Enhancing Learning Motivation Erasmus Project

Project Title

Enhancing Learning Motivation

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 adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Intercultural/intergenerational education and (lifelong)learning; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses

Project Summary

Many learners don’t connect learning to something rewarding or fulfilling, but to effort and exertion – something that needs to be done, but takes energy.
The project partners understand learning as a social, emotional and cognitive process. Unfortunately in many classrooms the cognitive process is emphasized the most and the other two parts are sometimes even disregarded. We believe however that the social and emotional processes for learning are the crucial part to enhance motivation for learning.
Disadvantaged learners, who have breaks and gaps in their formal education background, often have a negative attitude towards learning and are not very open for life-long learning. They might see it as a necessity, but not as a way to evolve themselves.
In our opinion, educators have a key role in influencing the motivation and learning outcomes of their students. That is why we seek further professional training of educators in connection with disadvantaged learners, migrants and refugees in particular. We see a chance for educators to break the negative attitude and build bridges between different learning cultures if they take a closer look on social and emotional processes during learning.

The project objective is the development of a social and emotional teaching approach as a resource for multipliers to increase learners’ learning motivation and the joy for life long learning. In the project we want to achieve, that we explore the topic of learning motivation for our organizations, train our multipliers (3 persons from each partner) and let them work with new methods and a fresh approach.

Concrete project results are:
Two trainings and reports that compiles the content and outcomes of the trainings.
Three multipliers from each partner (18 in total) took part in two Learning/Training/Teaching (LTT)-Activities with the topics of
Emotions in Learning and Social Learning.

The content of the trainings are based on scientific findings and practical instructions/teaching methods resulting from those findings. The theory was scientifically presented, new methods for the practical implementation of the theory was tested in this seminar, also best practice examples and dealing with disadvantaged learners in the respective country was presented. The participating multipliers received new didactic and methodical ideas on the topic that the respective partner was presenting. They gained insight into the country-specific structures in dealing with disadvantaged learner groups. They were supposed to experience and reflect hurdles of intercultural communication, as well as to understand what different learning cultures, teaching and learning methods mean for heterogeneous classes.

The scientific basis as well as a collection of corresponding methods was collected and published. These publications contain relevant knowledge, guidelines and methods, that could be used e.g. in language courses, basic education courses, in job placement measures, for educational support of learners in vocational training or in the teaching of “life skills”. For multipliers, teachers, pedagogues, social worker and students of pedagogy, the texts will provide an overview of scientific theories on learning motivation and ideas for practical implementation and methods.

With new resources for successful learning, multipliers will be enabled to face challenges in their educational work with socially disadvantaged and low qualified learners. Challenges as early dropout, repeatedly attending the same course, underachievement through overstrain and learning problems, heterogeneous groups, early entry into unqualified work instead of longer path of vocational training and education, cultural conflicts, etc.

The long term benefits will be an improvement of the learning environment and creation of protected learning spaces. For multipliers to have more resources for successful learning situations and to enhance the learners learning motivation, enjoyment of lifelong learning and intrinsic motivation for personal development will lead in long term to an improvement of the learner’s perspectives for a successful professional life and/or integration/re-socialization.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 66793,6 Eur

Project Coordinator

Stephansstift Zentrum für Erwachsenenbildung gemeinnützige GmbH & Country: DE

Project Partners

• Narlidere Oguzhan Ortaokulu
• Lietuvos suaugusiuju svietimo asociacija
• EESTI VABAHARIDUSLIIT MTU
• Fundación El Tranvía
• Knowledge Association Lovech
• Spanish Federation of Popular Universities (FEUP)