Author: PeterMaz

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E4ALL – Training in Wiener Neustadt

PeterMaz E4ALL, Flipped Adult Education, Flipped Learning, Miscellaneous, Project
E4ALL – Training in Wiener Neustadt

E4ALL LogoE4ALL means Education For All! In the frame of this Erasmus+ Project, the trainees from 6 different countries came to Wiener Neustadt to exchange their knowledge in Games for Education, Intergenerational Learning, and Flipped Learning 3.0 during a three days’ learning and training event.  The training took place in the Hilton Garden Inn in Wiener Neustadt. 20 trainees attended the courses and learned together in a cooperative and friendly atmosphere. The Austrian Partner EBI hosted the training and presented the trainees with the cultural and economical background of Wiener Neustadt as well.

Here are some images from the first day (watch the slider!).

The topics of the first day were:

  • GAMES4ALL – TEAM BUILDING ACTIVITY (Challedu)
  • INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING APPROACH, part 1 (EduVita)
    • “learn it!”
    • “practice it!”
  • INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING APPROACH, part 2 (EduVita)
    • ART-THERAPY (practice it!)
    • (design it!)

Learning aims of the E4ALL – training

INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING APPROACH (learn it!)

  • Understanding the goals of IGL (intergenerational learning) and the difference between multigenerational and intergenerational learning
  • Awareness of the role of emotional intelligence in IGL
  • INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING APPROACH (practice it!)
  • Developing the competence of inclusion of both generations  in teaching/learning process (elderly people as teachers, young people as teachers) on the example of language class with IGL approach

ART-THERAPY (practice it!)

  • Learning the basics of Art-therapy as a tool for team building and group dynamics
  • Raising awareness of Art-therapy: literature for further reading

INTERGENERATIONAL LEARNING APPROACH (design it!)

Ability to design a short IGL activity in small groups

Second day – Games

Challedu demonstrated three analog games, developed in a former project.

In consequence, the trains developed in three groups their own games. After intensive discussions, the trainees tested the prototypes of the games.

Third day – Critical Thinking & Flipped Learning 3.0

Peter Mazohl and Charlotte Gatti elaborated a basic approach to Critical Thinking with the trainees. In a short workshop, the most relevant items were summarized.

The Flipped Learning 3.0 Workshop started with the preparation work and the publishing of the pre-knowledge Distance Learning course (Individual Space) of the training. As a result, the participants could build up the basic knowledge about architecture and history in Wiener Neustadt. Additionally, issues like Backward Design and Bloom’s taxonomy were included in this training.
Active Learning, various group activities, and guided group discussions dominated the Group Learning Space. Essential material for this training has been transferred from the FAdE project (Flipped Adult Education)

Course leaders for the E4ALL Training

The E4ALL training was conducted by the trainers delegated from EduVita, Challedu, and EBI/EIE. The training would be led by 1-3 trainers from the thematic expert organization each day. The course’s steering group is represented by a minimum of one person delegated from each organization organizing the training.

Modern Learning Spaces for Adult Education

PeterMaz Miscellaneous
Modern Learning Spaces for Adult Education

The EBI/EIE asked partners from former or current projects about their ideas of optimal learning spaces in the field of adult education. The questions focused on the logical (training-approach focused) and spatial learning space, as well as on active learning. Here is the evaluation of 4 questions (from 8) of this survey. The “Modern Learning Spaces for Adult Education” survey addressed partners in eight European countries.

  • This traditional classroom, as it’s well-known from School Education, is the best learning space for most of the training situations in Adult Education.
  • An open learning space, group-based and focusing on collaboration, is the best learning space for most of the training situations in Adult Education.
  • Modern learning space for Adult Education must be flexible in the spatial design. It must be possible to change the spatial arrangement easily.
  • Modern learning spaces for Adult Education must not follow traditional teaching or training methods but can use other approaches based on active learning.

Outcomes “Modern Learning Spaces”

Click through the gallery to analyse the visualization of the results.

