The Most Important Goals of Our New Educational Path

Holistic education with meaning and purpose

Personal development means more than pure knowledge – it includes experiencing with all the senses, strengthening self-confidence, recognising limits, and developing team spirit and an awareness of nature. The goal is a holistic education that enables young people to shape their future actively, responsibly and with confidence.

Personal development

Many people have partly lost, or allowed to be suppressed, their trust in their own strengths and with it their confidence – for example through a view focused on “deficits” and “mistakes”. But a basic trust that has been shattered since childhood also often leads to little genuine self-confidence. It is important to take things into your own hands and find a solution instead of waiting for others to do it for you.

Interdisciplinary learning promotes joined-up thinking

Young people want exciting, inspiring and joyful learning through fresh, modern, varied and interdisciplinary teaching.

In this way young people gain the ability to look at a situation as a whole, to take into account many different points of view, the (causal) connections and dependencies at the same time, and then to integrate this into their actions. This frees them from classic cause-and-effect thinking.

Strengthening teamwork

Other important goals are genuine team spirit, joy in being together and ethical conduct towards one another. Developing these sometimes requires slowly feeling one’s way towards experiencing closeness and community. Through a targeted selection of interaction-based educational methods such as cooperative adventure exercises, shared ways of doing things can be tried out, reflected on, redefined and made usable as strategies for everyday life.

Accepting and respecting limits

We create conditions that make it possible to explore one’s own limits and to look beyond them voluntarily. Above all, however, acknowledging one’s own limits and accepting and gratefully respecting limits is an equally important, if not even more valuable, learning experience.

Developing an awareness of nature (appreciate – love – protect)

Nature is available to us as a teacher, by forcing us to submit to her laws and act accordingly. Young people learn again to develop mindfulness and appreciation for our fellow creatures, and gain insight into ecological relationships, the cycle of nature and its interactions with us humans.

Holistic education with head, hand and heart

What I experience myself becomes part of my personality. Away from mobile phones, computers, games consoles or televisions. Away from this two-dimensional perception, back to experiencing with all the senses. For something to be truly anchored in the brain in the long term, knowledge must be heard, get under the skin, touch us and become tangible.

Cultural and social competence

Interaction exercises aim to promote tolerance and openness towards other people, and participants are strengthened in running their own lives so that they can master them in a more self-determined way. Standing up for oneself is also to be encouraged. The hope is that young people in particular will see meaning in actively and positively helping to shape their future and the future of their surroundings.

Health through a positive attitude to life and gratitude

For many researchers it is clear: what happens in the brain influences what happens in the body. Grateful and positive people are happier, more optimistic, more helpful and more empathetic. Self-esteem rises and it becomes easier to cope with stress.

Experiential education

Experiential education purposefully promotes and supports young people in developing their personality and in social action. It enables conscious, action-oriented learning through deliberately designed challenges. Nature is the preferred space for learning and experience.

Another special approach in our project and adventure weeks is erLEBEN Educational Larp, Edu Larp for short. This is the approach of conveying learning content and skills through live-action role play. With this educational approach we want, especially in the learning-village weeks, to broaden the space for experience, enable changes of perspective and firmly consolidate knowledge gained through play.

OUR INITIATIVES

Education according to maturity

Together with our partners we create a framework in which young people and adults alike may learn, laugh, play and sometimes also cry. This strengthens emotional intelligence and fosters close togetherness. While the young people can freely develop their interests, parents have the opportunity to get to know an alternative educational concept and appreciate its value.

Through your PARTICIPATION – CO-CREATION – SHARED EXPERIENCE, each of our offerings has enough potential to unfold and become reality for you too.

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01 DORF-AKADEMIE (village academy)

The virtual village academy is our centre for digital education, culture and community dialogue. All offerings give you the opportunity to learn new skills digitally, share knowledge and work together on solutions to the challenges of our time.

DORFAKADEMIE](https://tapoja.at/?page_id=2260)

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02 DORF-SCHMIEDE (village forge)

In our virtual clubhouse, the “DORFSCHMIEDE”, our village members meet once a month to share ideas and experiences. HERE PLANS MAY BE FORGED AND COMMUNITIES CAN WORK.

PROJECTS: DORF-COOP

DORF-SCHMIEDE](https://tapoja.at/?page_id=1152)

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03 LEARNING VILLAGES

Learning villages are community-run sites in a rural setting where permanent communities build their village as a backdrop and form the inhabitants of this learning village. The members live and work as a community, create conditions for tourism, among other things, and actively help shape the learning and adventure village. These learning villages create a unique environment that serves both as an adventure village for tourists and as a venue for various educational and adventure offerings. This is where the association’s learning-village weeks, youth days, educational trips and the year of travel take place.

PROJECTS: LEARNING-VILLAGE WEEKS, VILLAGE YOUTH, YEAR OF TRAVEL (in planning)

PROJECTS IN PLANNING: YEAR OF TRAVEL, WOMEN’S DAYS, MEN’S DAYS, BIG LITTLE EXPLORERS

LERNDÖRFER](https://tapoja.at/?page_id=4305)

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DORF-CAMPUS (village campus) in planning

The educational sites of the Dorf-Campus initiative focus on individual, lifelong learning paths and personal development and create conditions for career-oriented and career-accompanying education.

Instead of fixed curricula there are discussions, workshops, joint projects or help with start-up ideas. For young people aged 14 and over.

PROJECTS IN PLANNING: FUTURE YEAR

DORF-CAMPUS](https://tapoja.at/?page_id=1478)