Poly-UNiverse in Teacher Training Education Erasmus Project

Project Title

Poly-UNiverse in Teacher Training Education

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 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Pedagogy and didactics; Research and innovation

Project Summary

The aim of of our project Poly-UNiverse in Teacher Training Education (PUNTE) is to develop, test and disseminate new innovative, deeply trans-disciplinary pedagogical methods in teacher training of the fields of STEAM and beyond. Based on a recently developed Poly-Universe tool we intend to build a new, module-based educational framework of improving disciplinary and transversal skills of future teachers, and stimulate a kind of visual paradigm shift in teacher training higher education in various programme and partner countries. The consortium consists of 8 members from 7 European countries, and an associated partner from the United States. The aim of PUNTE consortium is to make a significant step towards establishing long-term impact of this approach through systemic introduction of this tool into the framework of teacher training higher education.

Our specific objectives are to collect best teaching practices of applying Poly-Universe in various fields, with special emphasis on social inclusion and interdisciplinarity; to create and test a theoretical and practical methodical framework of reducing transversal skill-gaps of teachers and teacher training students by Poly-Universe; to promote excellence in teacher training through introducing the new pedagogical framework to regular teacher training higher education curricula and stimulate methodical paradigm shift through this method; to develop, adjust and publish open source teacher training materials supporting various forms and paths of teacher training higher education (distant learning, modular forms, blended learning etc.); and finally to isseminate and exploit the results in the European Higher Education Area and involve policy makers to further support long-term systemic change in this field.

Among the field-specific priorities, in this project we are TACKLING SKILL GAPS AND MISMATCHES in teacher training education through developing new, module-based curricula that better meet the learning needs of teacher training students. Based on our approach students as future teachers will acquire a skill-set more relevant for this wide labour market and ultimately for the entire society through higher level of education system. Our approach is inherently trans-disciplinary: although the first applications of Poly-Universe tool have been associated to Mathematics, the primary objective of our project is extend the usage of this tool to a much wider set of fields, encouraging inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches. Our innovative pedagogical methods will be implemented in flexible and modular teacher training courses in several disciplines, extending the application of tools from Mathematics to various STEM fields, Humanities and Arts.

We are also aiming at PROMOTING AND REWARDING EXCELLENCE IN LEARNING, TEACHING AND SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, through encouraging academic staff of teacher training higher education institutions in application of new and innovative pedagogical methods, including trans-disciplinary approaches in our new, modular curriculum design. The use of Poly-Universe tool evidently inspires creativity of academic staff and teacher training students, the two main target groups of our proposal. Moreover, our approach is widely based on recent pedagogical and methodical research results in the field of gamification, visual learning, story-telling and further new results of educational research, thus promoting excellence and up-to-date knowledge-transfer in learning, teaching and skills development.

The third Priority addressed in this proposal is SOCIAL INCLUSION. This horizontal priority well fits into the philosophy and principles of our initiative. The projects is based on a novel pedagogical approach called Differentiated Development in Heterogeneous Student Groups, developed by a consortium led by the applicant organisation. This approach is specifically focused on the inclusion of students with socio-economically diverse background, whilst the method is highly appropriate to promote equality, to value diversity and to reduce discrimination still present in the European Education Area. Distant and blended learning approaches, fully supported by online materials planned to be developed in this proposal, will further help socially disadvantaged students to be involved in teacher training higher education. This is especially important in rural or otherwise hindered regions of the European Education Area, where the only way to preserve and support good quality regional education is to involve local people in teacher training, who will continue their career in that region. Poly-Universe is proved to be effective in formal and non-formal education as well, and the holistic approach is perfectly suitable to establish sustainable links between HEIs, local and regional schools, educational organisations and the wider society.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 264485 Eur

Project Coordinator

ESZTERHAZY KAROLY KATOLIKUS EGYETEM & Country: HU

Project Partners

• VISOKA TEHNICKA SKOLA STRUKOVNIH STUDIJA SUBOTICA
• POLY-UNIVERSE Ltd.
• Univerzita J. Selyeho
• UNIVERSIDADE DE COIMBRA
• Universitatea Crestina Partium
• Experience Workshop ay
• UNIVERSITAT LINZ