TEACHING AND LEARNING FOR LIFE IN EUROPE (TELLE), 2015-2017 1. Boosting Professional Profile and Curricula TELLE is a transnational teacher training project of five active, internationally-oriented and competent local adult educations in five European countries: Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Norway and Germany. The aim of the project is to update adult teachers' professional profile, promote the use of new technologies and renew the curricula for developing education supply for the diverse learner groups. The project arose from the partners' need and desire to combine their experiences, expertise and innovative ideas. These resources will be is utilized to tackle the socio-economic challenges, internationalization and digitalization that are rapidly changing our teaching and learning cultures. The purpose is to find and share methods to offer more relevant education services for the growing numbers of learner groups such as the unemployed and low-skilled young people, seniors, learners with learning difficulties, immigrants and working adults with low skills, high stress-levels and other challenges. 2. Transnational Training Survey and Events The partners mapped systematically the training needs and interests of their educational staff in January and February 2015. The web link to the survey was sent to over 200 professionals of whom 104 replied. The survey covered the teachers' profile, transversal and professional training needs according to different subject areas. During the project each project partner will organize a five days long transnational thematic training event including several training and mini workshop sessions lasting 4-8 teaching hours. Including the host organization's participants at least100 teachers will participate the transnational training events. Based on the training survey the partners have planned 55 mini workshops and training sessions introducing different working methods and teaching techniques. The training sessions are taught by full-time and part-time teachers of the hosting and other partner organizations. The transnational project activities include two teaching visits in two partner organizations. The transnational mini workshop and training sessions include important and relevant themes for all teachers. The following themes will be learnt by all teachers together: - International communication and understanding - ICT; use of web and social media, photo and video editing - Europass and related recognition and validation instruments The professional skills are learnt and shared in the mini workshops for teachers of different subjects: Languages, Arts, Crafts, Psychology and Learning, Health and Sports. 3. Course Idea Bank and Pilot Courses The teacher of each transnational mini workshop session will prepare a written description together with audiovisual material of the session for the project's website. The description will be published in English and the teacher's own local language. The multilingual course idea bank will offer an effective forum for documenting, sharing, utilizing and disseminating the project's results. During the two years 500 learners and teachers will participate the local pilot workshops and courses. The project's dissemination activities will reach numerous organisations and 500 individuals through the partners' events and networks. The transnational idea bank will be valuable a resource for finding new course ideas and material for local and international workshops in the future.
TELLE was a transnational teacher training project of five active and internationally oriented local adult educations in five European countries: Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Norway and Germany. The project arose from the partners' need and desire to combine their experiences, expertise and innovative ideas. The project's main objective was to update and develop adult educator's international skills and professional competences especially in new information and communication technologies. All partners aimed to find new methods to tackle socio-economic challenges, internationalization and digitalization. They wanted to renew their curribula by finding and sharing methods that cater for diverse learner groups such as the unemployed and low-skilled young people, seniors, people with learning difficulties, immigrants and working adults with low skills, high stress-levels and other challenges. Before the project started, the coordinator and partners also surveyed the training needs and interests of their educational staff in January and February 2015. The web link to the survey was sent to over 200 professionals of whom 104 replied. The survey covered the teachers' profile, transversal and professional training needs according to different subject areas. The project content was planned according to the training needs survey. The workshops covered new innovative education methods, ICT, international and English skills - also handicrafts, art, psychology and sports. The project consisted of 5 Transnational Training Events, 2 Teaching Visits and dozens of local pilot workshops. Each partner organized and hosted a 5 day Training Event: - Norway 25–29.11.2015: Kick Off and Innovative Methods of Teaching - Estonia: 18–22 May 2016: Learning to Learn - Germany: 8–12 June 2016: Together for a Stronger Europe - Iceland: 3–7 May 2017: Combine and Create - Finland 7–11 June 2017: Teaching and Learning for Life One teaching visit from Norway to Iceland, and another from Finland to Germany, were arranged. During the 5 day Training Events 78 workshops (of which 14 extra) were organized in different subjects: - Crafts 12+9 workshops - Art 11 workshops - ICT 9 workshops - Languages 7+3 workshops - Psychology and Learning 9 workshops - International Communication 7 workshops - European Recognition and Validation Instruments 5 workshops - Sports and Health 4+2 workshops The workshops were taught by host or partner organizations full- or part-time teachers, introducing different working methods and teaching techniques. The workshops lasted from 1 to 10 teaching hours, most of them 4 hours. During the Transnational Training Event 321 teaching hours were held. Examples of workshops include Digital story telling, Flipped classroom, Brain training through movement, Handicrafts from recycled materials and Biophilia. Altogether 863 teachers and learners have participated in the project activities: - 111 teachers during transnational training events - 100 locals (students and teachers) during transnational training events - 106 locals (students and teachers) during teaching visits - 546 locals(students and teachers) in local pilot activites More will benefit in the future through the renewed curricula of the partner organizations. The Intellectual Output of the project is the international course idea bank at www.etelle2015.com. The website consists of workshop material packages. The teacher of each transnational workshop prepared a written description of the teaching method to the project website, together with photos or videos. The description was published in English and in most cases a small summary also in the teachers mother tongue. The multilingual course idea bank is a good forum for documenting, sharing, utilizing and disseminating the project's results. The website will be introduced to the new teachers of each partner organization. The project results' dissemination included 47 local activites and pilot courses inspired by the Training Events. Partners also promoted project and website in newsletters, local newspapers, partners websites and social media, EPALE blog, networks of adult education centers and their websites, and national and international events. The main successes according to project partners include: - Creating a website together - Encanched web based teaching and marketing skills - New networks and international communication skills - New ideas for teaching, learning from other subjects teachers, large variety of workshops - More experience and courage to work in international projects Each project has its difficulties. In TELLE time and vacation time differences, coexisting projects and changes in teachers and workshop subjects created some trouble. But good co-operation helped in solving them. In the future all partners look forward to co-operate with old and new partners and deepen the knowhow in the subjects of TELLE project. Teaching visits are being planned.