Summer School in Girona
Four teachers from Hungary participated at Acadimia project summer school in Girona. Their thoughts about the summer school is just ready to be read.
I attended a 5-day training course in Girona organised by Acadimia Girona Summer School for Creative and Inclusive Learning. The teacher training gave me very practical knowledge that I will try out with my students in September. I learned about the Scratch programming language, Montessori pedagogy methods, the use of drama in teaching, exploring the power of Drama Education in the classroom. The trainers highlighted the role and use of Artificial Intelligence with practical exercises.
We talked a lot with colleagues from abroad (Iceland, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Belgium, Spain) and cooperated during the tasks, in the framework of practice-oriented training. I hope that long-term relationships have been formed, with the potential for student exchange opportunities.
As part of our cultural programme we visited the Cinema Museum in Girona and explored the town of S’Agaró on the Costa Brava.
I am very happy to have participated, I have learnt a lot, my English has improved and I am sure that as a drama teacher and French teacher I will be able to benefit from what I have learnt here.
Zsuzsanna Binder
The Acadimia Girona Summer School for Creative and Inclusive Learning is an international professional development program for teachers, aimed at equipping participating educators with creative and inclusive teaching methods. The training focuses on practical knowledge, modern pedagogical principles, and international collaboration.
Participants became familiar with Montessori pedagogy, gained insights into methods of drama education, the use of the Scratch programming language in teaching, and the role of artificial intelligence in education.
Teachers from various countries (e.g., Iceland, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Belgium, Spain) took part in the training, which enabled the exchange of experiences, networking, and long-term professional cooperation.
During the program, we developed new methods through group tasks and practical workshops, which we can later apply in our own teaching.
As part of the course, we visited local cultural sites such as the Cinema Museum in Girona and explored S’Agaró, one of the gems of the Costa Brava. I experienced Girona as a city of great cultural and historical significance – an inspiring place for personal and professional growth.
Monika Németh
The training in Girona was particularly exciting for me, as it was my very first Erasmus experience. Already after Monday’s opening session, I felt at ease, as the teachers and lecturers made a very positive impression on me. I felt free to express myself, and the environment was truly inclusive and welcoming.
On the first official training day, I completed two courses.
The first was “Drama in Education,” where I gained a wealth of useful knowledge about how to effectively incorporate drama into classroom lessons. The afternoon session supported this topic as well, and by the end of the day, I truly understood how important it is to enrich lessons by integrating dramatic elements.
The second training day was one of the most exciting for me. In the morning, I attended the “Digital Storytelling” course, where we tried out an exciting and innovative programming tool. This was a real challenge for me, as I had never worked with anything like this before — but my peers were incredibly patient and supportive, and the instructor attentively answered all my questions, even explaining the same thing multiple times without hesitation.
In the afternoon, we continued with the “Talent Maker” course, where we applied what we had learned in the morning and discovered a tool called Makey Makey, which I completely fell in love with. It was truly inspiring, and it sparked countless ideas in my mind about how I could use it in my teaching practice.
The next day, in the morning, we visited the Cinema Museum, which was especially interesting for me, since Media Studies is my other major. In the afternoon, we explored the topic of gamification, where we were introduced to a completely new approach and had the chance to experiment with exciting tools. I can already envision how I’ll apply them in my own classroom. Finally, we took part in the closing session, and it truly broke our hearts that the training had come to an end.
Outside of the courses, we also took part in some incredible activities. We explored Girona, which is a stunningly beautiful city, spent time by the sea, and even managed to squeeze in a short visit to Barcelona.
Unforgettable memories, innovative and modern pedagogy, kind people, and amazing educators. That’s how I would sum it up.
Lili Nagy
From 30th June till 5th of July, I took part in 6 different workshops in Girona: Montech, Gamification, Creative learning, G.A.M.E., Digital storytelling and SEDIN.
What I especially liked about the training was that the seemingly different methods we were given insight into proved to be interrelated and highly adaptable in classroom situations. We learned both theoretical and practical aspects of the methods, since besides presentations we could try hands-on activities in small groups at each session.
Participating in these workshops enabled me to develop at a personal level. Before going to Girona Summer School, I checked the different methods offered by Acadimia on its website, and I had the impression that it might be difficult to internalise the diversity they represent. But during the training I had an aha moment because I understood how diverse offline and online methods can be unified in an inspiring way by linking the unplugged and plugged activities, and how AI can become a real friend in developing teaching materials. Thinking in sequences was the key concept, and the visit to the local Museum of Cinema reinforced this underlying idea.
It was quite overwhelming (due to the intensity of the agenda and the summer heat in Spain) but it was definitely worth taking part in it 🙂 We had an excellent time on an evening outing to the sea in S’Agaró.
I am especially grateful for meeting so many dedicated educators from all over Europe: I found it so inspiring because of the trainers and the fellow teachers as well. The summer school gave us the opportunity to develop, to broaden our mind as a teacher, to share professional expertise and educational experience with colleagues from Belgium, Bulgaria, Greece, Iceland, Italy and Spain. It was an unforgettable summer school!
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