Co-creation of new approaches and methods for schools

1) Gain insights into best practices in the chosen topics – For a co-creation method to be successful, the first step in our piloting process was to provide the participating schools (Tarvastu, No...

1) Gain insights into best practices in the chosen topics – For a co-creation method to be successful, the first step in our piloting process was to provide the participating schools (Tarvastu, Noarootsi, Forseliuse, and Valmiera) with new knowledge about the possibilities within each theme. 2) Gain knowledge and tools for co-creation to use in the future – This involved interactive co-creation workshops following expert knowledge-sharing sessions. Each school designed a prototype for their pilot during each of the three phases. 3) Implement the created prototypes in partner schools – Each school tested their prototype in real school settings. 4) Prepare the schools for the wider implementation of the tested prototypes 5) Share lessons learned across all participating schools – After each piloting phase, DD Foundation collected feedback and documented insights to compile the digital co-creation brochure. 6) Create a digital information brochure – A guide summarizing the lessons learned, and best practices was developed for use by other schools in Estonia and Latvia. This brochure also serves as a resource for DD Foundation in future development initiatives.

Three separate piloting phases, each for their own themed issues: 1) The first pilot period lasted from February to August 2023. The co-creation workshop where the pilot prototypes were designed, took place in Tartu on April 3-5th. The main theme of the phase was inclusive and democratic participation of student in the decision-making process. For this, we also invited Charlie Moreno, headmaster of Demokraatiakook, to share his expertise on their innovative approach. 2) The second pilot period lasted from August 2023 to March 2024. The workshop took place at Valmiera school, in Latvia from September 4 to 6th. The main theme of the phase was improving the school’s organization culture. Our expert this time was Sigrid Aruväli from University of Tallinn and Innowise. 3) The third pilot period lasted from March to October 2024. and took place on 6-7th of May in Noarootsi, Estonia. The main theme of the period was supporting students' intrinsic motivation. For this, Grete Arro, an Estonian education system expert shared her insights into the issue. 4) An additional distribution seminar was conducted on the 31.10. 2024 in Aparaaditehas, Tartu. The aim of the seminar was to share the main insights and lessons learned from the process.

- organized 3 separate workshops for four partner schools involved in the project. The participants were relevant teachers and leaders in the schools, who would be involved in the implementation of the pilots. Workshops included the participation of education experts (Charlie Moreno, Sigrid Aruväli, Grete Arro). - implemented 3 different pilot prototypes for each of the 4 schools. The pilots were of varing degrees of success, with some developments being abandoned altogether, and others being still implemented to this day - organized lessons learned webinars, where we reflected with the schools on the opportunities and pitfalls involved in the implementation of the pilots. - organized a seminar “How to lead change in schools” physical seminar in Tartu, where we shared to 30 change agents the insights gathered from facilitating co-creation workshops and pilots with schools. - created a digital brochure, introducing co-creation approach for school development alongside best practices and good examples from the project. - participated in various educational conferences and networking events (Tartu Education Fair, Mondo’s UNESCO Ühendkoolide konverents)