This project has emerged out of a shared vision of a pragmatic approach to the development of the basic and transversal skills associated with 21CL, in response to changes in society and the world of work. Our rationale is echoed in the OECD/PISA documentation that measures students' abilities to apply “their knowledge to real-life situations and be equipped for full participation in society”. The PISA report (2012) highlights the need for prioritisation of opportunities for students to develop the habits and reasoning skills that will permit them to become effective problem-solvers and self-directed learners. However, within the context of existing European research, such as the PRIMAS and MASCIL projects, a number of issues have emerged regarding the implementation of inquiry-based 21CL in the classroom. Despite varying levels of implementation in Europe, the fundamental problems with implementation remain the same. We see a collaborative approach to the development of an integrated 21CL model of classroom practice and CPD as a compelling strategy to address these issues; European cooperation for the exchange of educational best practice is seen as fundamental in this regard. The aim of the TfT (Teaching for Tomorrow) project is to develop and refine an existing model of teaching and learning that has been tested in Ireland and has shown to offer a promising structure for the successful implementation of 21CL in the classroom, as well as for teacher CPD. Through an iterative series of European workshops the TfT model will be implemented, tested and refined, ultimately leading to the development of a practical and efficient model. Throughout the process, transnational communities of practice will develop to support teachers’ use of the model in their own contexts. In order to achieve the aims of the project, a group of professional teachers, administrators and researchers will come together from four European countries in order to combine their knowledge, experience and best-practice. Four practicing teachers from each country will participate in the iterative approach to the development of the model, associated activities and communities of practice. The other project partners include the Bridge21 project administrator, a TCD research team, two principal teachers, a regional educational administrator, and the head of department in a school. These participants are well positioned to combine their strengths in order to achieve the desired outcomes of the project. Together they will create and run workshops in each partner country, which will address particular areas of difficulty that have been highlighted through research and combined experience. The outputs associated with each of these workshops will constitute interim handbooks that will detail best practice in each of the areas of focus. These interim handbooks will be collated into a comprehensive guide to the implementation of the TfT model. These outputs will be available in digital and physical format in English, Swedish, Estonian and German. Other tangible outputs will be openly available to all stakeholders and interested parties. In particular, an open-access project website and associated VLE will be created for the dissemination of results and resources, and the development and support of communities of practice. The handbooks will be housed on this website as will any explanatory multimedia developed throughout the lifetime of the project. Our project will be underpinned by a strong research base, and any related publications will be available on the TfT website and on TCD’s open digital repository (TARA). It is foreseen that through participation in the project, the primary cohort of teachers will develop the confidence and motivation to consistently integrate innovate teaching methods into their practice. In addition, they will benefit from the creation of communities of practice both within their institution and at a transnational level. The ripple effect of these results will impact on the students directly associated with these teachers who will develop basic skills in an innovative environment, as well as transversal skills associated with 21CL. In addition, staff and teachers not directly associated with the project will benefit through the development of communities of practice within their institutions and beyond, encouraging a culture of collaborative and supportive CPD. Our belief is that the impact of this project could have a long-term, influence on international teaching, as well as on academic and policymaking communities. The desired impacts particularly address Improving Competences for the 21st Century, European Commission (2008). In particular, the pragmatic and integrated TfT approach to 21CL and CPD addresses: lifelong learning, linking theory and practice in teacher training and the seamless inclusion of technology in education.
The TfT project was developed out of the shared recognition of a need to integrate the basic and transversal skills associated with 21st Century Learning (21CL) meaningfully into mainstream secondary school education. Though there is no universally agreed definition of “21C skills”, Voogt and Roblin (2012) — in their comparative analysis of international frameworks for 21C competences — note a common recognition of the importance of skills relating to communication, collaboration, problem-solving, creativity, and technological fluency. These are frequently considered higher-order thinking and learning skills, and they are seen as being transversal (not subject-specific) and multi-dimensional, impacting on attitudes and knowledge. Though the importance of teaching and creating opportunities for students to develop these skills in schools is generally agreed upon, the process of integrating of 21C teaching and learning practices into the classrooms is complex. It involves changes at system and classroom levels, and the provision of adequate resources. To address these issues, TfT focused on developing a transnational model of teaching and learning that helps students to develop their 21C skills – and thereby become effective problem-solvers and self-directed learners. The overall objective was twofold: (1) to develop a coherent model for the integration of 21C teaching and learning (21CL) in schools, in order to scaffold the development of students’ basic and transversal skills in an innovative way; and (2) to simultaneously support teachers with the implementation of this model. This project brought together educators (principals, teachers, researchers, and others) from 4 countries (Ireland, Sweden, Estonia and Germany) and 5 organisations across Europe (four upper primary/secondary schools and one university), with expertise in various areas, to enhance and refine a model of 21CL. The primary participants on the project — 16 teachers and 5 project leaders — aimed to improve both their own skills and practices and to help other teachers develop these practices in their own schools. In order to meet the aims of the project, five different “Learning, Teaching and Training” (LTT’s) workshops were carried out, with one in each partner country, whereby each project partner led sessions for the TfT participants in which they shared their school’s particular expertise in its designated area of 21CL. For example, the first LTT was held in Dublin in the Bridge21 learning centre of Trinity College, and it involved immersive experience with the “Bridge21 model of 21CL”, which as developed by TCD partners and colleagues and served as a starting for the TfT teachers to collaborate and develop their own model. From there, the other LTT’s involved project partners sharing and leading sessions related to assessment, diverse learning styles, constructivist teaching methods, and building communities of practice. Throughout this process, participating teachers were developing their skills and competences in orchestrating and creating active, 21CL experiences, while simultaneously developing a pragmatic, transnational model of 21CL. To measure the impact of this project, questionnaires and interviews – designed to identify the 16 participating teachers’ confidence with and frequency of usage of 21CL, as well as their beliefs about the purpose and usefulness of the TfT project itself – were completed at the start and end of the project. Analysis of this data was undertaken to understand and interpret reported changes in confidence, usage and beliefs of the teachers over the course of the project. Findings indicate that teachers reported an increase in confidence with integrating various 21CL practices in their teaching, as well as an increase in their own classroom usage in all areas of 21CL practices, with some aspects being at the statistically significant level. From the data collected, it was also evident that the teachers believed that their participation in the TfT project had a positive impact on their own teaching practice, as well as their schools overall, and greater educational community. The process of this evolution and the end result has been shared with relevant stakeholders and the European educational community in a variety of ways, including via our open-access project website. In addition, for the sake of longevity and openness, all related publications and results will be housed in perpetuity on the Trinity Access to Research Archive - TARA.