Today's world wants cooperation and innovation that takes people's quality of life to the next level. The field of education and training is undergoing an internal transformation through bottom-up and above-level initiatives. I am convinced that only those that are built on a solid foundation of humanity, expertise and courage will survive. One such viable initiative is also being built in our KA203 Erasmus+ project called UPGRADE with Learner-centred approach (LCA), in which we have just completed the initial part of setting up a modern path for teacher development.
"It's student-centered, but it depends on the teacher!" Branislav Kľuska
Today's world wants cooperation and innovation that takes people's quality of life to the next level. The field of education and training is undergoing an internal transformation through bottom-up and above-level initiatives. I am convinced that only those that are built on solid foundations of humanity, expertise and the courage to face the voices of critics who are afraid to let go of old, dysfunctional structures and beliefs that, unfortunately, no longer belong in our modern world, will survive.
One such viable initiative has been forging its way since 2000. It has been purposefully developed in dialogue between teachers, managers, customers and owners of private schools directly in their operations since 2010. We work, analyze, connect knowledge, learn from each other and take the necessary steps to create such an environment in our school that makes the profession of a teacher more attractive, allows him to grow and develop in accordance with the development of our time. In the fall of 2019, we engaged university teachers, so together we built the KA203Erasmus+ project called UPGRADE with Learner-centred approach (LCA). It was in it that we have just finished the initial part of setting up a modern path of teacher development. Due to the current situation in the world, we have had several professional online meetings with foreign partners, the aim of which was to find the best possible practices in the creation of the first intellectual output "Teacher Development Framework in a Pupil-Centered Approach (TDF LCA)".
The basic set-up of this framework is based on the division of teachers into three basic levels (six sub-levels) of professional development, in line with the European Profiling Grid – https://egrid.epg-project.eu/. The logic of measuring and implementing this framework into the operation of the school is based on the outputs of the Erasmus+ international project "Learning, training and working for better perspective and employability" and the currently ongoing findings in the creation of HAPPY SCHOOL 2020 as part of the next Erasmus+ project.
In total, we have built 11 professional competencies that clearly link the findings contained in the 7 principles of a pupil-centred approach according to Gabriela Lojová. In them, two key relationships are clearly described, namely the teacher-pupil relationship and the teacher's relationship with teaching. These competencies include active learning of pupils, learning content, Cognitive and affective (emotional and personality) domains, class climate and learning atmosphere, classroom relationships, assessment and feedback and teacher roles, relationship with pupils.
The second part of the competencies describes two other key relationships, namely the teacher's relationship with himself and the teacher's relationship with other colleagues in the workplace. These are based on the 9 principles of modern man Learn and Lead, which I wrote on the basis of a personal development path and individual work with hundreds of teachers in the vigorous implementation of a pedagogical approach focused on the needs of the pupil during the 20 years of existence of our language school HARMONY ACADEMY. Within them, we have built the following competencies of self-knowledge (metacognition), directing our further development, communication and cooperation, resilience and stress management and orientation in a global context.
How do the authors of the presented framework describe and perceive the contribution of this very step on the modern path of teacher development? You can read the testimonies of four of them, Gabriela Lojová, Branislav Kľuska, Renáta Ballová and Markéta Rusnáková.
Prof.Doc. Gabriela Lojová, Phd., works at the Faculty of Education of Comenius University in Bratislava at the Department of English Language and Literature. In his pedagogical-research activities, he focuses on the psychology of learning and teaching foreign languages and applied psycholinguistics. It participates in various national and international projects and cooperates with institutions focused on the education of language teachers. Her extensive publishing activity is dominated by works aimed at humanizing language teaching, respecting the developmental and individual specificities of the pupil and looking for ways to make foreign language learning more effective.
What are you most excited about this project at the moment?
· that this is another way to disseminate a learner-centred approach in our and international educational context;
· that team members have a very positive view of this approach and identify with its effectiveness and the need to disseminate it and include it in teacher education;
· that the team members themselves show an interest in learning and familiarizing themselves more closely with the principles of LCT.
What is it necessary to lead current teachers to?
· to be aware that the traditional way of teaching, which still largely persists in our schools, no longer meets the demands of the times, that new approaches need to be sought,
· so that they themselves feel the need to change something and move on, because without this, trying "from the outside" is little effective, if at all,
· so that they do not subconsciously copy their traditional teaching patterns, but introspectively recall the effect of their pedagogical action and subsequently look for "how it can be done better",
· not only to know and understand the principles of LCT, but to fully identify with them and thus change their "mindset" and way of thinking pedagogically,
· to be able to break away from our traditional focus on pupils' mistakes and shortcomings and to perceive pupils positively, uncover their potential and help them develop it fully;
· to develop their positivism.
Can you give a concrete example from practice?
