It is universally essential that university teachers not only rise their competence in the discipline matter that they teach, but also acquire professional expertise in the pedagogical methods and approaches. The latter implies both theoretical knowledge of pedagogy and psychology, and practical instructional skills for the conduct of the study process. An additional important competency for academic staff is the ability to use a variety of instructional tools, including ICT. However, there are serious gaps in teachers' pedagogic competencies and mastery of digital tools in Baltic countries. Such a mismatch is very much due to the fact that too many academic staff members in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania receive little or almost no training in pedagogic methodologies and didactics. Investments in academic staff professional development still remain insufficient (EC, 2017). In this project "Simulation games for Strategic communication" three universities from three Baltic countries aim to create and test a number of pedagogical innovations in strategic communication teaching through academic staff training, development of teaching aids, and development of a prototype of an interactive collaborative digital learning and teaching platform suitable for blended learning environments. The project is focusing on the use of innovative teaching approaches for development of students’ transversal competencies such as being able to manage complex data, work efficiently in teams, take strategic decisions in rapidly changing situations, and cope with high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity. The project parters are Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia), University of Tartu (Estonia), and University of Vilnius (Lithuania). From all three institutions 10 professors of communication science will involve in the professional training activities, development of four simulation game scenarios, elaboration of a handbook and methodological guide for simulation game designers, as well as develop novel instruments for student learning progress monitoring both with self-reported measures and the metrics of learning analytics. Additionally, during the project, a prototype of a interactive digital learning and teaching platform will be developed tailored for blended learning environments. 60 students will be involved in testing and fine-tuning the simulation game scenarios that will be developed through the project. The results of the project will be disseminated through two Multiplier events and several scientific publications written jointly by the project team and submitted to high quality academic journals. The project supports achievement of the long term objectives by European Commission set for the higher education sector: innovative practices in a digital era, innovative methods and pedagogies, and professional development of educators in effective use of digital technologies and adaption of innovative teaching approaches. The project will run from December, 2018 - May, 2021.
It is universally essential that university teachers not only rise their competence in the discipline matter that they teach, but also acquire professional expertise in the pedagogical methods and approaches. The latter implies both theoretical knowledge of pedagogy and psychology, and practical instructional skills for the conduct of the study process. An additional important competency for academic staff is the ability to use a variety of instructional tools, including ICT. However, there are serious gaps in teachers' pedagogic competencies and mastery of digital tools in Baltic countries. Such a mismatch is very much due to the fact that too many academic staff members in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania receive little or almost no training in pedagogic methodologies and didactics. Investments in academic staff professional development still remain insufficient (EC, 2017). In this project "Simulation games for Strategic communication" three universities from three Baltic countries aim to create and test a number of pedagogical innovations in strategic communication teaching through academic staff training, development of teaching aids, and development of a prototype of an interactive collaborative digital learning and teaching platform suitable for blended learning environments. The project is focusing on the use of innovative teaching approaches for development of students’ transversal competencies such as being able to manage complex data, work efficiently in teams, take strategic decisions in rapidly changing situations, and cope with high levels of uncertainty and ambiguity. The project parters are Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia), University of Tartu (Estonia), and University of Vilnius (Lithuania). From all three institutions 10 professors of communication science will involve in the professional training activities, development of four simulation game scenarios, elaboration of a handbook and methodological guide for simulation game designers, as well as develop novel instruments for student learning progress monitoring both with self-reported measures and the metrics of learning analytics. Additionally, during the project, a prototype of a interactive digital learning and teaching platform will be developed tailored for blended learning environments. 60 students will be involved in testing and fine-tuning the simulation game scenarios that will be developed through the project. The results of the project will be disseminated through two Multiplier events and several scientific publications written jointly by the project team and submitted to high quality academic journals. The project supports achievement of the long term objectives by European Commission set for the higher education sector: innovative practices in a digital era, innovative methods and pedagogies, and professional development of educators in effective use of digital technologies and adaption of innovative teaching approaches. The project will run from December, 2018 - May, 2021.