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SEMIFIT Seminar for Intercultural Trainers

Europaeische Bildungsinitiative Miscellaneous, news, Project, Staff Education
SEMIFIT Seminar for Intercultural Trainers

Stefanie Mayrwöger attended the SEMIFIT Seminar for intercultural trainers, on Project Design under Erasmus+, from 1st to 6th of December 2018 in Almuñécar, Spain. The week was structured in panel discussions, presentations and workshops, which were all designed and held by the participants. During the seminar all participants found themselves in different roles, such as documentarists, speakers, workshop leaders and marketers. Tools and methods were shown, projects presented, and ideas shared. The aim of the seminar was to create an open space for youth trainers, learning designers and educators to talk about difficulties, tips and ways to improve their skills in project design and management of (inter)national projects.

Here is a video from the event (produced by Steffi)

The variety of topics, that were covered and discussed, was extensive. Therefore, workshops took place, in which the group focused on difficulties in international projects, active learning through games, and how to calculate important factors in project management. In several presentations certain project management methods, successfully designed projects, and the work with open source and free licences were showed. Also, panellists talked about the topic of managing projects including groups with different or difficult social backgrounds. All in all, it was a very enriching week with a big amount of useful knowledge and interesting minds.

Here are some impressions from the work and the working environment.

New Project Launched: TEST

PeterMaz news, Project
New Project Launched: TEST

The EBI/EIE is partner in a new ERASMUS+ project where the EBI/EIE has written the application.The project aims to develop and evaluate multimedia based teaching material using the innovative “Analogous Compare and Transfer” Method (acronym ACAT) approach to teach science subjects, namely physics, biology and chemistry. The ACAT method is a methodology concerted on the pattern of thinking of girls enhancing the well-known logical paths boys are using normally and supports the learning of boys as well.

A study from 2017 proofs the acceptance of the pedagogical approach and confirms the usability with an evident preference of female students. In general, the students appreciate the method with higher approval of the female learners. In the same way, the female learners show a stronger agreement to the use of multimedia material, specifically using the described method and to enable the transfer from everyday life images to scientific imagination and clear ideas dealing with the currently discussed problem.

Project Objectives

The objectives are

  • Use of an “image-based teaching system” which favours the scientific learning behaviour of (approx. 70 % of) girls with a good learning success for boys as well
  • Developing multimedia-based and/or interactive examples of best practice (called tools in this application) focusing on physics (for example quantum physics), biology (for example virtual dissections) and chemistry (comprehending chirality utilizing VR-technology).
  • Use a self-evaluation model for students to estimate their increase of competences
  • Evaluation of these examples in several schools (transnational)
  • Development of a transferability guide for teachers
  • Publishing of the created and evaluated material as OERs

The project starts with December 2018 and lasts for two years.

The applicant organisation is the Colegio Internacional Costa Adeje (Spain), partners are Dragonskolan (Sweden), the Europäische Bildungsinitiative (Austria) and the Dublin Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board (Ireland).

What does ACAT mean?

PeterMaz Miscellaneous, Project
What does ACAT mean?

This is the acronym for the “Analogous Comparison and Transfer” Method. This pedagogical approach to teaching STEM subjects was developed by Peter Mazohl (EBI/EIE Austria) and published at the ICERI 2017 (International Conference for Education, Research, and Innovation in Seville).

An example for the ACAD transfer in Quantum Physics (What are quantum objects?)

This method means a new pedagogical approach to strengthen female learners in STEM subjects. The method was developed in School Education and focuses on the age of 16 to 18 years old students. The method uses analogous comparisons by taking examples or situations from everyday life and in consequence the logical or analogous transfer to the scientific problem. The method uses the development of imaginations or “pictures in the head” to develop a view of the analogy; this picture is transferred as a problem-solving idea to the concrete scientific problem. Multimedia material like animations are used to provide a higher level of imagination and to develop the understanding for the discussed problem. The method was developed in the disciplines physics, mathematics and computer science and was tested in physics at high school level.

It turned out that male learners also benefit from this approach and get a deeper understanding in the fields of science.

To proof the ACAT method and to test the usability and get some reference to the published study an ERASMUS+ KA2 School Project was started (with December 2018). The project’s outcomes will be several examples of the implementation of the ACAT method, tested and evaluated in a Spanish, an Irish, and finally in a Swedish school.

New Project launched: CICERO

Europaeische Bildungsinitiative Blended Learning, CICERO, Project
New Project launched: CICERO

The EBI/EIE (Austria) is partner in a new project “Enhancing Digital Competence through Photography” about digital competences. The project partners come from Spain, Greece, and Portugal. The official coordinator is the University of Stockholm, Sweden. The application has been written by Peter Mazohl (from the EBI/EIE) with peer reviewing of Harko Verhagen from the University of Stockholm.

Digital Photograpy is closely connected with Digital Competences

The objectives of this project are to develop and implement special courses for adults teaching Digital Competences by Photography. Learners learn to take digital images of certain quality, to develop digital competences (using the DigComp 2.0 framework [1]), editing images, use of images in medias and other related competences. A photo contest will be used to motivate learners (and other adults) to submit their photos; these images will be published in the European Cultural Heritage Database.

This approach of teaching digital competences is new: There are elements of project-based learning in combination with Blended Learning. The training method behind is active and group-based learning.

In the project, different types of adults are going to be targeted: younger adults (to increase their digital competences and to give them better chances on the working market), older adults (to prevent the exclusion of society due to missing digital competences) and disadvantaged people living on remote places (for example Greek islands).

