The aim of this project – TACCLE4 CPD – has been to support continuing professional development of teachers and trainers to enhance their digital competences. Whilst the three previous TACCLE projects had worked directly with active teachers, the current project has sought to develop strategies and training concepts for education and training managers, curriculum developers and training providers.
The previous TACCLE projects had primarily focused on general education (including adult education). Therefore, these projects had worked with school teachers and subject-based learning arrangements. As a contrast the field of vocational education and training (VET) had been addressed in another predecessor project – the Learning Layers project. In that project the promotion of digital competences of trainers and teachers was linked to workplace learning and to mastery of working and learning tasks.
Therefore, the work in the TACCLE4 CPD project was differentiated. Contributions to the field of VET have not been mere adaptations of models or solutions for school-based education. Instead, special reports have been produced to address the specific challenges and opportunities for promoting digital competences in the field of VET. In this context the experiences from the Learning Layers project have been revisited. In particular the value of co-designing the digital toolset ‘Learning Toolbox’ and the organisation of multimedia training (with practitioners and for practitioners) have been reviewed from a new perspective.
Contributions of TACCLE4 CPD to Vocational Education and Training VET
The TACCLE4 CPD reports for the field of VET include the following themes:
Report 1: Policy analyses (with focus on different contexts, approaches and strategies to promote digital competences in the field of VET
Report 2: Legacy of predecessor projects (with a differentiated interpretation of the approaches of prior TACCLE projects and the Learning Layers project)
Report 3: Use of Open Educational Resources in VET (with specific insights into the opportunities to use OER in particular vocational learning contexts)
Report 4a: Research-based reflections on strategies and training models (with specific emphasis on different innovation paths and feedback from practitioners)
Report 4b: The “Theme Room Training 2020” framework (as an outline of a training concept for the field of VET, based on different thematic blocks)
Report 5: Promoting digital competences beyond the accustomed realm of ICT skills (with insights into online learning on Artificial Intelligence and into transfer of innovation when using the Learning Toolbox in new contexts).
Activity report on the Multiplier Event of the TACCLE4 CPD project in Germany (On the 16th of October 2020 at the training centre Bau-ABC Rostrup)
Report 2b: Introduction to the TACCLE4 CPD Showcase (presentation of a collection of TACCLE4 CPD reports and related digital resources powered by the Learning Toolbox)
Expand the sections below to read excerpts from each report and click the download link to find the full texts. You can also find all of these products on Research Gate.
Reports
Policy analyses as background for continuing professional development of teachers and trainers in the field of vocational education and training (VET)
The report draws attention to following characteristics of policies in the field of VET and to recent developments in innovation strategies to promote digital competences of different actors in VET:
- Distribution of power structures in different educational systems: The report makes transparent the differences between central and federal governance models in education.
- Distribution of functions and competences in dual systems of vocational education and training: The report presents the roles of different VET providers and stakeholders (companies, schools and intermediate training centres, chambers and governing bodies) and the regulations guiding different parties.
- Joint agreements, innovation programmes and strategic alliances: The report gives insights into joint agreements (between different bodies), innovation programmes (launched by central governments) and strategic alliances (at different levels for temporary actions in particular focal areas of VET development). In this context the report also informs of local initiatives.
- New frameworks at European and national level to promote digital competences in education and training: The report discusses the key points of the European DigCompEdu framework as a general orientative framework for promoting digital competences in different educational sectors. In addition it discusses the more VET-specific accents that have been raised in the German study “Berufsbildung 4.0” (VET 4.0) that has outlined a future-oriented innovation programme.
Finding new approaches to promote digital competences – Legacy of past projects and new inputs from R&D projects in vocational education and training (VET)
This special report was produced to compare the training approaches that had been applied in the three prior TACCLE projects and at different phases of the Learning Layers project. The report serves the following purposes:
- Creating awareness of the different project histories and process dynamics: In this respect the report gives brief overviews of the parallel project histories and different phases of work.
- Making transparent the role of co-design and piloting with new tools in the Learning Layers project: From this perspective the report analyses specific impulses that arise from this background in the project work.
- Providing insights into parallel R&D projects in education and training and their support for training of teachers and trainer: Here the report provides examples on support for teacher education, CPD measures for vocational teachers and CPD measures for trainers in enterprises.
- Providing insights into recent field interviews with vocational trainers (carried out as part of the TACCLE 4 CPD): Here the report presents trainers’ views on the prospects for linking the use of digital tools to vocational learning culture.
Role of Open Educational Resources (OER) in the field of Vocational education and Training (VET) – Insights into uses of OER in vocational teaching/learning arrangements.
This special report was produced to draw attention to specific education and training contexts in VET, taking into account the respective pedagogic challenges and the shaping of respective teaching/learning arrangements to support vocational learning.
