainees, also reflecting about the feedback you received.
 Explain to them that the shepherds in the last two videos informed the author that the animals are
not running away from the masked sheep because they are from the same herd, while in the first
video they might have probably run away because it was a different sheep, not from their own
crowd.
 Can we assume then that people also accept differences within their own group and reject only
those who come from very different backgrounds? Why is this true? Or why not? Do the trainees
know arguments, examples, and exceptions to justify or contradict each other’s answers?
 Ask your trainees how they could discuss the concept of being different with children. What or who
do the trainees think that children perceive as different in their lives?
References
 Dougill, S. (1987). Drama Acts for Second Language Learners. Macmillan.
 Maley, A. & Duff. A. (1978). Drama Techniques in Language Learning: A resource book of communication activities. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
 Rinvolucri, M. (2007). Grammar Games: cognitive, affective and drama activities for EFL students. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press.
 Scrivener, J. (1994). Learning Teaching: A Guidebook for English Language Trainees. Hong-Kong: Macmillan / Heinemann.
 Wessels, Charlyn C. (1993). Drama. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
14
Appendix 1
Sample pictures for Activity 3a
15
Sample pictures for Activity 3b
16
Appendix 2
Role cards for Activity 4
SITUATION 1:
Instructions and materials:

You need 5 blue plastic litter bags, but cut space for head and arms.
1. Choose students for the roles A and B.
2. Ask them to read out their roles, and then they can start acting. Do not influence them, but ask them to stick to their roles.
3. Give the Ocean student a blue plastic litter bag you have provided before.
4. Just when the play begins choose four students and give them the climax role. The climax role shouldn’t be read aloud. Tell
the group they should enter into the play when you give them the sign.
5. Provide the climax group also with the blue bags.
6. After a few minutes, when B still doesn’t manage to make friends, ask the climax group to enter the play.
7. See how they solve the situation.
Situation:
Classical school scenery, where newcomers are not accepted when they are too different.
ROLE A (2-3 teachers/students) ROLE B (1 teacher/student)

You are a group of 3 youngsters and don’t You are a new student and come from Ocean you are very unhappy because
want to talk or have contact with the nobody wants to talk to you. Today you have promised yourself to be a friend of
student, who is from a country called the most popular group in the school. Do anything possible to talk to them.
Ocean, because he is blue coloured. Do
everything possible to avoid talking to the
Ocean.
CLIMAX ROLE (3-4 teachers/students)

You are a group of 4 Oceans you enter the scene and include your Ocean friend, trying to understand why the others are not
accepting him or her. Try to talk to the group.
17
SITUATION 2:

A bathrobe, sunglasses, a very old-fashioned piece of clothing (male/female), accessories that match the old-fashioned clothing.
1. Choose students for the roles A and B.
2. Ask them to read aloud their roles, and then they can start acting. Do not influence them, but ask them to stick to their
roles.
3. Give student B a bathrobe and sunglasses.
4. Just when the play begins choose one student and give her/him the climax role. The climax role shouldn’t be read aloud.
Tell the student s/he should enter into the play when you give her/him the sign.
5. Provide the climax role student with old-fashioned clothes.
6. After a few minutes, the climax role enters the play.
Situation:
A group of people are standing in a queue for theatre tickets. One person seems to be quite strange because of the way s/he
is dressed. Just a group of people behind him start to stare at her/him, talk about her/him and make fun of her/him. He
doesn’t keep silent.

You are a group of 3 people queuing in a You are in front of a group of people in a row and they make fun of you. You
row for theatre tickets, just in front of you hear what they say. You are accustomed to it because you are treated like this
there is someone with a very strange outfit, everywhere. Try to talk to them and ask them why they think you are funny. Try
and you make fun of her/him, and talk to persuade them that you are just like them underneath the clothes.
about her/him.
CLIMAX ROLE (1 teacher/student)

You enter the play being dressed in an old-fashioned manner and begin to be part of the group who is teasing the strangely
dressed one, you say that his or her clothing is unacceptable, and even that he shouldn’t be allowed into the theatre in this
outfit.
18
SITUATION 3:
1. Choose students for the roles A, B and C.

