Professional development (PD)
through eTwinning
Riina Vuorikari and Wojciech Wasylko
Krakow Feb 24 2011 (eTwinning: Contact Seminar for head teachers)
Who we are?
Riina from Finland
Teacher from my first training(in Finland),– then studied hypermedia, web, online communities, research,
PhD, etc.
Working in European Schoolnetas part of the eTwinning Central Support Service– Project manager and Senior Research Analyst
Who we are?Wojtek from Poland
school
- English/Polish teacher
- School eTwinning coordinator
- 3Git radio coordinator
- Moodle teaching platform administrator
- Devoted teacher
eTwinning
- ambassador for 5 years
- Moodle teacher trainer
About this workshopIntroduction and get to know each other (10 min)
– Name, country, what languages do you speak, how long have youbeen connected to eTwinning?
What does eTwinning offer for teachers’ professionaldevelopment? (15 min)– A bit of a theory: “networked learning”
– eTwinning Platform: Learning events, Teachers’ rooms, Groups
Professional development gains through eTwinning
– Formal and informal recognition (Riina 15 min)
– Practical example from Poland: a teacher’s story (Wojtek 30 min)
Group discussion:
– What could I as a head teacher and my school benefit fromeTwinning?
Introduction to the workshop:
the situation of
teachers’ PD in Europe
6
Key capabilities for learnersStephen Heppell
20th century capabilities for learnersConformity, compliance, workingalone…..
21st century capabilities for learners
Creativity, ingenuity, collaboration,
communication, community……….
What of the capabilities of teachers?
New pedagogical
methodologies are required
Chalk and talk are not longer
sufficient
This poses a huge challenge to..
Teachers already in the classroom
Curricula and assessment systems
Being relevant in the context
Continuous Professional Development!
“Professional development is defined as activities that
develop an individual’s skills, knowledge, expertise
and other characteristics as a teacher.
What is professional development?
This definition recognises that development can be
provided in many ways, ranging from the formal to the
informal.
It can be made available through external expertise in
the form of courses, workshops or formal qualification
programmes, through collaboration between schools or
teachers across schools or within the schools in which
teachers work” (TALIS, 2009: 49).
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Teachers’ co-operation (TALIS, OECD, 2009)
Implies teachers working together in groups or
teams to improve educational processes and
outcomes.– Frequency to undertake activities on 6-point scale ranging from
“never” to “weekly
A statistical factor analysis showed that is was
possible to group activities across two indices:
– Exchange and co-ordination for teaching
– Professional collaboration
Teachers’ co-operation
1. Exchange and collaboration
Discuss and decide on the
selection of instructional media
(e.g. textbooks, exercise books).
Exchange teaching materials
with colleagues.
Attend team conferences for
the age group I teach.
Ensure common standards in
evaluations for assessing
student progress.
Engage in discussion about the
learning development of
specific students.
2. Professional collaboration
Teach jointly as a team in the
same class.
Take part in professional
learning activities (e.g. team
supervision).
Observe other teachers’
classes and provide feedback.
Engage in joint activities
across different classes and
age groups (e.g. projects).
Discuss and co-ordinate
homework practice across
subjects.
Grouping of activities on the Platform
General
– Logging to Desktop
– Sending messages
Social networking activities
– Journal posts, comments, “I like it!”
– Contacts
– Teachers’ rooms (nature more social networking or coordination?)
Teachers’ coordination and exchange activities
– Groups
– Comments on Kits, other people’s Project Diary, Project Card, Quality Lableapplications
Teachers’ professional collaboration
– Learning Events
– Project collaboration and TwinSpace
– Project Diary
Teachers’ co-operation (TALIS, OECD, 2009)
Co-operation among staff creates opportunities for– social and emotional support,
– exchange of ideas and
– practical advice.
It can thus enhance– professionalism,
– feelings of self-efficacy and
– prevent stress and “burnout”.
Different kinds of collaboration may not have the same effects!
In schools eTwinning contributes:
1. To addressing the challenges of bringing
21st Century skills into the school
2. To the utilisation of technology to assist the
educational process in a safe environment
3. To the formal and informal development of
skills of teachers and pupils
What does eTwinning
offer for PD?
To understand eTwinning
You must know the following facts….
• 33 countries participate
• Each of those countries has a National
Support Service - NSS
• Coordination by the Central Support
Service – CSS
eTwinning is……
A European action
but
It is also an educational process!
External to
eTwinning platform
Jan 2005 Dec 2005 Sept 2006 Jan 2008
Teachers
Rooms, ProfilesM
ultim
od
alit
y o
f p
rofe
ssio
na
l d
eve
lop
me
nt
off
eri
ng
s
Oct 2010
European-wide professional development
workshops
National training, e.g. online
courses
eTwinning school collaboration projects
Learning
Events, Groups
PD offers
Internal on the eTwinning Platform
Towards a learning community
Right now:
145 000+ teachers
11 000 take part in
projects
20 000 + login on the
Desktop per day
Towards a learning community
within a school? (number of eTwinners/school)
Desktop – personal profile
2
7
Personal content
Contacts & projects
Journal
Teacher Rooms
2
8
Designed as
places to invite
other people to
discuss topics
over a short
period of time.
Created directly
by eTwinners
Public Teachers Rooms are
open to all eTwinners to view
and contribute.
Restricted Teachers Rooms
can be viewed by all
eTwinners; however, to
contribute to them, one must
be invited.
Learning EventsA Learning Event is a short
intense course that offers:
•an introduction to a topic
• stimulates ideas
•helps develop skills
•does not require a long-
term commitment in terms
of time.
