At the start of the 2019-2020 school year, a caring Elementary School Teacher in Nicosia (Cyprus) identified the need to grow her Grade 3 students' social-emotional and life skills through non-formal learning methods, and invited an enthusiastic Experiential Learning Facilitator to help her achieve this, through a series of regular workshops with the class. A teachers' Handbook was the end-result.
The innovation was presented on HundrED’s website in early June 2020, as an effective SEL response to the Covid-19 pandemic: https://hundred.org/en/innovations/together-we-can-do-it-better
Between October 2, 2019 – June 10, 2020, 11 on-location and 11 online (Zoom) workshops took place with the children. All the activities – energizers, team challenges, discussions, reflective writing – that were done during the workshops, as well as the related activities the class teacher did with the students at the school, in the days between the workshops, are described with detail in the Handbook. Out of the 156 activities described in the Handbook, 102 can be implemented with physical distancing. All the activities can be replicated with easy-to-find materials, including Lego blocks.
In August 2020, the Action received Praise during a National Competition of good practices to prevent violence and promote active citizenship in schools, organized by the ministries of Education and Justice.
The Activities Handbook (in Greek) describing the activities used in the 22 workshops has been promoted to public and private schools, trainers and non-formal learning facilitators, university professors, embassy personnel and other interested individuals (e.g. parents, business managers) in Cyprus. Already, 34 hard copies and 18 pdf copies of the Handbook have been distributed in Cyprus and Greece. It has been welcomed by educators who understand and believe in the value of experiential learning to support the social emotional skills of students.
The Embassy of Finland in Cyprus has also been given a copy, along with a request to have a meeting with the Finnish Ambassador, to discuss the potential for financial support to have the manual translated into English, for wider distribution.
Educators/trainers/team managers who can read Greek and wish to implement the whole series of face-face or online workshops or only selected activities from the Handbook with their audiences (children, youth, adults) may purchase a hard or pdf copy (€10-€15). The Handbook has been registered with an ISBN number.
Contact person: Ms Charis Charalambous, charalca@hotmail.com
