Turning university professors into competent learners or how to interweave a new educational methodo

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Turning university professors into competent
learners(or how to interweave a new educational
methodology with a tool for Lifelong Learning)

• Eliza Stefanova, Miroslava Ilieva, Nikolina
  Nikolova, Krassen Stefanov
• (University of Sofia)

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Content

• Introduction Main goals
• TENCompetence framework
• ITeach Methodology
• Pre-pilot settings
• Teams and Projects
• Main challenges
• Results
• Conclusions

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Introduction

• TENCompetence project
• Role of the pilots
• Pre-pilots training how to implement the real
  pilots
• ICT Teacher Training pilot
• Time schedule July 2007
• Place Sofia

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Main goals

• Find the optimal way to master the ITeach
  methodology using the new tool Personal
  Competence Manager (PCM)
• Search for appropriate methods to present the new
  methodology and the new tool in the context of
  both ICT and teaching
• Find the right balance between the face to face
  and distance training, enabling training
  on-the-job learning to be implemented

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TENCompetence Framework

• Personal Competence Manager (PCM) tool
• Additional Open Source tools planned to be used
  (Moodle, SLeD)
• Software and documentation mainly with interface
  in English
• Some bugs and errors still available during the
  pre-pilot

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ITeach methodology

• Developed in the frame of the Leonardo project
  The Innovative Teacher (ITeach)
• For teachers and teacher trainers how to teach
  four identified ICT-enhanced skills related to
  information, presentation, working in a team,
  working on a project
• Described using learning scenarios based on
  sequence of learning tasks aimed to achieve
  specific learning goal (milestone)

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Participants

• 42 participants
• The youngest was 21 years old
• The oldest was 67 years old
• The ratio between males and females was roughly
  11 (2220)
• 30 University lecturers and 12 secondary school
  teachers
• from areas like computer science, language
  learning, educational technology, etc.

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Participants
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The pilot Competence Development Program (CDP)

• ICT-enhanced skills are an extension of soft
  skills, where ICT is used to enhance the ordinary
  skill
• Four main competences, each one including set of
  sub-competences
• Complex map of dependencies between all
  competences and sub-competences was developed

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The Competences addressed

• Teaching information skills using ICT
• Teaching presentation skills using ICT
• Teaching working on a project skills using ICT
• Teaching working in a team skills using ICT

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Pilot teaching methodology

• continuous, repeatable and gradually accumulated
  experiences and expanded activities
• Each activity leads to concrete goals by
  performing specific tasks in different context
• Educational scenarios are used as a
  methodological framework
• All scenarios and tasks stored in a central
  knowledge repository

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Basic pilot training scenario

• Start with face-to-face session introducing the
  methodology and the tools
• Individual learning in authentic environment
• Social networks and communities of practice
  formed
• Working in a groups and in a team
• Evaluation based on final learning outcomes
  during the final face-to-face session

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Learning approach

• Based on active learning
• Strong emphasis on a combination of project-based
  and problem-based learning
• Main learning curriculum, available in a form of
  handbooks, transformed and put into PCM and SLeD
  tools
• Rich set of learning activities developed in a
  form of learning scenarios and tasks

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Face-to-face worm-up session

• Self-presentation and group formation
• Introduction to the ITeach methodology and
  setting each group task
• Brainstorming sessions for planning how to solve
  each group task
• Introduction to PCM and SLeD tools in the context
  of solving the group tasks
• Final discussion and setting the ground for the
  distance group working

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Main challenges

• Team members should distribute their tasks
  (working on skill working-in-a-team)
• They should develop joint result - competence
  development plan (like working-on-a-project) with
  support of technologies
• The groups had to search, find and share
  knowledge resources (working on information
  skills) for the learning activities
• They need to present their project (working on
  the presentation skills)

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Additional challenges

• Team members should form their own community and
  learning network
• They should combine individual competence
  development with social group working
• They need to master peer-to-per learning and
  evaluation
• They need to evaluate the pre-pilot itself

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Group work sessions

• Building new competences through
• Learning how to apply new methodology
• Learning how to use new technologies and tools
  for competence development

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Folk dancing competence plan
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(No Transcript)
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Learning Path Time management
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Final face-to-face session

• Present the main results achieved
• Discuss the strong and the weak points of each
  project presented
• Discuss the TENCompetence framework
• Discuss the plans for the further pilot
  implementation

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Time Management community
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Home Family community

• Detailed course with examples for babysitters
• Massage and gymnastic for full motor motions of
  babies during their first period of life (from
  1st to 4th months) reflexive movements

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Moodle community
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How to learn Bulgarian language

• What competences and skills are needed from a
  non-Bulgarian person in order to learn to write
  and publish on the web essay from the Bulgarian
  history in Bulgarian language

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Bulgarian folk dancing
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Main results

• All groups successfully delivered their projects
• Very good results in applying both ITeach
  methodology and TENCompetence tools
• Several errors and bugs in the tools identified
• Very positive attitude from the participants
• Very good training for the real pilot

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Conclusions

• The results assure us that the approach is right
  and the tools are very appropriate
• The approach generally validated, with important
  practical recommendations given from participants
• The mode (mainly distance working with starting
  and finishing face-to-face workshops) seems to be
  very practical and useful
• Special attention should be given to
  participants with limited abilities to read and
  write in English
• Special attention should be given to usability
  issues

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Questions?