
Innovative teaching methods for Preschool teachers and education staff
Overview
The importance of preschool education is entrenched in the Sustainable Development Goals, which seeks to ensure that, by 2030, “all girls and boys have access to quality education so that they are ready for primary education”.
It is acknowledged that the first years of children’s life are the most important for their development and growth, since learning takes place at a speed that will never be equalled.
Promoting the use of innovative teaching methods in preschool education can lay the groundwork for children success in school and in adult years. This is why for preschool educators it has become vital to find new innovative ways of involving their children in and outside the classroom.
Target Audience
This course is addressed to teachers, directors, managers, educators and other staff of preschool and childhood institutions with pupils aged 0 – 6 years old. If you work in primary or secondary schools, please consider enrolling in the course “Innovative teaching methods for teachers and school education staff”. If instead you work in adult education centre, you can consider enrolling in “Innovative Teaching Methods for Adult Education”
Languages
The course is held in English.
For groups with at least 8 participants, we can organize an ad-hoc session in a different language. Please write an email to
info@erasmuslearningacademy.eu
to get more information about it.
| Location | Starting Date | Ending Date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bologna | 22/11/2026 | 28/11/2026 | Open for Enrollment |
| Bologna | 29/11/2026 | 05/12/2026 | Open for Enrollment |
| Tenerife | 07/03/2027 | 13/03/2027 | Open for Enrollment |
| Bologna | 18/04/2027 | 24/04/2027 | Open for Enrollment |
| Palermo | 07/11/2027 | 13/11/2027 | Open for Enrollment |
Skills
What will you learn?
This course allows participants to get to know, experiment and practice the most relevant innovative teaching methods for preschool teachers – such as Outdoor Education, Project-Based Learning, Non-Formal Education and Creativity – in a safe environment, discussing and sharing best practices and experience with fellow European teachers and education staff.
Learning Outcomes
This course provides participants with an overview of the trending innovative preschool teaching methods as well as a cooperative, inspirational and stimulating space where to experiment and practice new tools, strategies and approaches to be applied in preschool settings.
The general aim of this course is to foster excellence and innovation by empowering and inspiring preschool educators, trainers, headmasters and other education staff to use innovative teaching methods with their pupils while sharing best practices and experiences with fellow participants and trainers throughout all Europe, gaining as well a broader understanding of preschool education in Europe.
Innovative Approaches and Project-Based Learning
Learn about the latest trends in early childhood education and the principles of Project-Based Learning to enhance preschool education.

Nature-Based and Experiential Learning
Discover the benefits of integrating nature and outdoor activities into preschool, and practice designing creative and experiential learning opportunities.
Creative Games and International Exchange
Explore learning games that foster creativity and development in children, while sharing best practices with educators across Europe.
Daily Program
Please find below the standard indicative daily programme that may be personalized based on groups’ needs and professional profiles. Our standard program comprises 7 days of course: Sunday morning activities will start at around 10:00 and will conclude by 11:00 the next Saturday.
Please note that we always do our best to accommodate the specific needs of our participants in a flexible way, including but not limited to budget restrictions and travel arrangement. Participants generally choose to arrive 1 day before the start of the course and/or leave one day after the end of it as it generally makes their travel arrangements smoother and more convenient. Upon specific request we may organize longer or shorter versions of this course.
| Sunday | – Participants arrival – Course introduction – Schools/institutions’ presentation & best practices sharing – Walking tour in the venue’s city | ||
| Monday | – Needs and expectations evaluation – Teambuilding exercises – Reflections on existing preschool systems and best practices – The child in the middle: the importance of preschool education – The role of the environment, the educator and family involvement | ||
| Tuesday | – The role of informal and non-formal learning in preschool education: principles and best practices – Basic concepts and principles about non-formal education and experiential learning – Experiential methods to strengthen problem-solving, curiosity and teamwork – Practicing, designing and delivering experiential activities and tools – Cultural activities in the venue’s city | ||
| Wednesday | – The key components of Project-Based Learning (PBL) – Formulating your Driving Question – The importance of children driven activities in PBL – Optional cultural visit outside the venue’s city (Florence, Cefalù, El Teide…) | ||
| Thursday | – Key principles and benefits about outdoor education and outdoor learning – The value of outdoor education for cognitive, social and relational development – How to safely design, plan and deliver outdoor preschool education activities – Practicing, designing and delivering outdoor group exercises and challenges, problem solving games and experiential activities in the nature | ||
| Friday | – The importance of creativity in early childhood education: key concepts and principles – Practical activity: creativity-based pedagogies and learning games to foster pupils’ imagination and collaboration – Practicing and designing lessons using creativity skills and tools – Create your own lesson based on the knowledge and practices acquired during the week – Farewell dinner | ||
| Saturday | – Space for discussion of future cooperation and planning follow up activities – Course roundup and final evaluation – Validation of learning outcomes and certification ceremony – Additional training session tailored to specific needs – Optional cultural activities or additional guided visit in another major city – Participants departure |
Other relevant facts
Methodology
All our courses have a standard duration of 7 days, totaling 35 hours of training. This includes both formal teaching sessions and practical activities, as well as moments for discussion, cultural experiences, and networking, ensuring a comprehensive learning experience in line with Erasmus+ quality standards.
