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Location: Lyon (TBC), France
Dates: 28-31/10/2023
- Arrivals : 28/10 am, start of the training at 2pm (lunch is not provided)
- Departures : 31/10 pm, end of the training at noon (lunch provided)
Duration: 3 days of training course + 1 travel day
Language: English
Deadline for applications: Sunday 24 September 2023
Participation Fee: 700€
This training course complies with the Quality standards for courses which can be funded through Erasmus+ Key Action 1 (learning mobility of individuals). Institutions in possession of such Erasmus+ grants may use their funding to cover the participation fee for the training course.
What is the training about?
More than 60.000 secondary school students enrol in a long-term Individual Pupil Mobility (IPM) every year through different programmes and providers, and since 2021 the EU has made this activity one of its flagship actions within the new Erasmus+ programme.
However, the majority of secondary education institutions miss the opportunity to foster IPM as transformative experience for the pupil, and a key driver of internationalisation of schools. One of the main causes is the lack of recognition of learning outcomes of IPM in the majority of EU countries and lack of assessment of the intercultural and other transversal competences by pupils during their period abroad.
In November 2018, EU Member states adopted the Council recommendation on promoting automatic mutual recognition of higher education and upper secondary education and training qualifications and the outcomes of learning periods abroad, in view of the creation of an European Education Area by 2025.
Automatic recognition is centred around the principle that curricula of the sending and host countries are ‘broadly in line’, and acknowledges that the learning outcomes of mobility include not only subject-based but also transversal competences. More so, since subject-based competences may be seen as specific to each country’s context, the development of transversal competences in learning mobility can be assessed despite differences between national curricula.
To better promote IPM and apply the Council recommendation in the field of recognition of the outcomes of learning periods abroad during upper secondary education, the European Commission entrusted a consortium composed by the European Federation for Intercultural Learning (EFIL – organiser of this training), the European Institute of Education and Social Policy (EIESP) and the European Centre of Studies and Initiatives (CESIE) to coordinate the work of an Expert Network on this topic. This Expert Network has developed concrete tools that will eventually lead to a real automatic recognition Europe-wide. One of the tools is the Training Model for education professionals on Assessment of Transversal Competences developed in long-term individual pupil mobility on which this training is based, and the Intercultura Assessment Protocol. Both tools are now being piloted within the project ‘Empowering Teachers for Automatic Recognition’. Learn more at pupilmobility.eu .
The aim of the training is to prepare and support schools in promoting Individual Pupil Mobility – through Erasmus+ and other programmes – and in designing learning agreements which foster automatic recognition of pupils’ learning outcomes. Teachers and relevant staff will learn how to capitalise on IPM experiences for internationalisation in a whole school approach and improve their ability to formulate and assess intended learning outcomes in terms of competences, which will support them in finding alignments between curricula. On top of that, teachers will also discover ways to apply non-formal education methods within individual pupil mobility programmes to foster the development of transversal competences, notably intercultural learning.
What are the training objectives?
- Getting to know the specificities of Individual Pupil Mobility and its main learning outcomes
- Know how to design a feasible and relevant Learning Agreement for Individual Pupil Mobility
- Try out tools for assessment of transversal competences developed within individual pupil mobility, notably the Intercultura Assessment Protocol
- Get inspired on non-formal education activities which will form part of Individual Pupil Mobility
- Exchange good practices with teachers from all over Europe
Teaching methods
The training course will include both theoretical and practical elements to provide a well-rounded experience for the participants. The theoretical part will comprise presentations that will lean on relevant academic research in the field as well as pertinent case studies. The practical part will prevail and will cover various kinds of activities, such as team building, discussions, quizzes, games, working in small groups or daily reflections/evaluations. Non-formal education will be the main methodological instrument to guide the different sessions, which will, among other things, include experiential learning, group activities and learning by doing. Participants will have the chance to meet former participants of Individual Pupil Mobility programmes and explore the development of their transversal competences. Last but not least, emphasis will be placed on sharing best practices with other participants.
Whenever relevant, participants will be given checklists, activity toolboxes or other tools to continue their learning experience and be able to practically implement their course findings at their institution.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the training, you will be able to:
- Understand the context of long-term individual pupil mobility, including relevant programmes, European and national legislation
- Develop openness and positive attitudes towards internationalisation of schools, long-term individual pupil mobility and its pedagogical value
- Become familiar with existing resources linked to assessment of learning outcomes of individual pupil mobility
- Know how to design a feasible learning agreement with realistic learning outcomes
- Become aware of the existing transversal and especially intercultural competence frameworks
- Plan non-formal activities which will contribute to the overall impact of a mobility abroad
Who should join
- Teachers from secondary schools
- School counsellors/Career advisors
- Any educational staff working within intercultural learning and/or learning mobility
- Administrative officers in charge of learning recognition
Participation fee
Includes:
- Course fee
- Course material
- Accommodation in a hotel for 3 nights
- Meals – full board (3 meals, 2 coffee breaks)
- Local transport
- Social programme
- Certificate of participation and Europass Mobility
Doesn’t include:
- International travel
- Local transfer to/from the venue from/to the airport/train station
- Accommodation on 27 and 31 October (but course organisers can provide it)
- Participants’ insurance
Agenda
Day 1 (pm) – An introduction to IPM
- Welcome and Ice Breaking activities
- An introduction to long-term individual pupil mobility: programmes and pedagogical value
- Long-term individual pupil mobility in a whole school approach to internationalisation
- End-of-day reflection
Day 2 – Transversal competences
- Assessment and recognition of transversal competences within individual pupil mobility
- Existing tools for transversal and intercultural competence assessment
- National specifics/legislation on recognition of learning periods abroad
- End-of-day reflection
Day 3 – Planning a meaningful educational journey
- The Learning agreement, introduction
- Roles and responsibilities within the Learning agreement
- Designing a feasible and relevant Learning Agreement
- Using Europass for mobility
- End-of-day reflection
Day 4 (pm) – Non-formal education activities as part of mobility experience
- Group work on drafting Learning agreements + feedback
- Final evaluation of the training course
About the hosting organisation:
The European Federation of Intercultural Learning (EFIL) is the European umbrella of the 25 AFS organisations in Europe, which promote the development of intercultural competence through individual pupil mobility and volunteerism since the 1950s. Today, AFS is the second biggest secondary school exchange programme provider globally with a network of 500.000+ alumni. In 2019, AFS organisations around the world sent and hosted almost 12.000 young people in 113 countries, and formed 17.000+ school alliances.
EFIL pursues the AFS mission within the European context, and is a key partner of the European Union and the Council of Europe on matters related to intercultural learning, pupil mobility and recognition of outcomes of learning periods abroad. Providing intercultural learning opportunities to all young people is the main objective, therefore EFIL supports its members in developing partnerships with schools for internationalisation through mobility and non-formal education opportunities. For this purpose, EFIL organises international teacher trainings delivered by its European Pool of Trainers.
For questions, contact elisa.briga@afs.org