Boosting innovation in welding training Erasmus Project

Project Title

Boosting innovation in welding training

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Pedagogy and didactics; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills

Project Summary

The European Welding Federation has developed an international harmonised system for education, training and qualification in the field of welding technology. It was a pioneer organisation developing the first harmonized system embracing all the European countries for the qualification of personnel for a wide range of levels both in welding, related technologies and inspection. In recent years, EWF and its members have been working on the update of its education system by designing new qualifications and revising existing ones to align them with the learning outcomes approach. This is already an enormous step in the modernisation of the EWF Qualification and Training System, but as it was being done, it was noticed that there is an insufficient awareness among the educational staff of new pedagogical approaches and methodologies that can be used in the system for a better learning, as well as the possibility to embed key competences development in EWF Training System, thus promoting a better prepared workforce.
The objectives of this project are to:
– Promote an uptake of an active learning approach by the EWF Education System and technical training in general
– Promote the use of alternative pedagogical approaches by technical trainers and teachers, e.g. using digital resources, problem-based learning and other innovative approaches
– Challenge educators from the STEM field to embed in their own educational resources the development of key competences in trainees
– Foster an entrepreneurial spirit in European citizens, able to research, select, analyze, organise and present information
– Improve the provision of Higher VET, increasing the attractiveness and relevance of VET
– Promote an assessment framework that will help trainers and teachers deal with the challenge of evaluating the different types of lessons proposed in the WELDONE ToT curriculum

To achieve these objectives, this project entails five Intellectual Outputs:
O1: ToT curriculum
Curriculum for a train of trainers course that enables trainers and teachers to deliver technical training in a WELDONE way – using alternative pedagogical approaches and embedding key competences development in technical subjects’ trainings.
This curriculum can include the following Competence Units (CU):
CU1 – Multiple intelligences and learning styles
CU2 – Learner centered didactics: Problem based learning, Critical thinking and Collaborative learning.
CU3 – Gamification
CU4- Digital competence and using digital resources
CU5- New media didactics: the use of social media, micro-learning
CU6- Personal, social and learning competence
CU7 – Entrepreneurship competence

O2: Conceptual Handbook
Publication in both hardcopy ISBN and eBook format with innovative essays on the suggested methodologies and targeted key competences for promoting them in welding and related technologies – and STEM in general – training delivery; good practices; the reasoning behind the application of these alternative approaches in technical training; case studies; why embedding key competences development in technical training is a must; training notes on how to use the material in the welding and related technologies VET.

O3: How to get WELDONE
Toolkit meant to be a “ready-to-use” resource to facilitate the implementation of the curriculum using a workshop model. It will not also include pedagogical resources, but also practical resources focusing on the development of the specific key competences that we propose to embed in technical training.

O4: Assessment methods
A set of formative and summative assessment methods will be presented: Paper Quizzes, Product-Oriented Projects, Process-Oriented Projects, Interviews, Writing, Art and Ditching the Numbers.

O5: Pedagogical guideline for EWF Training System
Policy recommendation to promote a change in the pedagogical approach used in EWF Training System.

All partners of this consortium will be involved in all outputs development except for O5, in which only EWF members and the project coordinator will be involved.
202 people will be directly involved in the project activities:
C1 event – Learning outcomes approach: 14 educational staff members from partner organisations
C2 event – Alternative pedagogical approaches: 14 trainers from partner organisations
C3 event – Assessment methods and tools: 14 trainers from partner organisations
National outreach seminars and Final multiplier event: 124 stakeholders
The main target group of this project is educational staff from the EWF network, but it is also extended to technical trainers in general.
All project Outputs will be available in En, Croatian, Portuguese, Romanian, Hungarian and Greek, except for O5, which will only be available in EN due to its international character.

Project Website

http://weldone-project.eu/index.html

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 249209 Eur

Project Coordinator

Udruga za cjelozivotno strukovno obrazovanje STRUKA & Country: HR

Project Partners

• ASOCIATIA DE SUDURA DIN ROMANIA
• INSTITUTO DE SOLDADURA E QUALIDADE
• EUROPEAN FEDERATION FOR WELDING JOINING AND CUTTING
• MATRAI HEGESZTESTECNIKAI ES SZAKKEPZESI KORLATOLT FELELOSSEGU TARSASAG
• Industrijsko- obrtnicka skola
• INSTITOUTO EKPAIDEFTIKOU KAI EPAGGELMATIKOU PROSANATOLISMOU