It is designed to be an
enjoyable learning experience.
Programme this Spring
30 January – 12 February: IntergenerationalLearning
13 – 26 February: Moving to Maths 2.0
27 February – 9 March: eTwinning and the CreativeClassroom
12 – 25 March: Crossing Curricular Boundaries
16 - 27 April Art, history and philosophy for eTwinningprojects
http://www.etwinning.net/en/pub/professional_development/learning_events.htm
Learning event – certification
If you wish you
can also achieve
a certificate of
participation
eTwinning Groups
The eTwinning Groups are a place for teachers
to exchange about various interests
34 Groups
eTwinning Groups
PD offers
External to the eTwinning Platform
Face to face
European Professional Development
Workshops - PDWs
Normally 7 per year
Approximately 100 participants per workshop25/75 ratio
Aimed either at specific audience or them
Evolved to include
Bilateral and multilateral workshops
with the aim of providing face to face
meetings with a partner finding focus
•10 organised so far for 2011
National Training programmes
Many countries run extensive training
programmes both face – face and on line.
Part of the national in-service programme most
notably in
•Spain
•Poland
•Estonia
•Czech Republic
•Greece
eTwinning & professional development
what are the gains for
teachers and schools?
3
9
Synergies between eTwinning and
professional development
Estonia, Hungary,
Lithuania, Poland,
Portugal, Slovenia and
Spain
Vuorikari, R. (2010). eTwinning
Report 2010: Teachers’
professional development: an
overview of current practice.
European Schoolnet.
Example from eTwinning
57% yes,
to some extent!
Synergies: eTwinning & local PD
Different types of teacher recognition
e.g. Spain
e.g. Poland, Estonia
Reward
4
4
Recognition
Visibility
Within the networked community
Wojciech Wasylko
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
A bit A bit aboutabout myselfmyself……
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
…… wordswords and and ideasideas cancan
changechange thethe worldworld ……John John KeatingKeating
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
WhatWhat isis
TEACHINGTEACHING
allall aboutabout
??
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
WhatWhat kindkind of of teachersteachers areare WE? WE?
SolutionSolution urgentlyurgently neededneeded!!
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
• organizing innovative competitions, events, projects, presentations; organizing
and running extra classes or clubs
• preparing and conducting teacher training sessions at school; preparing courses
and workshops for teachers
• international multicultural projects
• finding sponsors and didactic aids
• preparing didactic aids, school documents, diplommas, invitations, tests,
presentations
• publication in the internet
• using IT equipment, multimedia educational programs on lessons
• conducting IT trainings for teachers
• conducting workshops
• international students’ exchange – sharing experience, conducting lessons for
the exchange participants
• publications and copyright talks/lectures delivered during the training sessions
• holding responsible positions in local government, local community , fundations,
education societies
• cooperation with foreign countries within students’ exchange projects, european
clubs, Socrates, etc.
• headmester’s awards, president’s awards, minister awards
• letters of congratulation for major students’ successes in national competitions
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
Implementing eTwinning into professionalImplementing eTwinning into professional
development - examplesdevelopment - examples
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
Implementing eTwinning into professionalImplementing eTwinning into professional
development - examplesdevelopment - examples
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
ImplementingImplementing eTwinning eTwinning intointo professionalprofessional development - development -
examplesexamples
ThankThank youyou for for
youryour attentionattention
Contact Seminar eTwinning for headteachers
24 February 2012
Kraków, Poland
Value defined through social capital– the sense of belonging to the community
– the provided and received support
– the social network structure
Offer a high potential for teachers– to up-skill in areas such digital competences,
– the use of ICT to support teaching and learning,
– communication in foreign languages,
– other areas of personal development such as interculturaldialogue and social competence
Value of networked learning communities
for individuals
eTwinning offers in this 21st Century
Authentic Learning situation
An opportunity to re-motivate staff
A means of bringing the pupil’s everyday
experience to learning
A path to Life Long Learning
4 Points for discussion
1. What could be the benefits of eTwinning for your
school?
2. How could eTwinning be relevant to the development
of key competencies within your teaching staff and
students?
3. Reflect on benefits of school collaboration for
individual teachers and school teams?
4. What does the teacher PD look like in your country
and what is similar in all of the countries?
ReferencesTeachers’ Lifelong Learning Network (www.tellnet.eun.org)
Crawley, C., Gilleran, A., Scimeca, S., Vuorikari, R., & Wastiau, P. (2009).Beyond School Projects, A report on eTwinning 2008-2009. Central SupportService for eTwinning (CSS), European Schoolnet. Retrieved fromhttp://resources.eun.org/etwinning/25/EN_eTwinning_165x230_Report.pdf
Vuorikari, R. (2010). eTwinning Report 2010: Teachers’ professionaldevelopment: an overview of current practice. European Schoolnet.Retrieved fromhttp://desktop.etwinning.net/library/desktop/resources/5/55/955/43955/etwinning_report_teachers_professional_development_en.pdf
Vuorikari, R., Gilleran, A., & Scimeca, S. (2011). Growing beyondInnovators – ICT-Based School Collaboration in eTwinning. In C. D. Kloos,D. Gillet, R. M. Crespo García, F. Wild, & M. Wolpers (Eds.), TowardsUbiquitous Learning (Vol. 6964, pp. 537-542). Berlin, Heidelberg: SpringerBerlin Heidelberg.http://tellnet.eun.org/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_id=10704&folderId=18137&name=DLFE-515.pdf