Let’s Start Collaborative Implementation of dBT in Schools

Dear dBT Advocates in European Schools,

I am starting this discussion forum with the specific objective to invite European schools to collaborate in the implementation de Bono Thinking into School/Subject/Class curriculum;

We in Kaunas have such a School, which started with the dBT journey ten years ago. Now they have become our leaders. They systematically work within their school, involve other teachers from the Kaunas region and all around Lithuania. It is time for them to move beyond national borders.

A year ago we and the team of J.Urbšio High School (Kaunas, Lithuania) generated the idea of an international project, where schools from different countries can learn, share and work together implementing dBT. It is time to put that idea into reality.

We have considered several focus areas for project activities:
 Learning together about different aspects of dBT integration into the curriculum;
 Fitting de Bono thinking as a key competency into national/school/subject area curriculum;
 Collaborative development and piloting teaching resources and assessment tools;
 Sharing our experience within national educational contexts and international dBT community.
Probable starting date of activities is October 1, 2010. We plan project duration of 2 years.

Education and Training sub-division in the European Commission has recently published the Call for Proposals for year 2010 within the Life Long Learning Programme. All information about participating countries, priorities and rules can be found in “General Call for Proposals 2010 and Guide to the Programme” (http://ec.europa.eu/education/llp/doc848_en.htm)

We plan to develop Comenius Multilateral Project. “Comenius Multilateral projects aim to develop, promote and disseminate new curricula, new teacher training courses or materials and new teaching methodologies, and to provide a framework for the organisation of mobility activities for student teachers.”

We would focus on Priority #1: “The development of approaches to teaching and learning that support the acquisition by all students of ‘transversal’ key competences”

Deadline for project submission February 26, 2010 (that means it would be desirable to close list of potential partners by Christmas)