Objectives

Promote, Foster, Improve

Education is a Member State competence and action at a European level can support Member States as they adapt and improve the ways they recruit, educate and develop their teaching workforce. Teachers and trainers have a central role, as they have a strong impact on the attainment of learners. Reflective teachers keep their practice under constant review and adjust it in the light of desired learning outcomes and of the individual needs of students.

Science, technological, engineering and mathematical competence, Digital competence, Personal, social and learning competence, Entrepreneurship competence - these are the key competences from the revised European Reference Framework of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning (EC, 2019) that this project will mainly focus on for their strengthening in VET.

EWF (European Welding Federation) and its member organizations have developed an international harmonised system for education, training and qualification in the field of welding technology, providing training guidelines that cover all professional levels in welding technology and related areas in 45 countries worldwide. The importance of this system is recognised by ISO and CEN and is seen by CEDEFOP as a best practice in training and education. In order to comply with EWF’s actions to update its education system (by designing new qualifications and revising existing guidelines to align the qualifications with the learning outcomes approach), there is the need to create awareness among EWF System’s educational staff of new pedagogical approaches and methodologies that can be used in the system for a better learning, as well as the possibility to embed key competences development in EWF Training System, thus promoting a better prepared workforce.

Educational staff needs adequate support in their initial and continuing professional development, peer exchange or guidance tools and materials created to enhance competence oriented education, training and learning [EC, 2018]. In this sense, WELDONE focuses not only on Educators from EWF System but takes a much broader approach to reach STEM Educators, who will be able to use the project’s outcomes as well.

We intend to train trainers to look at competences as more than knowledge and understanding and consider the ability to apply them when performing a task (skill) as well as how - with what mind-set - the learner approaches the task (attitude). Looking into training in such an holistic way, especially in the welding world, is completely new.

By building a "Train the Trainers" programme aiming to prepare trainers to promote active learning by using different open pedagogical approaches - such as digital and problem based learning – WELDONE partners expect to improve learners' achievements and success, as well as their performance at work and life in general.

WELDONE project also aims to:

  • Promote the use of open and more active methodological approaches by trainers and teachers, methodologies focused on the educational process that stimulates research and critical thinking, based on cooperative and investigative learning processes in the construction of knowledge, involving students and teachers in the educational process.
  • Develop the competences of education leaders and teaching/training staff – including aspiring new trainers/teachers and those who have been in the profession for a long time.
  • Provide trainers and teachers not only from EWF Training System, but also Educators from STEM the tools they need to be prepared to introduce pedagogical methodologies such as problem based learning, or challenge based learning, thus increasing learners’ motivation and interest, at the same time promoting the use of real life setting (e.g. through work based) for learning.

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