All the participating Partners in the Connect-for-Change Project have identified the need for a more personalised approach to learners to harness the motivation that comes from a relevant and engaging learning programme. Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board are joining forces with Big Picture Learning (Italy, the Netherlands and the UK) to create sustainable, supportive transnational relationships of professional development and learning. The motto of Big Picture Learning is 'one-student-at-a-time' and this personalised model has been astoundingly successful in engaging learners, especially those who present with a range of social and personal difficulties and a history of low educational attainment. Started in the USA in 1996, Big Picture Learning (BPL) has become one of the most significant and successful innovative educational movements in the world with over 100 schools spread across the U.S. and over 70 internationally, from Australia to India, Kenya to Kazakhstan. In Europe, there are 15 Big Picture vocational training schools in the Netherlands, a social entrepreneurship centre in Biella, Italy and a new centre in Doncaster in the UK. Some of the key distinguishers of BPL are personalised learning (one-student-at-a-time) built around student interests and real world learning through internships. The BPL digital platform, ImBlaze, is a unique resource allowing internships for learners to be curated with features for searches, attendance and compliance . DDLETB has been developing more personalised VET approaches and wants to improve upon this, especially with disadvantaged learners. The CforC Project will establish sustainable cooperation between the VET Partners, generate and expand new and innovative curricula and methodologies AND will build on digital competences and their applications for teaching and learning. All the VET Partners have learners engaged in work experience, internships and/or apprenticeships. All have a need to better resource their learners with these opportunities, to have better methods of monitoring and supervision, and to have a great variety of these opportunities available, not only locally but transnationally. BPL has developed the digital platform ImBlaze for this very purpose but it has not been used in Europe. CforC Partners would have a unique opportunity to test out this technology and adapt it to local needs. ImBlaze has the potential to be used across Europe and to transform the way learners access and experience work-based learning. The target group for the CforC Project is VET educators - the directors and instructional leaders in each of the Partner participating centres. These are Baldoyle Training Centre, Grange Community College, Blanchardstown Youthreach Centre, Sallynoggin Youthreach Centre (Ireland), BPL Academy - Futura College and Gooise Praktijkschool (the Netherlands), BPL Italia - Scuola HNK (Italy), and BPL-UK Doncaster (UK). We are targeting this group because of the VET principles they share, the common needs amongst them, the innovative practices they bring to the partnership and the high potential for up-scaling and sustainability. We also have Associated Partners - educators from Bulgaria and Romania - who are interested particularly in Big Picture Learning principles and practices for VET
We wanted to support educators in VET by equipping them with innovative approaches to personalised vocational educational learning and enhancing and expanding internship opportunities within and across the Partnership countries. Interests, Relationships and Practice drive learning, so our goal was to not only show but to emulate the principles and practices of Big Picture Learning through bringing VET educators together. and 'demonstrating by doing'. The process of the activities was critical for its success; rather than presenting the work in a teaching style, participants were learning the principles and practices through the process and as they were being shared. Best practices are embedded through the building of relationships, providing first-hand practical experiences of personalised learning plans, and experiencing professional development together. Student driven learning is the key innovation. In order for Project participants to learn deeply from one another, and to understand one another's educational and cultural contexts, and ultimately to improve the experience of learners, they needed to explore their interests, build relationships with people doing this work, and have real opportunities to practice it together.
The former CEO of DDLETB was aware of Big Picture Learning as an international school transformation movement and wanted to learn how its practices could be applied to VET in Ireland. Connecting for Change was aimed at supporting educators in VET by equipping them with innovative approaches to personalised vocational education and to co-ordinate, enhance and expand internship opportunities with the help of digital applications. The overall focus was to bring VET educators together to share best practices and build enriched relationships, to have first-hand experiences in observing and designing personalised learning plans, and to experience and assess the efficacy of digital support for learners. The Partners identified the need for a more personalised approach to learners to harness the motivation that comes from a relevant learning programme. The BPL personalised approach to learners has been highly successful in engaging students, especially those with a history of low educational attainment. The Partners needed to better resource their learners with these opportunities, to have better methods of monitoring and supervision, and to have a greater variety of these opportunities available, not only locally but transnationally.