Enhancing Learning In Teaching via e-inquiries Erasmus Project

Project Title

Enhancing Learning In Teaching via e-inquiries

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 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: ICT – new technologies – digital competences; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Open and distance learning

Project Summary

ELITe is concerned with supporting STEM teachers’ development of skills, knowledge and attitudes (SKAs) so that they can effectively address their roles as lifelong learners, facilitators of students’ learning and members of educational communities. It aimed to on the one hand highlight the links between inquiry skills practicing and STEM teachers’ competence development, and on the other to inform curriculum development in STEM teachers’ education.

The project is a response to the need to modernize STEM teacher training so as to effectively address contextual, methodological, thematic and outcome oriented challenges in STEM professional learning provisions. The core innovation element of the project is the adaption of the Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) methodology in STEM teachers’ training for enhancing teacher competences. The project adopts a place-based approach, taking into consideration contextual aspects affecting effective provision of CPD, while challenges and needs in terms of renewing the thematic of STEM teacher training have been addressed.

Project objectives pursued were:
-To deepen understandings on the requirements for STEM teachers’ competence development and identify the space for intervention at the national levels of GR, NL, BG and ES.
– To develop, deploy and evaluate the effectiveness of a STEM teacher training approach based on IBL methodology facilitated by digital means aiming at STEM teachers’ competence development
-to support the uptake of the proposed methodology by STEM teacher training institutions.
ELITe was implemented by a partnership of five Research and Higher Education Institutions (FORTH in GR, OUNL in the NL, UNISOFIA in BG, UB in ES , ILI-FAU in DE), a network (DLEARN) and an association (EPA). The ELITe approach was deployed and evaluated in the national contexts of GR, NL, BG and ES.

Conducted activities to reach the above-mentioned objectives included: documentary analysis of policy documents, teachers training curricula and students curricula; negotiation of understandings with more than 120 educational stakeholders; mapping outcomes of desktop study for identification of process and outcome indicators; development of the ELITe project approach for competence development under IBL methodology; operationalization of the approach in the form of 26 sample digital scenarios under inquiry methodology development; deployment of pilot training activities/scenarios implementation with the participation of 287 STEM teachers; evaluation of the impact of the activities on competence development/testing the project assumption; development of Handbook with guidelines for STEM teachers inquiry and reflective practice; development of ELITe evidence-based framework for competence development under an inquiry approach; validation of the framework in negotiation processes with more than 120 educational stakeholders; definition of recommendations for supporting STEM teachers’ inquiry and reflective practice through inquiry methodology”; knowledge sharing activities targeting STEM teacher training institutions.

The main achievement of the ELITe project at a conceptual level is the verification of the core project assumption, that the provision of professional learning activities through an IBL methodology leads to the effective development of STEM teachers’ competences. The evaluation results provide evidence on: a) the links between inquiry skills practicing and teachers’ competence development, b) the relevance between the proposed approach and SKAs gaps of STEM teachers, and c) the feasibility and uptake of the approach in various educational contexts – documented in O8.

At a project results level the main achievements of ELITe are documented in O3, O4, O6, O9 and O10. Project results are considered to contribute to policy and policy mediation efforts to address current challenges and enhance STEM professional learning by providing:
-Enhanced understanding on the space of intervention for supporting STEM teachers’ competence development in GR, NL, BG and ES – documented in O3
– Sample digital scenarios for professional learning under IBL –documented in O4
-Guidelines for STEM teachers’ educators on structuring and implementing professional learning activities under the IBL methodology and for STEM teachers’ enhancement of their inquiry and reflective practice – documented in O6
– A framework for STEM professional learning for competence development under IBL methodology, which considers contextual, methodological, thematic and outcome oriented aspects in STEM professional learning– documented in O9
– Recommendations for policy and policy making towards a new model for STEM professional learning that can respond to current challenges (contextual, thematic, methodological and outcome related) in STEM professional learning – documented in O10

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 296326,67 Eur

Project Coordinator

IDRYMA TECHNOLOGIAS KAI EREVNAS & Country: EL

Project Partners

• European Digital Learning Network
• OPEN UNIVERSITEIT NEDERLAND
• EUROPEAN PARENTS ASSOCIATION
• SOFIA UNIVERSITY ST KLIMENT OHRIDSKI
• FRIEDRICH-ALEXANDER-UNIVERSITÄT ERLANGEN-NÜRNBERG
• UNIVERSITAT DE BARCELONA