Project illuminatED | Illuminating Effective Teaching Strategies with the Science of Learning. A project to empower teachers with cognitive neuroscience informed educational practices Erasmus Project

Project Title

Project illuminatED | Illuminating Effective Teaching Strategies with the Science of Learning. A project to empower teachers with cognitive neuroscience informed educational practices

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: Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development); New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences

Project Summary

Project IlluminatED empowers teachers and students with cognitive neuroscience informed educational practices (i.e. the Science of Learning). In the project, experts in education technology, teacher development, and cognitive neuroscience were brought together to develop open educational resources (OER) aimed at raising the quality of teaching and learning in school education.

THE CHALLENGE
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A gap exists between teaching practice and cognitive neuroscience-supported teaching and learning practices [1] despite the identification of “proven practices that promote learning for all students” and continued efforts by the scientific community to disseminate such knowledge [2]. A cause of this gap can be attributed to inadequate teacher training – “aspiring teachers are not being taught — in textbooks or in their coursework and training — the foundational knowledge about cognitive strategies that can help ensure children will learn” [1]. This finding highlights a potential obstacle to the statement by the Council of the European Union that “initial teacher education should provide prospective teachers with the core competences required to deliver high quality teaching” [3]. Yet teachers have expressed their desire to have interventions based on neuroscience in their teaching toolkits and the value of short modules for improving the understanding of teachers’ knowledge about the brain and learning has been demonstrated in research studies.

THE ILLUMINATED APPROACH
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IlluminatED iteratively developed OER to train teachers and students. The materials focus on cognitive principles that underlie durable learning and strategies to support durable learning with the aim of supporting teachers so that they can better design learning, evaluate various teaching approaches, and guide students towards the selection of effective study strategies. Further, a student workshop was created on the Science of Learning (SOL) and effective study strategies so that teachers could share knowledge of SOL with their students. IlluminatED produced four main outputs:

1) The Neuroscience of Learning for Teachers (Online Course)
The self-paced online course features neuroscientists from the University of Helsinki who share insights into understanding and enhancing learning. The course consists of three modules: (1) Introduction to SOL; (2) Empirical Evidence on Learning; (3) Good Habits to Enhance Learning and is available in EN, ES, GR and PT.
> https://tidex.upf.edu/

2) Science of Learning Concepts for Teachers (eBook)
The open access booklet introduces teachers to key concepts from SOL and provides an extensive list of references for those looking to deepen their knowledge about SOL. It is available in EN, ES, FI, GR, and PT.
> http://illuminated.pressbooks.com/.

3) Illuminated Trainers’ Toolkit for Teacher Workshops
The toolkit provides resources for trainers to deliver workshops on the neuroscience of learning to teachers. The toolkit includes speaker notes, activities, and a facilitator’s guide for three continuing professional development workshops for teachers and is available in EN, FI, ES, GR, and PT.
> https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/node/160896

4) Science of Learning Strategies for Students (Workshop)
The digital materials are for teachers to teach their students about evidence-based learning strategies that align with SOL. The workshop materials (slides with speaker notes, online surveys) are appropriate for high school and undergraduate students. The materials are available in EN, ES, GR, and PT.
> https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/node/160898

5) Research Studies
5 publications in international conferences were made. Papers evaluated the Illuminated workshops and also studied evidence-based teaching and learning strategies.

ACTIVITIES & RESULTS
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All in all, 4 schools participated as associate partners, 12 educators from partner countries (Spain, Finland, Portugal, and Greece) participated in a 3-day train-the-trainer workshop, and 18 educators participated in a (COVID-19 altered) virtual multiplier event. Also, from 2017 to 2020, the IlluminatED team organised 29 different workshops across partner countries and Egypt involving more than 400 participants. Two projects are continuing the work of IlluminatED – Spotlighters (2018-1-ES01-KA201-050646) and ILLUMINE (2020-1-ES01-KA201-082504).

To access the OER and learn more about the project, please visit: http://www.illuminatedproject.eu/

References
[1] Pomerance et al. (2016). Learning about learning: What every new teacher needs to know. Washington, DC: The National Council of Teacher Quality.
[2] Roediger et al. (2012). Inexpensive techniques to improve education: Applying cognitive psychology to enhance educational practice. Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition
[3] Council conclusions on effective teacher education (2014): http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/educ/142690.pdf

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 221614 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD POMPEU FABRA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Boon Unipessoal, Lda.
• HELSINGIN YLIOPISTO
• METROPOLIA AMMATTIKORKEAKOULU OY
• ADVANCIS-BUSINESS SERVICES, LDA
• PANEPISTIMIO DYTIKIS MAKEDONIAS