Teaching for a Sustainable Tomorrow Erasmus Project

Project Title

Teaching for a Sustainable Tomorrow

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 school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2017

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Creativity and culture; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

This project has emerged from a vision of a pragmatic approach to the development of basic and transversal skills associated with 21CL. Our rationale is echoed in the OECD/PISA documentation that prioritises students’ abilities to apply “their knowledge to real-life situations and be equipped for full participation in society”. However, results from the TfT report (2015) backs up European research (PRIMAS (2013); MASCIL (2014)) in highlighting that, without adequate structure and support, the creation of opportunities for young people to develop these skills within the school environment is not straightforward. Despite varying levels of implementation of 21C practices across Europe, the basic problems are the same.

The 2016 PISA report prioritises “inclusive and equitable quality education”. Through this project, we aim to equip teachers with the expertise required to provide their students with 21CL experiences that engage them with the concepts of sustainable development and equality. A collaborative approach to the development of an integrated 21C model of classroom practice and CPD, involving European cooperation and exchange of best practice, is a compelling strategy to address these issues.

The aim of TfaST (Teaching for a Sustainable Tomorrow) is to develop and refine an existing model of teaching and learning, Bridge21, which has shown to offer a promising structure for the implementation of 21CL in the classroom, as well as for teacher CPD. Through TfaST’s iterative series of European workshops this model will be implemented, tested and refined, ultimately leading to the development of a pragmatic pedagogic approach with the potential to address many of the barriers to the integration of such practices in the classroom. Throughout the process, transnational communities of practice will develop to support teachers’ use of the model in their own contexts.

In order to achieve these aims, a group of teachers, administrators and researchers will come together to combine their knowledge, experience and best-practice. Six teachers from each country will participate in an iterative approach to the development of the model, associated activities and communities of practice. The project partners include the Bridge21 project-leaders, a school principal, a deputy principal, and three teachers. Together they will create and run workshops in each partner country, addressing particular areas of focus that have been highlighted through research and experience. The outputs associated with each of these workshops will constitute interim interactive handbooks that will detail best practice in each of the areas. The handbooks will be collated into a comprehensive guide to the implementation of the TfaST model and will be available in digital and physical format. A project website and associated VLE will be created for the dissemination of results and resources, and the development and support of communities of practice. The handbooks will be hosted on this website as will a searchable database of lesson plans, which will be created throughout the project. Any related publications will be available on the website and on TCD’s open digital repository (TARA).

The methodology will incorporate a lesson-study style model of CPD, with a design-thinking approach to the development of the practical resources. The academic outputs will involve quantitative and qualitative analysis.

It is foreseen that through participation in the project, the primary cohort of teachers will develop the confidence and motivation to consistently integrate innovate teaching methods into their practice. In addition, they will benefit from the creation of communities of practice both within their institution and at a transnational level. The ripple effect of these results will impact on the students directly associated with these teachers who will develop basic skills in an innovative environment, as well as transversal skills associated with 21CL. Engaging with the activities designed in the project will expose these students to cultural and language exchange between participating countries, providing opportunities for them to engage at an authentic level with students of varying ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds. In addition, staff and teachers not directly associated with the project will benefit through the development of communities of practice within their institutions and beyond, encouraging a culture of collaborative and supportive CPD.

This project may have a long-term influence on international teaching, as well as on academic and policymaking communities. The project explicitly addresses Goal 4 of the SDGs, as well as the aims of “ Improving Competences for the 21st Century” (European Commission, 2008). The pragmatic, sustainable and integrated TfaST approach to 21CL and CPD provides an innovative approach to education within a digital era, with a particular focus on inclusion and equity.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 345893 Eur

Project Coordinator

THE PROVOST, FELLOWS, FOUNDATION SCHOLARS & THE OTHER MEMBERS OF BOARD OF THE COLLEGE OF THE HOLY & UNDIVIDED TRINITY OF QUEEN ELIZABETH NEAR DUBLIN & Country: IE

Project Partners

• Stepaside Educate Together Secondary School
• Carl-Friedrich-Gauss-Gymnasium
• Agrupamento Escolas Marinha Grande Poente
• Liceul Tehnologic Iorgu Vârnav Liteanu
• Rudsskolan