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Project
Description
Context |
Aims
and Objectives |
Expected
Outcomes |
Action
Plan |
Team
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CONTEXT
This project is intended as a follow-up to the ECML
project "Quality
Assurance and Self-assessment for Schools and Teachers" (project
2.7.1 in the 1st MTP); it is thus meant to take "Quality assurance"
aspects further as "QualiTraining" of trainers and multipliers,
building on the network of professionals who participated in the previous
project.
At the same time, it builds on expertise developed within EAQUALS and
the institutions represented through the team members - the Goethe-Institut,
the International Learning and Research Centre, UK, QUEST Romania and
OPTIMA Bulgaria, as national quality associations.
It also builds on the concepts and instruments developed by the Council
of Europe in the field of self-assessment and standardisation of evaluation
criteria, such as the European Language Portfolio and the Common European
Framework of Reference.
Feedback gathered at workshops and conferences on quality assurance has
indicated that
- a) this is a field still needing more awareness-raising
among FL professionals and language education institutions, as well
as among decision makers
- the CD
ROM on "Quality Management in Language Education" (outcome
of the 1st MTP) needs an accompanying guide for trainers and multipliers,
to ensure its effectiveness as an instrument for quality assurance since
FL professionals need more familiarisation with quality assurance practices
- there is a growing interest in national
and regional contexts for standardisation in areas such as evaluation,
approaches to quality control and management
- the desirability of exchanging expertise
between the public sector and the private sector of education in the
field of quality assurance, esp. re techniques, procedures and instruments
developed in one sector that are adaptable to other contexts as well,
in order to raise the standards of language education in general
- an emerging interest in consolidating expertise
at local level, e.g. interest in setting up a pool of inspectors and
multipliers at national level, e.g. in countries where national quality
assurance bodies have been recently set up or where they are in the
process of being set up
- in several national and regional contexts
there is interest in transferring quality concepts and best practice
developed in ELT and the FL teaching/learning practice of widely taught
languages to the teaching and learning of less widely used and taught
languages
- there is growing interest in and need for
spreading the use of the European Language Portfolio as a self-assessment
and quality assurance tool for different user groups in a variety of
contexts (e.g. primary, secondary, adult education/learners).
Addressing quality assurance in a coherent way across fields of language
education, across languages and regions, can contribute to better social
cohesion, so that all citizens can expect to receive services of equal
quality standards, irrespective of the language they are aiming to learn.
Aiming towards achieving better standardisation of approaches to quality
assurance training would also contribute to creating equal opportunities
for trainers representing different languages (including less widely taught
languages) to have access to information, to familiarisation with best
practice and to training in quality assurance matters.
AIMS
AND OBJECTIVES ______________ _______________
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General
aims
A Training Guide & Trainer Training for Quality
Assurance:
- development of a training guide for quality assurance.
- training of multipliers/trainers to set off a cascading
process;
- working towards consolidating a quality assurance
culture in language education across Europe and beyond.
Specific
objectives
- Developing a guide for trainers and multipliers,
which will provide training and resource materials for those responsible
for setting up and implementing quality management systems and for training
others to do this. It will draw on the resources developed in the CD-ROM
for Quality Management produced in the first medium term project;
-
Training multipliers and piloting the "QualiTraining Guide"
through regional training events (to be conducted in various regions
of Europe and for different domains within the wider field of language
education) and a central dissemination and training event at the ECML,
in Graz.
-
Building bridges with other teacher training projects in the 2nd MTP:
- raising awareness of quality assurance
issues, making concepts and terminology used in quality management
more transparent and relevant to teacher trainers / teacher educators
/ language educators,
- linking concepts & procedures developed
in the quality management project with conceptual frameworks &
practices developed in other projects (esp. those targeting teacher
training for language educators and those focusing on self-assessment
and the European Language Portfolio); for this purpose, developing
a 'cross-project' component and liaising with other project teams,
as shown below.
EXPECTED
OUTCOMES ______________ _______________ ![](../../Z_images/Top.jpg)
- A training guide on quality assurance - "QualiTraining
Guide", drawing on the CD ROM on Quality Management, on
the basis of needs analysis, including documented feedback on the applicability
of the existing CD ROM to such training activities.
- Inclusion in the Guide of a printed overview of the
CD ROM contents to make it an effective support resource for the training
materials provided.
- A 'cross-project component' in the form of checklists
or other guidelines to help other projects in the second MTP to apply
quality assurance principles and procedures.
- A series of multiplier-training events: 2 - 3 regional
workshops and a central dissemination and training event for trainers,
multipliers, quality inspectors, policy makers ( e.g. at institutional,
county or national level, esp. if they also have training/multiplier
experience), etc.
