Rhefine is a two-year KA2 Erasmus Strategic Partnership in the field of higher education. It is coordinated by the Centre for Applied Rhetoric (University of Warsaw, Poland) and the partners include The Department for Theoretical and Applied Phonetics (University of Zagreb, Croatia) and the Institute of Rhetoric and Communication (Bulgaria). Rhefine’s aim is to reform the academic teaching of rhetoric. The activities of the project are directed at high school students, doctoral students, academic teachers and researchers, but may be extended also to graduates, high school teachers and students and NGO workers. Rhefine’s actions are focused on three areas: 1) Providing a better framework for teaching and learning of rhetoric. This means new curricula, better fitted to the needs of students and the labour market; introducing new teaching methods; providing modern, up-to-date handbooks and materials; developing flexible forms of teaching and learning (online and blended). 2) Tackling skill gaps and enhancing students’ competences. This means developing research-based learning and creating opportunities to train such skills as analysis and problem-solving, teamwork, scientific communication, conflict management. Important competencies are also empathy and “rhetorical sensitivity”. This will be achieved through a wide range of activities: international students teams working together, engaging students in research and writing academic publications, preparing short presentations (“4-minutes talks”). 3) Enhancing the competencies of academic teachers. This means creating a space for discussion, presenting new solutions and sharing experiences (“rhetorical think tank”); training in open science skills, conflict management, negotiations; sharing reflections on new teaching methods. This will be achieved through various forms of meetings (online meetings, conference) and research publications (research papers; books). Most important expected results of the project are new curricula accompanied by diverse teaching materials (online course, handbooks), research publications on new pedagogics of rhetoric, establishing innovative practices in courses taught in all participating institutions and strengthening cooperation (creating “rhetorical think tank”).
We aimed to work out a new vision of rhetorical studies and to implement new ways of teaching rhetoric at the academic level. We wanted to create a supportive environment and up-to-date resources for teaching and learning rhetoric. To give a frame to our vision, we needed a new program of studies (curricula). Then, we planned a range of teaching materials to be used in rhetoric courses at our universities, but also by other stakeholders: handbooks, an online course, and a website collecting useful online materials. The materials should be “student-friendly”, and therefore made in cooperation with students and reviewed by them. Since our aim was to engage students in research work, we needed a structure to form international research teams and also various channels for them to cooperate and publish the results of their work. Our aim was also to create opportunities for academic teachers to discuss ideas and exchange good practices. These could start, but not end, with international meetings and conferences and editing a book on the didactics of rhetoric. This will serve as a starting point for a rhetorical think tank – an informal net of cooperation between academic teachers of rhetoric from different countries.
Students starting to learn rhetoric at an academic level have different needs than 10 or even 5 years ago. They have skill gaps, especially in such areas as planning research work, choosing research methods, cooperation, and communicating the results of their projects. On the other hand, they are efficient in using digital tools to find and share information. They are often more sensitive to issues such as avoiding discrimination, climate change, mental health, and well-being. To tackle these skill gaps and to strengthen their strong points, students needed new, modern-style handbooks and materials, enabling flexible forms of learning as well as activities introducing them to research work in multinational teams. Academic teachers need to work out new teaching methods. They also need a space to discuss their ideas and share experiences. We concluded that a wide international meeting is needed and that it should be followed by a book, summarizing contemporary perspectives on the didactics of rhetoric. We also had in mind other groups of stakeholders, such as high school teachers and NGO activists. For them, open-source materials should be available on such topics as debates, critical thinking, and conscious media consumption.