We tailor the working methods based upon participants’ needs, attitudes and professional profiles in order to ensure high productivity, effectiveness and transferability into practice.
The standard methodology is highly practical and participative with hands-on approach that comprises real-job examples, case studies examination and simulations. We embrace collaboratively working methods that foster mutual learning and cooperation among participants. Our focus is on learning in an interactive and international environment knowledge applicable to the real contexts and/or in the classroom. The pedagogical methods that we use are based upon experiential training, group and peer activities, learning-by-doing and best practices’ exchange. They include visits with local schools and institutions allowing the participants to better understand the local education system as well as exchange ideas and contacts.
Morning Wrap-up and brief daily evaluations are foreseen to ensure quality of education and to adapt the learning programme to participants’ needs better tailoring the education.
We organize optional social, networking and cultural activities in order to give participants the opportunity to know Italy as well as to exchange best-practice and establish professional cooperation and links.
The training and staff team is multinational thus giving a full European dimension to the course.
Costs and Erasmus+ Funding
Teachers, trainers, headmasters and any other staff of education organizations are eligible to receive an Erasmus+ grant covering all the costs to attend our training courses including travel, board and lodging, cultural activities and all fees. Our training courses are tailored to be fully funded by Erasmus+ and we offer different options to ensure the best comfort and quality at a price that is within the Erasmus+ grant.
We offer our courses in an all-inclusive format: training and accommodation in the same venue, networking meals during the courses as well as cultural visits are provided by us and are fully covered by the Erasmus+ funding. In this way participants just need to organise their international flights and can rely on us for all the other practical arrangements.
If you prefer you can take care of some of the practical arrangements (e.g. meals, accommodation…) by yourself but we strongly recommend entrusting us with the accommodation booking in order to ensure optimal logistic organization, networking with fellow
participants, safety and time-efficiency.
Read more about how we take care of your subsistence and practical arrangements.
The most common option that we offer to schools and organizations costs EUR 1,415 in Bologna, EUR 1,235 in Palermo and Zagreb, EUR 1,265 in Tenerife, 1215 EUR in Athens and EUR 1,335 in Porto. This price includes the course fee, certification and support fee, accommodation in single room, breakfast, 2 coffee breaks per day, 3 networking meals (shared lunch/dinner opportunities with other participants), a walking tour in the venue’s city and a sum-up dissemination video.
Please note: in Bologna the price includes full board (all meals), whereas in the other locations only the 3 networking meals are included alongside breakfast.
Prices shown may vary for specific courses that include extra services or visits to schools and associations. More detailed pricing information for each course is available upon request or at the time of enrolment.
For schools sending 2 or more participants we can offer accommodation in double rooms and we can provide as well accommodation for people or relatives accompanying the participants.
When attending our courses, we recommend you to request 9 days of individual support for your subsistence costs, 7 days for the course plus 2 additional days for the travel. In this way you can have more flexibility in planning your stay and you can enjoy all the cultural activities planned from the first to the last day of course. You can read here more about the Erasmus+ funding. Shall you have need any help with filling the budget during the application stage or have any problem with your grant please let us know and we will see how to support you.
Certification and Validation of learning outcomes
At the end of the course, each participant will be awarded a certificate of attendance, together – if requested – with the Europass Mobility Certificate.
The certificate are in line with the Erasmus Quality Standards and include a short description of the course and its learning outcomes, dates, venues, the name of the course provider and the course instructor(s).
We support the participants in every step of certification and validation of learning outcomes with specific focus on European instruments and Erasmus plus requirements such as staff mobility/learning agreement, quality commitment and Europass mobility certificate.
We experienced that schools and education organizations may require additional documents to certify the competences learned or the presence in the training course. Upon request we can provide additional certification and reporting documents as well as we provide photos of the training course and a sum-up video that can be used for visibility and dissemination purposes.
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