Technical information

32 different Adult Education organisations from Europe took part in this survey (Countries: ES, SE, GR, PT, PL, IT, NOR, DK). All these Adult Education organisations are currently intensively involved in training with different kinds of adults.
Invited people: 38, sample: 32

Additional information

Learning spaces can be defined by their kind to learn: learner-centered, knowledge- centered, assessment-centered, and community-centered. Whats missing: The spatial description!
WikiPedia defines learning spaces as

“Learning space or learning setting refers to a physical setting for a learning environment, a place in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to “classroom,” but it may also refer to an indoor or outdoor location, either actual or virtual. Learning spaces are highly diverse in use, learning styles, configuration, location, and educational institution. They support a variety of pedagogies, including quiet study, passive or active learning, kinaesthetic or physical learning, vocational learning, experiential learning, and others.”

Critical Thinking

PeterMaz E4ALL, Miscellaneous, Project
Critical Thinking

E4ALL Logo - Critical ThinkingIn the frame of the E4ALL Project, the EBI will provide a special workshop focusing on “Critical Thinking“.  In our understanding, this term means, in short:

  • self-directed,
  • self-disciplined,
  • self-monitored, and
  • self-correcting thinking.

In consequence of this list, it requires the affirmation and mastery of strict quality criteria. Critical Thinking is the basement of effective communication and problem-solving skills. You may watch this short video on YouTube for going deeper!

Definition of “Critical Thinking“

Critical thinkers gain clarity about the questions raised, and the intentions pursued with them. They question statements, conclusions, and points of view. You strive to express yourself clearly, accurately, accurately, and relevantly. They dig deep, proceed logically, and remain fair.

Critical thinking is that type of thinking (applicable to any subject, content, or problem) in which a person enhances the quality of his thinking by making a commitment to competently following the inherent structures of thinking and conforming to intellectual norms to measure up.

Does there exist a simple approach?

No, unfortunately not. Creating this competence is a longer-lasting learning process and needs several preconditions (and training).

Nevertheless, we want to give some simple guidelines on how to start:

  • Recognize the problem
  • Do research
  • Determine data relevance
  • Ask questions  (even to yourself)
  • Determine the best solution
  • Present your solution (even to yourself)
  • Analyse your decision

The training contribution

Active Brain - Critical Thinking
Critical Thinking: Approach to seeing the world with new eyes!

The training will start with personal experience. The trainers put the focus on the analysis of written text and will discuss the different outcomes of the analysing process of the participants.

The presentation of a versatile strategic concept for Critical Thinking starts the second part of the hands-on training.

Conclusion

Critical thinking is the ability to collect and analyse information in order to draw a conclusion. The ability to think critically is important in virtually every industry and applicable in a wide range of positions.

 

Further information

The training will be held in Wiener Neustadt, Austria, beginning of May. As a means of service, The EBI will publish the Distance Learning material open for public in a multimedia-based and interactive learning unit.

E4ALL Meeting Athens

PeterMaz E4ALL, Project
E4ALL Meeting Athens

The first meeting in the year 2022 took place in Athens (Greece), hosted by Challedu, from February

  1. Exchange of good practices in the field of adult education – discussing the 3 next topics important for intergenerational education; discussing the state of the art in the Partner countries in the 3 areas, exchange of experiences and good practices:
    • Focus 1: Digital competencies, media literacy, and critical thinking – review of the internet tools/social media solutions supporting lifelong learning. Blended Learning, distance learning,
      Flipped Learning 3.0; the best ways for upgrading digital competencies of adult educators (EBI, AT).
    • Focus 2: Game-based solutions supporting adult education for all generations. Education and fun. Education and inclusiveness (CHALLEDU, GR).
    • Focus 3: Intergenerational learning, intergenerational courses, workshops and activities planning, organisation & leading (EduVita, IT).
  2. Choosing the 3 specific training subjects in the 3 discussed fields, to be prepared by the expert-Partners for the subsequent short-term joint staff training in Wiener Neustadt; planning the training.

Here are some images from this meeting

 

Images: Rafal Dedak, Peter Mazohl

Flipped Adult Education – project closed

PeterMaz Miscellaneous
Meeting Athens
Meeting in the park – due to COVID-19 restrictions

With the production of the “Flipped Adult Education” guide in several languages (English, German, Spanish, Norwegian) the FAdE project was finished.

The final meeting of the project team took place in Athens under difficult conditions. The team chose – due to Covid restrictions – an outdoor space and held the meeting on an analog basis.