2. Ask them to read aloud their roles, and then they start acting. Do not influence them, but ask them to stick to their roles.
Situation:
A group of people is going to have dinner together; at the restaurant one of the participants is unable to eat anything because
he is believer, following the rules of religion XYZ. These religious people do not eat anything cooked, anything red and green. He
or she is quite angry with his friends for not considering his dietary rules when they are going out. There are restaurants where
he could eat.

You go to a restaurant with friends but one You are very angry with your friends because you believe in the religion of XYZ,
friend of yours can’t order anything and has which doesn’t allow you to eat anything cooked and red and green things. You
nothing to eat or drink. Your friend is angry had proposed another restaurant where you would have had several choices but
with you because he proposed another your friends were bored with that restaurant. You ask your friends what you
restaurant where he would also have should eat that is neither cooked, nor red or green.
choices. You try to find something for him,
and try to understand why he doesn’t try to
eat a hamburger just once.
ROLE C (1 teacher/student)
You are the waiter in the restaurant serving the group, you can hear that they are debating about one of their friends who
cannot eat anything and is angry with his friends because they have taken him to this restaurant. You just listen for a while, but
towards the end you go to the guest who isn’t able to eat anything, telling him that your restaurant caters for different demands
and dietary needs and offer him: water to drink which is white and not cooked. And a plate with bananas, pine apples, pears,
which are neither red nor green and also not cooked.
19
SITUATION 4:

All you need is a piece of paper for the student with Role C, indicating that he is the policeman.
1. Choose students for the roles A and send them out of the classroom.
2. Read out the situation to the classroom. Everyone can make up his language you together with the class represent the
society in the city.
3. Choose a student/teacher to be the policeman and give him his role card.
4. Invite the role A students/teachers back into classroom.
5. The whole class tries to avoid contact with the migrant family.
6. The climax role enters the class and he is allowed to make his final explanation in the real classroom language.
Situation:
There is suddenly a new family in your happy, clean and friendly town, with a language you do not understand. The whole town
refuses any contact with the family that speaks a language that they cannot understand.
ROLE A (3-4 teachers/students) ROLE B (whole class)

There is a war in your country and you The whole class has to speak a nonsense language, and pretend not to
have to flee with your family into another understand English (or the language usually spoken in the class). Try to avoid
country. You walk in the streets and parks contact with the family. Finally two of you go to the policeman to complain about
and try to talk to people to explain your the family and that their presence is not wanted in your town.
situation. You are hungry and tired. But no
one speaks your language. Try to explain to
them that you are ready to work in order to
get food and a warm place to sleep.
ROLE C (Climax Role)

You are a policeman; the citizens come to you and complain about a new family which is walking in the parks and streets of
your town. You don’t like them either. But you try to understand them as you know a little bit their language. You understand
that they fled from war in their country, and that the father was a famous scientist in that country. You explain this situation to
the whole group and see their reaction. (Make the explanation in the real classroom language).
20
Self-Reflection Activity
How do you feel about diversity?
Think about some of the diverse groups in your school or your society.
What feelings come to mind when you think of them?

Pick two non-mainstream groups and write down your initial thoughts for
your eyes only.
Group Adjectives & initial reactions
Are the words positive or negative?

What do they mean for your teaching and your interaction with members of
those groups?
It is important to keep in mind that such reactions—be they positive or

negative—inevitably colour the way that you see students who belong to
these groups.
Through recognising and analysing their own beliefs, teachers can begin to
understand their own behaviours and where necessary develop more positive
beliefs about and behaviours toward diversity.
Centre for Educational Research and Innovation CERI - www.oecd.org/edu/ceri

TED Toolkit on Teaching for Diversity - www.oecd.org/edu/ted
Whole Classroom Activity
Multicultural Me
Objectives: Fostering an inclusive classroom environment
Students will think, write, and articulate their experiences with their own
culture.
Students will think, write, and articulate their experiences with other
cultures.
Description of activities
1. Divide participants in pairs. Give each pair a questionnaire to fill out together.
2. Instruct them to read and answer each question as a pair. Ask them to write
down their answers, so that they can later report back to the group.
3. After they have answered the questions, ask them to return to the big group.
Read the questions one by one and let the pairs give you their answers. Write
down these answers on a big sheet of paper or flip-chart. Alternatively, let the
pairs record their own answers.
4. When you have answers to all the questions, ask the participants whether they
already have some examples from real life for the questions and answers.
5. Organize the exchange in a large group, starting with the following questions:
 How did you feel while answering questions?
 Did you know more or less than what you previously thought?
 Did you find out something that surprised you, something that was
interesting?
 How can you discover something more? Where could you find more
information?
 What did you find out about your different experiences? Were there
things you had in common with others that may have surprised you?
What were they?
– Adapted from the Vranješević, J., Trikić , Z. and Rosandić, R. Cultural
Sensitivity Manual (unpublished training manual).

