Capacity Building for Trainers and Teachers: Learning the Blended Way is focused on developing key competencies among educators (trainers/teachers/instructors) that will allow them to ensure transition towards blended learning programs that will ensure flexibility and quality to learners. As part of the participants in the project are VET educators the project contributes also to the development of innovative educational pedagogies based on digital technologies.
As the training programs implemented by project partners are addressed to vulnerable groups or are promoting human rights and global education the project’s aim is to contribute to social inclusion in Romania, Italy, Bulgaria, and at the European level.
The project is developing a series of learning materials that will form the basis of training programs for trainers, trainers, and teachers in the 3 partner countries, such as:
– the teaching curriculum for the Training of Trainers (TOT) program and the training program for professionals in the 3 countries;
– the trainer’s manual;
– transition guide to blended learning;
– digital toolkits.
The development of a blended module on human rights and global education will contribute to the development of intercultural and social competencies while fighting against any form of discrimination. Over 45 educators from 3 countries will be trained to deliver such blended programs and include them in their educational programs. It is expected that over 900 learners will participate in such programs in the first year after the project end.
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Why a human rights and global citizenship education approach?
In recent decades, citizenship and human rights education has assumed an increasingly important role in both formal and non-formal education. Institutions and civil society organizations in the international community consider it imperative that new generations learn to be citizens of the world and become aware of global challenges and their consequences. For this reason, competencies related to these areas of learning are increasingly integrated into school and general education.
Over time, these educational areas have often been the bearers of innovations in training processes and learning models because they are open to dialogue with global and local changes in our societies. Today, digital transformation is considered one of the most important challenges that contemporary societies must face in order to build a more just society and prevent the increase in social inequality. Digital transformation, indeed, is an undergoing process within our contemporary societies that impacts the present and future of the individual and collective, private and public spheres.
Why Blended learning?
As trainers – in the citizenship and human rights areas – it is important to consider the consequences that this transformation leads with itself on democratic processes and rights access. As well known, technology is not neutral and has risks, challenges, and opportunities to analyze, understand and reflect on. Digital competencies should be and will be part of civic competencies for the present and future generations. These competencies could be improved and consolidated through a virtuous and proper use of the technology and the digital itself as an environment of learning. The technology could be considered as a means for more engaging learning opportunities for all if integrated with analog training and learning methods.
We speak of “Blended learning, teaching and training” when both the digital and the analog dimensions (approach and method) are present in the same training process. In other words, the “blended” dimension “is meant to enhance learning, teaching, and training, not simply to continue it via digital means” (DARE Network).
In this perspective, the Train of Trainers Course, part of this project, proposes a path of reflection and in-depth about the designing, implementation, and evaluation of blended training conceived as transforming processes in line with the framework of citizenship and human rights education.
ToT topics
The training focused on the relationship between the transformative training design process and digital transformation. Three main areas of knowledge and competencies were addressed:
→ design and management of training-learning processes (approaches, methodologies, tools, training roles, and functions);
→ digital transformation and its implications in educational and training processes (definition, relevance, content, tools, minimum set of required competencies);
→ Global Citizenship Education (values, vision, competencies, topics) as a general frame of reference for education and training.
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ToT methodology
The general methodology referred to the experiential learning approach, thus emphasizing interactive and collective efforts of the group of participants aimed at exchanging experiences and practices and developing broader interpretations about things. A variety of participatory teaching-learning methods and tools (readings, discussions during the online workshops, and individual or group exercises) were presented to facilitate critical thinking on the themes developed. Self-assessment and peer-review were fostered to develop critical understanding.
During the training, participants were engaged in the design of a GCE blended training curriculum for teachers and trainers.
What is the vision of the project?
„The project Learning in Blended Way doubles our opportunity to develop internal capacity for providing blended learning qualitative processes to participants in our training programs (youngers beneficiaries and adults professionals), with the second very important one, content-wise. The topics of citizenship and human rights, as well as global education, will complete the technical contents already approached in our portfolio, emphasizing the interest in providing consistent, actual, and qualitative training programs and courses. The diverse, multicultural approach enriches the content, as well as the methodology developed within this project, enhancing the potential of its replication.”CONCORDIA Academia Founder & Director
means having a safe space dedicated to methodological research and experimentation in the field of blended learning. The added value is that of combining the training design dimension with the thematic component of Citizenship Education and Human Rights Education. It is for sure an opportunity for organizational development both in terms of didactic experimentation and shared learning with project partners.”networking & project management officer, CCI Italy
„The Learning the blended way project is innovative for the professional community in Bulgaria. Being part of it gives us the opportunity to explore new approaches to adults’ learning and to challenge ourselves as trainers and instructors. The partnership established during the course of the project and the opportunity to exchange enrich our expertise in the area of training design using combining face-to-face and online tools and techniques.”
Who are the partners?
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This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the CONCORDIA Humanitarian Organization and its partners in this project (CCI – Centro per la Cooperazione Internazionale, CONCORDIA Bulgaria Foundation) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.