Curriculum Innovation through Research with Communities: Learning circles of Educators and Technology Erasmus Project

Project Title

Curriculum Innovation through Research with Communities: Learning circles of Educators and Technology

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 higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Civic engagement / responsible citizenship; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Social/environmental responsibility of educational institutions

Project Summary

The aim of the Curriculum Innovation through Research with Communities: Learning circles of Educators and Technology (CIRCLET) project is to strengthen the capacity of higher education, especially educators, to improve learning outcomes for students by redesigning curricula to incorporate Community Engaged Research and Learning (CERL), including using blended and online approaches.

The project will support educators to redesign their courses so that students can do curriculum based engaged research projects in response to the expressed needs of community organisations. The project will simultaneously enable students and educators to make a positive impact on society via engaged research projects which respond to community need whilst better linking higher education with research, innovation and real world learning.

Project objectives are:
– Building educator skills and confidence and reflective capacity for CERL, through both accredited and informal learning and mentoring. This will take place through inter- and intra-institutional learning circles, Learning Teaching Training Activities (LTTAs), and an online Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module;
-Redesigning academic curricula to enable more students to do more and higher quality CERL, including increasing the use of online and digital resources;
-Disseminate intellectual outputs and activities through project website, multiplier events, conferences, publications and extensive national and international networks of partners and beyond, to increase impact, particularly with educators and those in CERL support roles.

The project is based on learning circles. Partner universities will call for proposals from educators who want to redesign their academic courses to include CERL. Educators will be given support to redesign their course and will work with and learn from each other by participating in a cross-university reflective learning circle. Learning circles will connect transnationally via online meetings, and in-person meetings at two LTTAs where educators will be encouraged to collaborate on transnational publications as a professional development activity. The CPD module cohort will form another transnational learning circle, using e-learning platforms and digital resources to support high quality interactions. Reflection will be embedded into all these learning circles to maximise impact.

The project will build on the skills and experiences of five university partners, including three research intensive universities from Belgium, Hungary and the UK; a newly established Technical University from Ireland; and an established internet centred open university from Spain. All partners work with local community organisations to develop research topics and then provide a brokerage service to academics and students across disciplines to support them to do this research in the curriculum, mainly via Science Shops (See: www.livingknowledge.org). The project includes both established CERL partners and relative newcomers, from both academic and non academic backgrounds. Partners also bring expertise in a range of areas relevant to the project objectives, e.g. learning circles (HU), policy (UK), CERL resources (IE), science communication (BE), and e-learning and digital expertise (ES); and deep connections to local and global networks.

Building on the core activity of redesigning courses via national and transnational learning circles, the project will produce a series of resources for educators in the digital era. These include Guidelines to support educators to redesign their modules to incorporate CERL (IO1), Examples of local CERL practices (IO2), Learning circles to redesign curricula for CERL (IO3); an online CPD module on embedding CERL in curricula (IO4); Interactive CERL resources (IO5).

In order to spread practice more widely, partners will support educators to develop transnational peer reviewed papers, and will submit proposals to relevant conferences. Partners will also use their extensive national and international networks to both ensure the usefulness of intellectual outputs and to share them widely.

This project approach benefits local communities and universities whilst increasing capacity for CERL amongst educators and students. Outcomes will include at least 30 revised academic modules and 50 upskilled educators. During the project, over 1000 students across Europe will actively engage with society and improve their competences and employability. Society will benefit via the production of relevant research for at least 30 community partner organisations, thereby furthering the goals of these local communities and disadvantaged groups. Innovative practices will be developed within the partner universities which will create a culture more supportive of CERL.The long term impact will be enabling many more educators and students to do more and higher quality curriculum-based projects with communities in the future across Europe.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 420529 Eur

Project Coordinator

THE QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST & Country: UK

Project Partners

• BUDAPESTI CORVINUS EGYETEM
• VRIJE UNIVERSITEIT BRUSSEL
• FUNDACIO PER A LA UNIVERSITAT OBERTA DE CATALUNYA
• TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY DUBLIN