Dr. Aibhin Bray

Summary

There is a significant body of research that points to the need for methods of teaching and learning that are innovative, competency-based and student-centred, but despite moves to change the curricular focus, a traditional model of schooling is still prevalent. Teachers are the agents of change in the reform process but can also be inflexible and can resist change unless they understand and agree with the reasoning behind a reform, its implications for their classroom practice, and consequences for their students. An objective of this project is to support and enhance the development of collaborative and reflective environments (CaRE) in schools. We will mirror the development of key skills and competences that are generally advocated for students, within the whole-school environment by encouraging teachers to work increasingly collaboratively, and by providing structures in which sharing, communicating and critically reflecting on practice becomes the norm. Through collaboration with our partners across Europe, we aim to establish a set of guidelines to support teachers to come together to communicate and share good practice and creative approaches, and to critically evaluate and reflect. In order to facilitate this, one of the project objectives is to develop resources for reflection at whole-school level. Our aim is to develop tools and procedures that assist in the identification of common goals as well as resources for planning and assessing progress towards them. A total of 42 participants will take part in this project, made up of 6 teachers from each of the 7 partner schools. Thanks to the transnational nature of the project, and the choice of partners with clusters as well as individual schools, we have been able to establish a project structure that reflects three levels of CaRE: within schools, between schools, and online. Throughout the project, the partners will develop and promote processes and resources to support CaREs in their school, within their cluster, and at project level. The theory that will be used to underpin the activities is drawn from research into Communities of Practice, with particular emphasis on the "TeachMeet" approach for teachers to share good practice, practical innovations and personal insights into teaching. An overarching Theory of Change (ToC) methodology will be employed. This is an innovative and holistic method that can be used to assess the progress of the project in terms of meeting its overarching goals, individual activity aims, and to guide the project partners and participants in evaluating their own progress. Within the ToC framework, mixed-methods, involving qualitative and quantitative indicators, will be employed to monitor the progress, quality and achievements of the project and its activities. By working with schools in a variety of countries and contexts, we hope to develop a robust, but flexible set of guidelines and resources that will be pragmatic and adaptable. It is expected that this project will have a positive impact at local, regional, national, European and potentially international levels. In fact, the structure of the project will support such impact at each of these levels through the development of CaRE in Schools, CaRE Clusters and CaRE online, with each level growing from and building on the previous. Through the LTTs and development of outputs, our intention is to abstract the fundamental structures and supports required in order to successfully develop CaREs at each of these levels, in order to create resources that can be used to inform other institutions' development in this way. In addition to this, the modules and resources developed through the project will support these burgeoning CaRE communities at European/international levels.

Funding Agency

European Comission

Programme

Erasmus+

Project Type

KA201

Person Months

36

Summary

This focus of this project is the development of a European model of teaching and learning that will help to address the need for students to become effective problem-solvers and self-directed learners. Our overall is twofold: to develop a coherent model for the integration of an inquiry-based approach to 21CL in order to scaffold the development of these skills; and to simultaneously create a related model of CPD in order to support teachers with its implementation. Our rationale is echoed in the OECD/PISA documentation that measures students' abilities to apply "their knowledge to real-life situations and be equipped for full participation in society". The PISA report (2012) highlights the need for prioritisation of opportunities for students to develop the habits and reasoning skills that will permit them to become effective problem-solvers and self-directed learners. We argue that a structured combination of IBL and 21CL forms a valid model to address this need. A combination of IBL and 21CL can be seen as addressing some of the issues raised in the PISA report, however, the PRIMAS report (2013) has highlighted that although many practitioners wish to impart these skills to their students and to include them in their teaching practice, they are hampered by factors relating to curriculum and assessment, classroom management/orchestration, and resources, including CPD. In particular, teachers often do not feel confident redefining their role in the classroom from initiator and controller to guide and facilitator. Bridge21 is an education programme that has been developed in TCD. It offers a new pedagogic model, and supports an innovative learning environment within schools that is team-based, technology-mediated, project-based, and cross-curricular. Bridge21 offers a structured vehicle for the delivery of IBL/21CL in the classroom. It has also proven to be a successful model for CPD in the areas of information literacy, contextual mathematics and computer programming. It thus clearly addresses a number of the barriers to running effective IBL in the classroom. Our primary target group will consist of the group of secondary school teachers directly participating in the project. As the integration of IBL in the classroom is highly dependent on teacher attitudes and beliefs, part of our research will measure changes in teacher attitudes and beliefs before and after exposure to the Bridge21 model. A hoped for alteration in teacher beliefs during the CPD cycle will add weight to our argument for the power of the emerging model as highly relevant for both CPD and classroom orchestration. Thus, the aims of the projects are the following: 1. to analyse the teacher beliefs of the target audiences toward CPD, teaching and learning both before and after CPD interventions. 2. to develop workshops that will address the needs of the target group informed by the Bridge21 Model of CPD; 3. to create the specific educational tools that will be used in these workshops, and developed from these workshops; 4. to run pilot workshops in all the partner countries, and to instigate a cycle of lesson design with participating schools; 5. to transform the Bridge21 model, through international collaboration, into a robust, European model of 21CL 6. to disseminate the materials to relevant educational institutions in all involved countries and beyond.

Funding Agency

European Comission

Programme

Erasmus+

Project Type

KA201

Person Months

36