- The creation of a network of professionals with
interest in quality management in language education.
ACTION
PLAN ______________ _______________ _______
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2004
January - February
(Small-scale) gathering of informal feedback on the use of the CD-ROM
(ECML, 1st MTP) and preparing the first project team meeting;
13-14 February
Meeting of the project team in order to:
- fine-tune the stages within the project and outline
a more detailed action plan;
- define possible target user groups and procedures
to analyse their needs
- produce a draft outline of the proposed guide
- explore possible content options and organisational
principles in relation to the Guide's function(s)
- discuss what format of the final outcome would best
meet needs identified so far (book and accompanying CD-ROM)
- identify relevant resources to draw on and plan further
action.
February - September
Carrying out the needs analysis, collating the results and, on the basis
of these, producing some draft sections / units of the Guide
1-2 October
Meeting of the project team to work on
- the further development of the "QualiTraining
Guide"
- the planning of multiplier training through events
to be organised in 2005
- opportunities for developing the 'cross-project'
component;
October 2004 - June 2005
- continued development of the first draft of the
Guide
- continuing the gathering of other data relevant
to the "QualiTraining" project
- Web support - Maintenance of the existing web
site and regular updating to complement work done on the project; in
addition, to organise a one-week forum, to exchange experience &
feedback on the use of the CD ROM and the piloting of the QualiTraining
Guide.
2005
Throughout 2005
- liaising with other project teams interested in
'building cross-project bridges' (see Objective 3)
- participating with presentations on "Quality
Management" to some expert meetings or workshops organised by other
project teams, as relevant, so as to
- integrate a 'cross-project' Quality
Assurance component into the teacher training materials being developed
through other ECML projects;
- get input/suggestions re the development
of the "QualiTraining" Guide.
21-22 January
Meeting of the project team in order to:
- review and plan further the development of the "QualiTraining"
Guide
- prepare the 2 regional workshops
- develop the 1st draft of an information leaflet;
6-8 October
Regional event 1 - United Kingdom
Event Description
Introducing participants to the QualiTraining
Guide. The purpose is to explore the contents of the Guide as a possible
tool for staff development (not to train participants in Quality Assurance).
It will be an opportunity for them to share their knowledge and experience
in this area and through their feedback to support the Project Team
in the final shaping of the Guide in view of its publication.
The regional event will provide the basis for future
networking activities. It is hoped that the Guide - its contents and
methodological approach - will be disseminated further by the workshop-participants
and that feedback will be provided to the Project Team and the ECML.
The regional event outcomes, subsequent communication
and developments, including an e-forum on these issues, will be hosted
on the ECML web-site.
Participants' Profile
Trainers of language educators, professionals
with managerial responsibility (principals, academic managers, curriculum
leaders, etc.), quality inspectors, language advisors, practitioners
with interest in quality management, multipliers and key-trainers who
are influential nationally and regionally.
8-10 December
Regional event 2 - Bulgaria
Participants’ Profile
The regional workshop will be designed for heads of
language schools, academic managers, teacher trainers, language advisors,
quality inspectors, people involved in running quality control schemes
and activities in language education and also representatives of teacher
training institutions, language teachers associations, quality control
associations, representatives of the respective departments of Ministries
of Education.
It will address professionals in the public as well
as private sector.
The participants will pilot aspects of the QUALItraining
Guide, share experience and provide feedback to the project team.
December 2005 - March 2006
Tasks to be carried, i.e.
- working towards and on the development of full pilot
version of the "QualiTraining Guide";
- web support.
2006
17-18 March
Expert meeting (project team
plus 5 further selected experts) for consultation on project outcomes
and dissemination strategies.
More specific objectives:
1-2 September
Meeting of the project team to prepare
- the central workshop;
- the final draft of the Guide for piloting in the
central Workshop;
- to provide web support.
12-14 October
Objectives:
- presentation of project outcomes in terms of activities
and expertise developed
- multiplier/trainer training and consolidation of
the multiplier/trainer network
- piloting the "Qualitraining" Guide, collecting
feedback for the finalising of the main project outcome for publishing
in early 2007
Profile of participants in the central workshop:
Multipliers, trainers of language educators, professionals with managerial
responsibilities, quality inspectors, practitioners with interest
in quality management and in becoming multipliers; essential are experience
of quality management training and experience of implementing quality
management programmes.
2007
February
Publication of results.
LANGUAGES
The working languages of the project are English and German. Simultaneous
interpretation will only be provided for central events (ECML workshops).
Participants are expected to be fluent in either English or German and
to have receptive competences in both.
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