For many years, many traditional teachers have been teaching stereotypically, little effective and do not feel the need to change anything. They lack self-reflection, do not create space for feedback, do not listen to any critical comments. When discussing LCT, they are always looking for why it is not possible, why it is not possible in our country, why traditional approaches are good (e.g.: "... if pupils are not afraid, then they do not learn" "... only shouting, punishment, or a bad mark occupies on them, otherwise they do not obey ...").
Doc.ThDr. Branislav Kľuska, PhD., works as an associate professor at the Faculty of Education of the Catholic University in Ružomberok. He studied teaching religious education and Slovak language and literature at the Catechetical-Pedagogical Faculty of St. Petersburg. Ondrej in Ružomberok of the University of Žilina in Žilina. After completing his master's degree, he completed his doctoral studies in biblical theology at the Catholic University of Lublin in Ljubljana (Republic of Poland). During his doctoral studies, he completed study stays at the University of Vienna, the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg and the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. It deals with biblical theology, the message of the New Testament, and the diverse aspects of teaching religious education. He teaches mainly as part of the study program teaching religious education.
What do you think is the biggest benefit of this project?
In that it is aimed at changing the mindset of university educators who educate future teachers. If a change for the better is achieved, the consequence of this may be a 'chain reaction' that will result in better education, namely a better lesson. I see nothing more important than that every pupil has a quality and meaningful education that is not focused on the content of education or on the needs of the market, but on the development of the pupil, his talents, his talents.
What brought you to it and why?
At the end of each lecture and exam period, as an educator, I "question my conscience" and ask what I could have done better. I have been working at a university for fifteen years and I still feel a certain dissatisfaction in my pedagogical process. As a student and PhD student, I was led by teachers who taught mostly in a traditional frontal way. Therefore, it is somehow natural that this way of teaching has become my own. However, I do not consider it sufficient and I am looking for ways to change this, to get closer to what students really need for their personal growth and for their profession. In universities in Slovakia, little emphasis is placed on the quality of the pedagogical process. The funding of higher education institutions and their accreditation process is set up for the formal fulfilment of the publication criteria in particular. And although a change has been declared, even the current accreditation standards only confirm and stabilise this formalism. As an educator, I stand in front of the personalities of the pupils every day and therefore I feel that my mission is to educate people and not to meet formal requirements. I want to do it in a high-quality and meaningful way, which is why I decided to get involved in this project, because I see the Learner Centred Approach as an opportunity to move forward in the pedagogical process.
How do you see your future at the end of this project?
Very simply and prosaically, as an educator who will teach better. If, in my approach, I become an inspiration to my students, future teachers, then my goals will be fulfilled.
Renáta Bellová, PhD., currently works at the Department of Chemistry and Physics – Faculty of Education of the Catholic University in Ružomberok. She received her PhD. in the Theory of Teaching Professional Subjects Focused on Teaching Applied Chemistry. In his scientific activities, he deals with the issue of innovation in science education. She is the author of 1 monograph and co-author of 12 university textbooks and scribbles, 24 foreign and domestic articles, and several articles published at scientific conferences.
What did you find yourself in this project and why?
I am a chemistry teacher at a university and since I am engaged in scientific activities in the field of science education, that is why I was very interested in this project. This is mainly due to the fact that teaching science disciplines is very difficult and opportunities for improvement must be sought. The interest of young people in studying natural sciences is declining, also in Slovakia there is a problem with low science literacy. For these reasons, it is extremely important to look for ways to improve the situation and, in my opinion, the learner-centred approach (LCA) is the way to inspire pupils and increase interest in science subjects by changing the approach. This is all the more important in universities, where students are preparing for the role of teacher, they are actually our future, our students will raise our children, our grandchildren. When teaching science subjects, the approach of the teacher is especially important, since science subjects, especially physics and chemistry, are among the least popular. What is important is the right motivation and, at the same time, the opportunities that the teacher provides to the pupils during the lesson. It is essential to find the right balance between the amount of knowledge that a pupil must master according to certain standards and activating (discovery) methods, because science subjects must be tested by pupils. In this way, a pupil-oriented approach (LCA), including in science education, could help to overcome problems with pupils' intrinsic motivation for these subjects and perhaps even excite them for science.
What have you managed to do so far?
In developing this project, I had the opportunity to examine in detail the competences for teachers, which were elaborated by the Ministry, and I found that they were of a very general nature. If a teacher has ambitions to be a good educator, he should also focus on the principles of LCA, and it is essential for him to focus on the competencies that describe this approach.
How will you continue to use the knowledge from this project in your future work?
