Improving Basic Skills and Methodologies for the 21st Century Erasmus Project

Project Title

Improving Basic Skills and Methodologies for the 21st Century

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 2016

Project Topics

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

Project Summary

At application time Europe had a large stream of refugees that came across the Mediterranean. It was a challenge for the European countries to handle the refugee flow as we did not have any systems in place. This was a reality for the partners Germany, Norway and partly Spain could relate to.So it became a necessity to develop good practices for adult language learning. The refugee should have language training and they should start or complete an education in the new language. These schools have also adults who have previously fallen out of the school system and need more education.
The aim of the project has been to develop adult-adapted methods where new knowledge is based on the resources that the adult students possess. Adult students have acquired knowledge throughout their lives, and they have experiences that are important to explore. Their background and ability to reflect have been an important part of the project. Gaining new knowledge through reflection creates understanding and in-depth learning. The new knowledge becomes part of the learner and not just something that is memorized and reproduced. In this project, it has been important to work with methods that make new learning lasting knowledge. In this way, students expand their horizons and grow as human beings.
Methods that create understanding and commitment in mathematics have also been a part in this project, as many of the adult students struggle with maths. Those who must learn math in a new language also have language challenges, as it is not just the mathematical skills they need to acquire. They should be able to understand texts and read mathematical problems, which indicates that language understanding is also important in this subject.
The three organizations involved in this project are:
Oslo Adult Education Centre Sinsen has several vocational and general programmes. There are 1400 adult students ranging in age from 20 to 60 with the majority aged 25-30. About 50 % of the students undertake a general education course, the others are enrolled in vocational programmes. The Centre is responsible for providing official assessment of real competences in accordance with national learning objectives and national curricula. Our students come from all over the world: 80 % of them have foreign backgrounds with some still needing help learning the Norwegian language. The Centre’s aim is to help the students complete their upper secondary education and pass the relevant final exams.
At Schule des Zweiten Bildungswege Damne-spreewald, students get a second or third chance to succeed. One of the ultimate aims is – by improving their basic literacy and numeracy skills as well as thinking capacities – to best prepare them for working life and college or university studies. Die Schule is a government school dedicated to providing the best quality courses possible to students making their second or third attempt at completing a secondary school course in order to graduate with a certificate recognised across the country, thereby enabling them to enter a particular career or move on to college or university. The school has more than 300 pupils aged 17 to 45.
Escuela Official de Idiomas Ronda is a vocational School to teach both German and English to their students during a practical in-country internship in either Germany or England. Such in-country immersion enables successful social and cultural integration with their host country. The institution is state-run and certifies the level of language skills our students attain according to the Common European Framework of Reference. The focus in our common project has been Thinking Matters and the methods related to it. Topics directly connected to teaching are such as.
Systematic writing by using mind maps, collaborative learning, critical thinking, use of online learning, reflective conversations, concept stretching
To be truly prepared to teach and develop skills needed further into the 21st century, we as schools have developed teaching methodologies to ensure students acquire the right valuable practical thinking skills and associated cognitive and metacognitive strategies. As time progresses, we and our successors will need to be constantly pro-active in ensuring an awareness of the correct practical skills called for as technology and society develop, and exactly how to design courses around the relevant teaching methodologies to guarantee such best teaching practices are maintained with all our various student groups.
In this project, the overall goal has been to identify, develop and share effective motivational methods and best teaching practices which can make adult students more pro-active in taking responsibility for their own learning, thereby leading to better performance.
Concrete results centre around our project portfolio comprising detailed descriptions of newly developed innovative teaching methods, motivational and other thinking tools.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 54560 Eur

Project Coordinator

Oslo Voksenopplæring Sinsen & Country: NO

Project Partners

• ESCUELA OFICIAL DE IDIOMAS RONDA
• Schule des Zweiten Bildungsweges Dahme-Spreewald