The report discusses firstly some working issues for using OER in the field of VET. Then, in the following sections, it presents four selected cases for introducing digital tools and the use of OER into specific vocational teaching/learning arrangements. Thus, the report serves the following purposes:
- Raising awareness of the possibility to shape creative vocational teaching/ learning arrangements as OER for wider use (the case “Make your own toolset”);
- Opening prospects for enriching learning paths and instructions in the field mechatronics and robotics (the cases of ‘Learning paths’ and ‘Moveo robot arm’);
- Providing insights into complex teaching/learning arrangements that engage different learners (apprentices and disadvantaged young people) into team-building learning (the case of shaping go-kart vehicles and series of races (with self-designed rules and self-organised catering).
Strategies and Training Models for promoting Digital Competences in the field of Vocational Education and Training – Reflections on Policies, Conceptual Frameworks and Innovation projects.
When the project team started preparing the policy analyses and reflecting the training models that need to be considered in the CPD context, it was apparent that major differences have to be taken into account when the field of VET is concerned. This was the conclusion of the special reports (above) for IO1 (the policy analyses with focus on VET) and for IO2 (reflection on the role of training in the earlier TACCLE projects and in the Learning Layers project). Therefore, this report has been produced to draw conclusions for a specific project contribution for the field of VET. The report serves the following purposes:
- Summarisation of the conclusions from the comparisons between predecessor projects: Here the report gives insights into the process dynamics, into the role of training measures and into the role of outreach activities.
- Raising awareness of different policy contexts for promoting digital competences in schools and in VET contexts: Here the report gives a brief overview of parallel possibilities.
- Drawing attention to the relevance of general frameworks or studies in the field of VET: Here the report reflects the role of the European DigCompEdu framework vis-à-vis the challenges in the field of VET – as outlined by the German framework study “Berufsbildung 4.0”.
- Raising awareness of different outreach approaches for innovations in school contexts and in VET contexts: Here the report draws upon experiences of the earlier TACCLE projects and on the outreach prospects identified after the Learning Layers project
- Drawing conclusions on the importance of TACCLE Routemap approach and the Theme Room training model (of the Learning Layers project) for shaping CPD concepts to promote digital competences in the field of VET.
The Theme Room Training 2020 framework – Promoting digital competences of vocational teachers and trainers.
Research in Taccle CPD and its predecessor projects has shown us that in a VET context, rather than a handbook, it is more useful to link the promotion of digital competences to vocational teaching/learning arrangements and to current digital transformations in working life. Also, during the work of the TACCLE 4 CPD project, the project team considered that the Theme Room training (that was initiated and put into practice during the later phase of the Learning Layers project) was an interesting case of proving training for all training staff of a VET provider.
In the light of the above this report outlines a new framework – Theme Room Training 2020 – for supporting continuing professional development (CPD) for vocational teachers and trainers with focus on promoting their digital competences. The main elements of the framework are the following thematic blocks:
Theme One – Challenges: Digitization and digital transformation in the field of VET;
Theme Two – Old and young learners in vocational education and training (VET):
Theme Three – Exploring innovation paths to promote digital competences in vocational learning;
Theme Four – Using TACCLE4 CPD Routemap for future-oriented planning and training.
The sections of the framework discus these themes from the perspective of VET providers and with focus on vocational learning culture. Moreover, each section has been equipped with a commentary space that points to corresponding Annexes to this report. These provide further input to discussion, reflection and shared learning.
In addition to the previous reports the fifth report provides insights into civic learning and into
organisational learning as specific modes of promoting innovation.
Firstly, the report presents a case of online learning on artificial intelligence across the entire
civil society in Finland. Then, the report presents some working issues raised by a parallel
TACCLE project that focuses on artificial intelligence in the field of VET.
Secondly, the report gives insights into the use of Learning Toolbox in vocational learning during
the corona-crisis. Moreover, the report presents further cases of transfer of innovation when the
Learning Toolbox is being used as support for online courses and online conferences.
This document is an activity report on the Multiplier Event of the TACCLE4 CPD project that was organised by the German partner Institut Technik & Bildung (ITB). The event took place at the North-German training centre of construction industries, Bau-ABC Rostrup. Below the four sections report on the preparation of the event, on the input from ITB, on the discussions with the participants and on the TACCLE4 CPD Showcase that presented the digital contents produced in the project for the field of VET.
THE TACCLE4 CPD SHOWCASE – A new collection of online resources to promote digital competences of vocational teachers and trainers.
This document is a special report for the TACCLE4 CPD project with focus on the field of vocational education and training (VET). The aim of earlier TACCLE projects has been to promote digital competences of teachers and trainers with materials that are linked to their educational practice. The fourth TACCLE project took the task to develop models and concepts for continuing professional education (CPD) that support educational authorities as well as education and training providers. In addition to the school-based education and adult education this project seeks to serve the field of VET.