Further information about the meeting is available on the website: Final meeting Athens

E4ALL – Project Meeting Riga

PeterMaz E4ALL, Miscellaneous
E4ALL – Project Meeting Riga

The first face-to-face project meeting of the E4ALL project took place from October 5th to 6th, 2021 in Riga. It was a pleasure to meet first time personally after several virtual meetings. The meeting was hosted by the Latvian Partner Ecological Future Education (EFE).

The agenda was full: Reports from the first working year, presentation of activities, planning and structuring the project until the end, planning the next Learning-Teaching-Training event (scheduled for Madrid), and much more.

Personal meetings are useful, and especially in creative or cooperative work, they never can be replaced by virtual meetings (which are great for simple technical or organizational issues).

What will be the next activity? Up from this meeting the team will focus on Language Teaching, environmental teaching, and Erasmus+ issues.

Participants in the meeting

Foundation of Alternative Educational Initiatives, FAIE, (PL)
Agnieszka Dadak, President of the Board/Project Manager

Escuela Oficial de Idiomas Madrid-Villaverde (ES)
Carlos Trueba Rodríguez, Director, Cristina Arroyo Arroyo

Challedu (GR)
Konstantina Iakovou, Project Manager, Sofia Avramidou

ASSOCIAZIONE CULTURALE EDUVITA E.T.S,
Hanna Urbanovich, President; Damiano Stefano Verri

Europäische Bildungsinitiative (EBI)
Peter Mazohl, Head

P6: Ecological Future Education EFE
Megija Kaleja, Chairperson of the Board, Matiss Davis

Here are some pictures of the meeting of the E4ALL project.

CONNECT

PeterMaz Miscellaneous
CONNECT

The EBI/EIE is a partner in the project CONNECT (Cooperation and training on innovation and entrepreneurship in the eHealth
community), coordinated by the University BABES BOLYAI (CLUJ Napoca, Rumania) with the University of Porto as a partner.

The project focuses on the national priority of “Tackling skills gaps and mismatches” through delivering an education program, which engages students from across European countries to enable continuous innovation and entrepreneurship in the European eHealth sector. The main focus of the CONNECT project is on issues of eHealth innovation, state-of-the-art
training and education of students necessary on the health market, in the form of a highly-and-systematically, organized formal and non-formal educational program to improve knowledge, develop cross-sectoral skills and competencies, entrepreneurship and support students’ critical thinking required to improve health care.

The EBI/EIE will be involved in the platform development, as well as in some fields of eLearning development.

What is a Community of Practice?

A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people who share common interests, a set of problems, or are in a similar working or learning situation. They come together either physically or virtual to fulfill both individual and group goals.

Significant for CoPs are three items:

  • The Domain
    CoPs are (more or less) a kind of friends club or a network.
  • The Community
    In pursuing their interest in their domain, members engage in joint activities and discussions, cooperate, help each other, and share information and material.
  • The Practice
    The community not only shares the same interest, but also material, knowledge, and experiences. Often they use a shared repository which is extended continuously by community members.

 

 

Flipped Learning 3.0 for adults – in a cross-generational setting

PeterMaz E4ALL, Flipped Adult Education, Flipped Learning, Miscellaneous
Flipped Learning 3.0 for adults – in a cross-generational setting

This is the new challenge for  the EBI/EIE!

In the frame of the E4All (Education for All) project we will develop a special learning experience to convey flipped learning to educators inexperienced in this learning and training framework. The course will take place in Wiener Neustadt (in 2022).

Trainers from the staff of fife European Adult Training organizations will take part. The age distribution is fascinating: The participants will be between 20 and 65+ years old and thus offer the opportunity to plan, carry out and evaluate cross-generational learning within the framework of a flipped learning 3.0 setting.

Implementing Virtual Group Space

The frame conditions of the course force to implement both a virtual group space and an f2f group space for the final training. Here is the structure of the training:

Venue

The training will take place in Wiener Neustadt, Austria in Spring next year.

Participation

If you are interested to participate in this training please contact the organizer, Mr. Peter →  Mazohl. He can agree individual trainings or – if there are free places – even a participation in the training provided in the frame of the E4All project!