Regional Learning Communities and Facilitators Erasmus Project

Project Title

Regional Learning Communities and Facilitators

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Rural development and urbanisation; Regional dimension and cooperation; Quality Improvement Institutions and/or methods (incl. school development)

Project Summary

While in other educational settings the intercollegial exchange is often institutionalized, in schools a strong lone warrior mentality is prevailing. The exchange within or across schools is not build on institutionalized forms of mutual support, but a selective exchange dependent on mutual sympathy. The potential of guided and structured cooperation is not exploited in this way, which also leaves many teachers feeling left alone. Much of the work is done in multiple ways, which would be eliminated by better networking and mutual support, leaving more time for pedagogical work with the pupils.

Our project vision is to create vibrant local, regional and European learning communities, fuelled by Regional Learning Facilitators. We need new organisational concepts and ownership of issues and concerns from the crowd. Our approach lies in analogue and digital networking and support structures that take into account the value of informal networks. The key message of the project is: “When we share, we win”. By learning communities, we mean forms of exchange and cooperation organised by ourselves or supported by the community, which ideally are supported by the involvement of education authorities. The Learning Communities deal with solutions to upcoming problems in everyday education, with challenges of the education system at different system levels, with the creation, exchange and further development of teaching materials, etc. The Learning Communities are also involved in the development of new teaching materials and in the development of new teaching methods.

As concrete project goals we see
– the training of 24 Regional Learning Community Facilitators
– at least 12 Regional Learning Communities in 4 European countries
– the creation of a European cross-border learning community with at least 48 active members
– The development of a Learning Community Facilitator Curriculum, which will later become a standard KA1 workshop offer.
– the development of an AI-supported passive networking platform for teachers and school stakeholders to test a further development option for eTwinning that currently relies only on active search functions

Our target group are teachers and their reference system. Our aim is to indirectly support the work of the teachers and to facilitate their planning, implementation and follow-up of their lessons by focusing on the principles of cooperation and exchange. Through active networking, but also by pointing out connection possibilities, teachers should no longer have the feeling of being alone in the corridor, but embedded in a professional system that also brings them more self-confidence and self-efficacy.

In IO 1 we are developing the basis for the development of the curriculum of the Learning Community Facilitators with the study and policy paper “FUTURE VISION ON EUROPEAN COOPERATION IN EDUCATION”. In the first part of the study we shed light on the status quo of the principle of cooperation in school settings in the European context. In this respect, we will collect best practice case studies from the networks of the participating partners and derive corresponding success factors. The second part will outline a vision of how the European educational area can benefit from the principle of cooperation and networking. Different cooperative organizational theories for informal structures from the organizational sciences will be used as a basis.

After the study a CURRICULUM FOR LEARNING COMMUNITY FACILITATORS will be developed as IO 2. Learning Community Facilitators can be teachers, regional educational actors from the school environment, but also parents. The curriculum enables the facilitators in their role as initiators and initiators for the networking and development of the Learning Communities.

On the one hand for the curriculum, but also for the Learning Community Facilitators (LCFs) themselves and for their networking and multiplier work, blended learning suitable learning materials are developed as IO 3. These learning materials are methodically and didactically prepared in such a way that multipliers can take up the learning package (theory part, self-examination and self-reflection questions, PowerPoint slides) at any time and carry it out independently.

The digital world has changed the way people interact with each other. As IO 4, a platform is being developed that uses the principle of passive networking in a school context. The idea is based on a cooperation profile in which different aspects of being a teacher are collected and teachers propose concrete suggestions for cooperation.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 371602 Eur

Project Coordinator

BIT-MANAGEMENT BERATUNG GESMBH & Country: AT

Project Partners

• Future Balloons, unipessoal, lda
• FRIDA UTBILDNING AB
• PROVINCIA AUTONOMA DI BOLZANO
• Bildungsdirektion Steiermark