The consortium wanted to offer teachers, and other staff within education, the opportunity to participate in various mobility activities abroad, such as job-shadowing and courses. The activities aimed at contributing to professional development and the enhancement of professional knowledge and competences within specific topics, such as foreign language teaching, multilingualism in the classroom, democracy and citizenship, and adapted education. We wanted the participants to get valuable experiences related to teaching practices and methods, methodology and pedagogical approaches, and a greater understanding of cultural, social, and linguistic diversity. Participation in various group mobilities, in different European countries, were expected to give inspiration and motivation to learn, explore and create, as well as give a broader understanding of different educational systems and content in Europe. These experiences were anticipated to result in varied and differentiated teaching in the schools, which then would also be beneficial to the students and their learning outcomes.
Note: As a result of a regional reform in Norway during the project period, Hordaland County has merged with Sogn and Fjordane County and has become Vestland County. Vestland County Council (school owner), together with school administrators and teachers, have a common responsibility to facilitate development in school education. The core task of school education is to contribute to the students’ learning. The teachers’ competencies play a vital part in achieving this, and we have a responsibility to facilitate and accommodate for the development of the teachers’ competences. Vestland County created this consortium together with 4 upper secondary schools as participation in Erasmus+ Mobility is a valuable tool in meeting goals of improved learning outcomes for our students and gives us an opportunity to contribute to professional development for our teachers and staff. At the time of the application, the new national curriculum, “Fagfornyinga”, was launched, and thus form the overarching theme of the project. The consortium aimed to prepare teachers and staff for the new curriculum and contribute to strengthening the overall quality and relevance of education in Vestland.