Reflection Activity
Observing diversity in your classroom
Think about the classrooms you teach:
Who are your students?

What types of backgrounds do they have?
How many are from the same background as you?
How many are from different cultural, linguistic, ethnic, religious and
socio-economic backgrounds?
How do you identify this diversity – in other words, is it “visible”, do you
know from conversations, or from comments made in class discussion,
etc.?
Think about your estimates:
Are there possibly other types of diversity present in your classroom – such
as those that are difficult to “see” (e.g. socio-economic diversity)?
Does your school offer statistics on student backgrounds that can help you
to prepare for new classes (of students as well as their parents)?
Such statistics are very useful, but numbers only tell part of the story. For
example, knowing that 15% of your students are Asian is helpful, but only to a
certain extent – “Asians” come from a large number of countries, each with its
own language and culture.
Think about your background:
How might your students experience similar perceptions and experiences?

How might their perceptions and situations differ from your own
If you are from a background different from the majority, think about your own
perceptions and experiences regarding diversity in the classroom.
It is worthwhile to request more information and/or formal professional development

to become more acquainted with the cultures, especially if your school is made up of
predominant groups.
You can also speak with other teachers about their experiences.


Helpful Resources

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Helpful Resources

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Pestalozzi

The Pestalozzi Programme

Education for Linguistic and Cultural Diversity (DIV)

Last edition: April 2012

Theme: Methods for benefiting from diversity in the classroom

 To learn from each other

Type of training School level Subject area

Brief description of the unit

Simulation game, role play

Time 120 minutes

Taxi: 2 Maps (of the same city)1 Appendix 1

Activity 1 A taxi ride! 40 minutes

Step 3: (10 minutes)

Activity 2 Getting to know each other? 10 minutes

Activity 3 The community room 50 minutes

 In the housing estate new communities have been formed.

Possible further activities: Working on different conflicts in “the housing area

 Tips to trainers (or teachers)/anticipated difficulties:

 Debriefing/reflecting – Follow up activity:

 What have you learned during this activity?

Activity 4 Debriefing session (for teachers/trainers only) 10 minutes

 To promote the use of this unit in classrooms

 To evaluate the level of comfort acquired by trainees with the methods

Evaluation and assessment

Task: Taxi, adapted

Taxi control center

Task: Taxi, adapted

The Pestalozzi Programme

Education for Linguistic and Cultural Diversity (DIV)

Last edition: April 2012

Theme: Learning about differences in perception and expression

Type of training School level Subject area

Brief description of the unit

Time 120 minutes

Tips to trainers on the overall unit

Activity 1 How we feel about a sea storm 120 minutes

Sapir, E. (1921). Language. New York: Harcourt, Brace, Inc. &World.

Education for Linguistic and Cultural Diversity (DIV)

The Pestalozzi Programme

Education for Linguistic and Cultural Diversity (DIV)

Author: Hugo Verkest - Belgium

Last edition: April 2012

Theme: Diversity of belongings – diversity of exchanges

Type of training School level Subject area

Brief description of the unit

Activity 1  15 min (+ cca. two hours at home)

Activity 1 Introduction to the shoebox full of memories 15 minutes in

Activity 2 Presentation to an open forum with a follow-up discussion 10 + 5 minutes

Boite mémoire (professeur FR)

 Shoe box (Student from CZ)

 Tips for the trainer:

 Do you keep it in a secret place or hidden somewhere?

Activity 3 Change of perspective 15 minutes

Variation D Shape your words 30 minutes

Activity 4 Box exhibition 180 minutes

A checklist may be useful:

Activity 5 Exploration of a cartoon 60 minutes

a. Observation, interpretation and questioning

b. Personal investigation (worksheet)

 What did you learn about the ‘background’ of your trainees/students?

Evaluation and assessment

The Pestalozzi Programme

Education for Linguistic and Cultural Diversity (DIV)

Last edition: April 2012