I will try to transform the principles of LCA into science education in the form of competencies and convey them to our students, that is, to future teachers of such a demanding and unpopular subject of "chemistry".
doc.PhDr. Markéta Rusnáková, PhD., currently works as Vice-Dean for Foreign Relations and Mobility of the Faculty of Education of the Catholic University in Ružomberok and works at the Department of Social Work of the Faculty of Education of the Catholic University in Ružomberok, she has been working as a university pedagogue for twenty years. Her main specialization in the field is Social Pathology and Methods of Social Work with the Family, in which she has been publishing for many years, both in domestic and foreign environments. She is a member of several editorial boards of domestic and foreign journals, scientific councils of faculties, is a member of the board of directors of the Association of Educators in Social Work and a member of the Accreditation Commission of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic in the field of education. At the same time, she is a supervisor and a crisis interventor.
Modern pupils need modern teachers – how does this project help this goal?
In relation to this issue, I must go back to the very beginning of the decision to prepare this project at all. Professionally, I am a university educator educating future social workers. This means that I have so far been only marginally involved in pedagogy as a science. For a long time, however, I have been concerned with the question of how to change my approach to students so that they are drawn into the curriculum and how to motivate them to form their own opinions and attitudes based on the knowledge studied. Every year I tried to motivate them to these processes, but it seemed to me that I could not move from my place. Most of the students still only passively accepted information, but despite the space and my support, only a small part was able to proactively draw their own conclusions. And during this period, I listened to the lectures of prof. Lojová and Dr. Chynoradska, and I realized that this is the path I would like to take, since it is the student-centered approach that is the over-the-field approach, it is not important or decisive who or what you teach, but how you teach it. Right from the start, we realized that if we want to make a difference in the education system and change it, we cannot just plan one-off activities, but we must direct our activities in the project to the foundations of the education system, by which we understand changes in primary schools and in the addition of knowledge in the education of future teachers. Our project looks at the system as a complex. We feel that it is important to work with the pupil in this approach from the first year of primary school, but for this we need, on the other hand, to have excellently educated future teachers in this regard. And we cannot forget about teachers with many years of experience who want to improve in this approach and work on themselves.
We have thus closed a circle that is meaningful for the modernization of the education system in Slovakia.
The value of the project in this context is all the greater because we can confront all the outputs in the project with the school systems of four other European countries, which is a huge benefit of this project, but also for the construction of a modern teacher in the context of a pupil-centric approach.
In your opinion, how does this project amend the programme offer for the education of future and current teachers in Slovakia and abroad?
In the project, we have created a comprehensive educational program for future and current teachers, we are creating a common system in which the continuous professional development of teachers in a pupil/student-centered approach will be defined, as well as the school environment in which this approach will be carried out. We focus on the necessary changes that will allow the full and successful implementation of this project. However, we must not forget the fact that a good modern school develops under good leadership with a modern approach of school leadership, which is why we have also included the Learn and Lead program in the project, which aims to create an inspiring learning environment by improving the performance of individuals and organizations, especially in the areas of strategic and organizational development, by equipping managers with the important skills needed to so that they can take on new tasks and become part of the decision-making team.
A significant factor in the project, which puts outputs into international dimensions, is the involvement of diverse foreign institutions in our project. This may not have been planned in the early days of project preparation, but in our joint project we managed to bring together primary schools, universities, private schools and NGOs from five European countries: Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia and Northern Macedonia. This will help us to disseminate the project's outputs on a European scale and thus we can also have bolder objectives, such as creating a network of schools with a pupil/student-centred approach not only at national level, but later perhaps also at international level, since the exchange of experience and examples of good practice move us further in our personal development in the competences of the teacher.
What do you think is the biggest benefit of working with the Harmony Academy team so far?
From my point of view, in these two years of our cooperation with the Harmony Academy team, I have an inner feeling that, despite the fact that we have already completed many joint activities, including our ongoing joint European project Erasmus+Strategic Partnerships, we are only at the beginning of our cooperation. I think there is only something bigger ahead of us. As set out in our project, it is necessary and welcome not to separate individual departments, but, on the contrary, to bring together the departments of public, municipal, private and non-governmental institutions. Thanks to the cooperation with Harmony Academy as a representative of a private educational institution, we are already developing several possible fields of cooperation at this moment, as we are aware that the programs implemented, for example, by our university, are built on a different system and curriculum than the Harmony Academy, and here we see a wide range of possibilities for mutual enrichment, inspiration and connection of our cooperation. We can be mutually useful.
I believe that our journey will help us reach out to school heads, current and future teachers, who perceive that their meritorious work – the profession they carry out every day – needs to be made more attractive and moved closer to others – pupils or students, colleagues and themselves.
A pupil-centred approach invites teachers to self-reflection, continuous development and individualisation of practices in and outside the classroom. Naturally, it induces teachers to change their mindset, which is so necessary for the modernisation of the whole of education.
A school that decides to fully implement such an approach needs to modernise its internal processes and open up to a new way of managing. And this is exactly what our project is about, from which we offer you this article. Our mission continues, and over the course of 2021 and 2022, we will gradually communicate to you the path to our goal – more modern, free, responsible and joyful schools and the people in them!
