Teachers’ profession in 2025

What does the future bring?eTwinning Conference 2012

Berlin, Germany30.3.2012

Riina Vuorikari Tellnet project manager

European Schoolnet

Who am I?• Riina from Finland

• First training: teacher in Finland, then studying abroad (exchangeand postgraduate studies) e.g. hypermedia,web, research, Doctoral (‘09)

• 2000-2011 in European Schoolnet as Senior Research Analyst and Project Manager

• 2012 -> part time in-house expert in European Schoolnet - plus other consulting

Outline of the workshop• Introduction and the context• “Foresight” and scenarios as a method• What do we know about the current situation?

• Scenarios 2025: teachers’ profession (20 min)

• Read your scenarios (15 min – 5 min/scenario) – Group A: 1, 2, 3– Group B: 1, 4, 5

• Collective Exercise (30 min)• Presentation of results (20 min)

Some contextfor this workshop

• Created in 1997, based in Brussels

• Network of 30 European Ministries of Education

(MoE) or national educational authorities

• Leads the way in bringing about change in

schooling through the use of new technology

European Schoolnet (EUN)

Channels through which information flow

Spreading a positive

virus called pedagogical innovation.

Who will notget the virus?

Who will not get the virus?

The ones who are not

connected, e.g. who are

not collaboratin

g with others.

eTwinning reach=

number of eTwinners / number of teachers

On average, 2.64% of European teachers are eTwinners

Foresight approach for future studies

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foresight_(futures_studies)

Why look into future?

•Unless we plan strategically for the future of teacher education, we will be unable to deal with teachers' future needs (Newby, 2005 in the Journal of Education for Teaching)

•While 2025 might seem like a long way ahead in the future …. children starting schools in 2011, will be finishing their obligatory schooling or entering higher education in 2020-2025 (Newby, 2005).

•The future landscape is "only one childhood away" (Newby, 2005, p. 254).

Future Scenarios• Future-oriented activity

• but, it does not make predictions! • Rather to discuss and elaborate different plausible futures.

• Assumes that the future is not pre-determined, but can evolve in different directions

• Multidisciplinary, values the multiplicity of perspectives and views held across actors from different fields • Involves different stakeholders

Future Scenarios

Stories of possible futures, imagining how the teachers’ profession could look after

2025, in order to challenge

assumptions and

stimulate thinking about the present.

Future Scenarios: main four stages

1. Understanding current situation

2. Exploring what could happen

3. Debating what stakeholders or participants would like to happen

4. Deciding what should happen – (Cagnin & Keenan, 2008)

1. What do we know about the current situation?

Trend 1.

“ more than half of the teachers surveyed

reported having wanted

more professional development

than they had received.”

Teaching and Learning International Survey (Talis)

OECD, 2009

Trend 2.

TALIS, OECD, 2009

TALIS, OECD, 2009

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

Trend 3.

Teachers’ co-operation

EXCHANGE AND CO-ORDINATION

for teaching• 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.

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.

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!

Value defined through social capital – the sense of belonging to the community – the provided and received support– the social network structure

Networks, like eTwinning, offer a high potential for teachers to– up-skill in areas such digital competences, – useof ICT to support teaching and learning, – communication in foreignlanguages, – other areas of personal development such asintercultural dialogue and social competence

Value of informal learning networks

for individuals Trend 4.

Why the Tellnet project?

To better understand

how

social learning networks

can support

teachers' competence building

2. Exploring what could happen.

-with experts and teachers

in Europe

3. Debating what stakeholders or

participants would like to happen.

« Teachers’ profession in 2025 »

Scenarios in 2025• Scenario 1: eNet: European Education Network

• Scenario 2: MyNetwork

• Scenario 3: Intelligent Agents

• Scenario 4: Diversified Teaching Careers

• Scenario 5: Offline Networking

Scenario 1: eNet: European Education

Network

Scenario 2: MyNetwork

Social networks

Scenario 3: Intelligent Agents Technology heavy

Scenario 4: Diversified Teaching Careers New roles as a teacher

Scenario 5: Offline Networking Low-technology

4. Deciding what should happen.

Now over to you!

It’s your turn now!1. From a group with 3 to 4 people.

2. Choose to work either with • Scenarios 1, 2, 3 or 1, 4, 5

3 Read the scenarios on your own (15min)• Answer the question

4. Group discussion (30 min)• Discuss with your colleagues, do you see yourself as a teacher in these

scenarios? • Choose ONE SCENARIO. Decide whether your group wants it to take place

in 2025 or not. Discuss what should happen now in order for the scenario to realise/ not to realise.

• Think of dimensions: Teacher training (initial and PD), Quality of teaching and learning; Participation of different stakeholders; Data management and privacy?

5. Summarise your thinking in 3 statements.

References:• Teachers’ Lifelong Learning Network (www.tellnet.eun.org)

• 5 scenarios for downloading: http://tellnet.eun.org/web/tellnet/news/-/blogs/what-does-the-future-bring-us-five-scenarios-on-teachers-collaboration-networks-in-2025?_33_redirect=%2Fweb%2Ftellnet

• Thematic Dossier: Teachers’ networks: http://insight.eun.org/ww/en/pub/insight/thematic_dossiers/teachers_social_networks.htm

• Vuorikari, R. (2010). eTwinning Report 2010: Teachers’ professional development: an overview of current practice. European Schoolnet. Retrieved from http://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 beyond Innovators – ICT-Based School Collaboration in eTwinning. In C. D. Kloos, D. Gillet, R. M. Crespo García, F. Wild, & M. Wolpers (Eds.), Towards Ubiquitous Learning (Vol. 6964, pp. 537-542). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. http://tellnet.eun.org/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_id=10704&folderId=18137&name=DLFE-515.pdf