Completed project · 2018–2021
Platform for self-assessment and development of the teaching competence for VET teachers and trainers
The aim of the EU project is to develop an electronic tool for the self-assessment of the teaching competences of vocational school teachers and trainers and to provide them with teaching materials for further qualification tailored to their individual results. The development of the tool is based on an analysis of teaching processes in initial VET and thus of the development of pedagogical competences, on the identification of existing systemic problems and bottlenecks, and on the needs of the teachers and trainers themselves. Based on the findings, the content of the online tool for assessing and developing the teaching competence of VET teachers and trainers is designed.
Current changes in VET, such as responses to technological and organisational developments (the fourth industrial revolution), internationalisation and the integration of VET into lifelong learning processes, also require new teaching competences from teachers. There are various forms of and experiences with teacher education and trainer qualification in the EU countries, which creates scope for effective mutual learning (policy learning). From the perspective of the internationalisation of initial VET and the international mobility of VET students and teachers, the comparability of VET teachers’ teaching competence is indispensable when implementing ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) measures in teacher education. However, adequate practical instruments for recording and assessing generic teaching competences are still lacking. One project objective is therefore to develop electronic instruments for the orientation and self-assessment of VET teachers’ teaching competence. Given the complexity of this task and its relevance for VET systems, as well as the diversity of regulations, approaches and practices for developing and assessing teaching competence in the EU countries, this undertaking requires a strong international partnership.
One of the innovations of this project is its in-depth focus on the concrete current needs of VET teachers and trainers in developing their teaching competence, which are researched in the partner countries Germany, Italy and Lithuania. The results will reveal both common and specific requirements for developing teaching competence in the partner countries. The socio-economic and institutional context of processes such as the changing role of teachers in the educational process through the individualisation of learning, the increasing orientation towards the requirements of the work process and the increasing flexibility (and fragmentation) of curricula is also taken into account. The effects of these processes on the need for pedagogical competence are largely unexplored, particularly with regard to the development of practical instruments and measures.
Another important expected result is a multilingual online tool for the self-assessment and promotion of the pedagogical competence of VET teachers and trainers. This instrument can contribute substantially to the international comparability of VET teachers’ and trainers’ teaching competence and its development by providing the basis for benchmarking and quality development. The online tool will provide the following functions:
Online assessment of the teaching competence of teachers and trainers. For this purpose, the following software solutions are used: ‘Mahara’ or ‘Kompetenzwerkstatt’ as an e-portfolio (documentation of competences and work artefacts, such as teaching/training videos or VET teachers’ didactic plans), and ‘LEVEL5’ as a web-based validation tool that works with various taxonomies (including the EQF and the LEVEL5 taxonomy).
E-learning modules (as individual or group work) for developing teaching competence and exchanging innovative didactic ideas and solutions. For this purpose, ‘Moodle’ or a comparable platform is used as the learning management system (LMS).