The developed courses will provide the (more or less) same content und use the identical pedagogical approach, but be developed, implemented, performed and evaluated to the specific target groups.

One of the aims of the project is to organize an European Photo Contest (out of the participating partners and their trainees) to collect images showing “European Heritage”. This contest will be open for all Europeans and be a means of dissemination of the project.

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[1] DigComp Framework: https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/digcomp/digital-competence-framework

Image source: Pixabay (CC0 License)

Stefanie – our new head of the technical department

Europaeische Bildungsinitiative Miscellaneous, news, Project
Stefanie – our new head of the technical department

Stefanie Mayrwöger

We proudly present our new head of the technical department!

Stefanie just finished her Bachelor studies (BSc) in Media Technology with focus on Interactive Media at the St. Pölten University of Applied Sciences. During her studies, she lived in The Hague, The Netherlands for one semester where she studied Photography and Internet Marketing.

In the last two years, she participated in the LeaD in Practice blended-learning project for which she also traveled to Athens, Greece and took part in the STEPS Education Practitioners Seminar in Potsdam, Germany.

Stefanie started her Master studies in Digital Design & Graphic Design in September and will attend the 3rd ASEF Young Leaders Summit on Ethical Leadership in October in Belgium, Brussels.

Stefanie will be responsible for technical production of intellectual outputs and the technical background for the learning platform. She also is engaged in interface development in the frame of EBI’s project involvement.

SemiFit – EBI/EIE is partner!

Europaeische Bildungsinitiative Miscellaneous, news, Project
SemiFit – EBI/EIE is partner!

The EBI is partner in the Youth Project Seminar for intercultural trainers in HRE.  The EBI/EIE is mainly focusing on the 50+ generation in Adult Education. Participating in this project we have the chance to educate our younger trainers to work with international youth groups and younger adults. Two of our trainers, Stefanie Mayrwöger and Kathrin Zehrfuchs, will be in charche to cover this target group.

SemiFit in HRE is an example of Peer and Lifelong Learning where educational practitioners have the chance to share their competencies and experiences and learn new concepts from peers. In SemiFit, every participant is actively involved in the preparation and design of the learning space: content and flow. The project is linked to key European youth policy developments where non-formal educational youth work needs to be better connect.
Additional the project also brings in its expertise: upcoming European Youth convention III in 2020, COE rec on Youth work, European Training Strategy for YW, the development of a European Charta on Youth work, the further development of the European Youth Strategy, but also reference cooperations such as “becoming a part of Europe”, “Youth for Human Rights” all indicate youth issues become more political. Such there is a need to foster strategically the processes of capacity development of EDC/HRE work in the field of youth, as in the recent years barriers in a lot of European countries have become higher.

Stefanie Mayrwöger from the EBI/EIE will participate at the training event organized in Almuñécar, Spain (Málaga area) from 1 to 6 December 2018.

Cooperation contract with the FLG

Europaeische Bildungsinitiative Blended Learning, Flipped Adult Education
Cooperation contract with the FLG

The EBI/EIE signed a cooperation contract with the Flipped Learning Global Initiative (USA) for the new project about Flipped Adult Education.

The FLG will impact to the project and provide a “supervision” on the developed handbook for Flipped Learning. The special role of the FLG in the project will be

  • Be an associate partner to the project
  • Provide tactical and strategic-planning support and guidance
  • Participate in the initial project partners planning-session in Vienna
  • Review the final project outcomes before publication

Jon Bergmann and Errol Smith wil be personally involved in the development of the project’s results. The impact from the FLG and the knowledge collected by the pioneers of flipped learning will enrich the project and care for high-level results.

Flipped Adult Education

Europaeische Bildungsinitiative Flipped Adult Education, Project
Flipped Adult Education

Adult Education
(Source: PixaBay)

This is the title of the new Erasmus+ project of the EBI/EIE. As the coordinator in this project we will initiate the development of an eBook as a guide to flipped learning in the field of Adult Education.

The objectives of the FADE-in project are to develop a course concepts to adult learning using a flipped approach. This means active and self-directed learning, to “flip” the roles (Trainer ⇒ Facilitater, Learner ⇒ Self-Determining Adult with self-responsibility for their learning (heutagogical approach). The Global Flipped Learning Initiative (GFLI) with Jon Bergman (the developer of Flipped
Learning) will be an associated partner in the project and impact with the state-of-the-art knowledge and experience of “flipping the
learning”.

The consortium consists of four AE organisations with a complementary field of action well-distributed in Europe (Greece, Spain, Norway, Austria). This will ensure a wide scope of experience and impact to the project as well as a versatile result addressing all groups of adult learners. The consortium in detail consist of

  • EBI (Austria), a AE institution with an own research and technics
    department focusing on elderly adults.
  • EDRASE (Greece) is specialist in courses held on remote places addressing adults with geographical obstacles.
  • Intermezzo Ungdomsorganisasjon (Norway), an AE organization with a focus on younger adults, including people with migration background and refugees, will focus on language learning and inclusion.
  • Asociación Juvance (Spain) is involved in the work with younger adults, many of them with fewer opportunities, and focuses on intercultural, critical learning to endorse the learners to act as active, creative, responsive and supportive citizens.

The developed eBook will enable other AE providers also to change their teaching. Courses for trainers of AE organisations will pass the project’s results to them. The project’s findings will bring an impact of renewal to AE organisations. This impact will be enabled by the professional and intensive dissemination of the project to the target groups.