Updates - First Year of the Project
PLEIADE project aims at strengthening the role of the teacher and tackle school disadvantages, by improving teachers’ ability to design learning activities that foster collaboration and inclusion of students.
During the first year of the project, a blended training initiative for teachers was designed and is currently being delivered to a group of teachers from schools located in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece and Italy. Teachers are learning about collaboration for inclusion through a gamified platform.
Three Intellectual Outputs were released to the public in 2021:
IO1 Blended Teachers’ Professional Development (TPD) pathway: describing the teachers’ training pathway;
IO2 Hybrid I4Ts game: a game to support teachers in designing collaborative learning activities;
IO3 Gamified platform for the Blended Training Activities (BTAs): the platform where the training will take place.
Update on teachers’ training activities
The teacher’s training (Blended Training Activities or BTAs) has started on 20 May 2021 and comprises synchronous and asynchronous activities, such as attendance of webinars and development and delivery of group projects. Teachers are working in groups, supervised by tutors from Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Genova, Italy) and Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski. Teachers can communicate through a Moodle-based platform and their training is based on a space journey metaphor.
Three Short term Joint Staff Training Events (SJSTE) are offered as synchronous training experiences for the teachers, as part of the Blended Training Activities.
First SJSTE – 17-25 June 2021
ONLINE
This First SJSTE aimed at introducing teachers to the core concepts of the project (inclusion, learning design and collaborative learning) and to foster the community building process. Webinars and collaborative activities were organised by Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (Genova, Italy).
Teachers had the chance to reflect critically on the concept of inclusion and share their understanding of the concepts as well as their teaching experience. Moreover, teachers analysed their teaching practices and read back some examples of inclusive collaborative activities they had already implemented in the light of the 4TS model (Task, Teams, Time, Technology), adopted throughout the project to support the design process.
First SJSTE – Lesson learned and Perspectives
After the First SJSTE the following results were achieved:
1. A critical analysis in term of inclusion assets and issues of five collaborative techniques, to be adopted in the process of designing collaborative inclusive activities during the PLEIADE Blended Training Activities.
2. The description of already implemented inclusive collaborative activities according to the 4Ts model, that is the reference framework of the project. This activity allowed the teachers to familiarise with the model and re-design the activities in accordance with the new competences acquired during the SJSTE.
First SJSTE – Testimonials from the teachers and tutors
– ”Language barriers were difficult to overcome, but the experts from Sofia University were very helpful” Tsvetelina Georgieva, teacher from Narodni Buditeli 144 School in Sofia, Bulgaria
– ”Attending the Short-term Joint Staff Training Event was a very demanding, intensive experience, but it was worth the effort” Elli Stylianou, teacher from Neapolis Gymnasium, Limassol, Cyprus
– ”Everybody found the idea, the concept and the fields of study very interesting” Kleio Anagnostou, teacher from Avgoulea-Linardatou School, Athens, Greece
– ”The first Short-term Joint Staff Training Event took place in a very hectic period for us because we had exams. However, most teachers enjoyed the event and its gamified approach very much” Marilina Lonigro, teacher from Rocca-Bovio-Palumbo School, Trani, Italy
– ”The space journey metaphor suits very well to gamify the Blended Training Activities and the participating teachers picked it up very quickly” Francesca Dagnino, tutor and BTA leader from Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Genova, Italy
The participants thank the tutors from Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche and Sofia University St Kliment Ohridski.
What comes next?
The Second SJSTE is planned online on 18-27 October 2021.
The teachers are looking forward to meet in presence and that will be hopefully possible in the third SJSTE
The Blended Training Activities are expected to end in April 2022 and will be followed by Enactment in classroom context, reaching out to 600 students. The enactment phase is planned to run from February 2022 to March 2023.
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