Presidency Conference in Tallinn, Estonia
19-20 September, 2017
Venue: Tallinn University, Narva mnt 25, Tallinn 10120
Background
The conference focuses on the adaptation of learning and teaching roles in response to the wide-ranging and increasingly rapid pace of change in Europe and the world at large. New technologies are entering our workplaces and homes encouraging and compelling us to learn new skills and acquire new knowledge. In addition, the world remains in flux and huge advances in scientific understanding of human behaviour have taken place and consequently new challenges constantly emerge. However, education systems are slow to change and adapt to new realities. Traditional learning and teaching practices continue to dominate our education systems.
While the education offered by EU countries tends to be of high quality, our traditional teaching and learning practices and the knowledge on offer do not sufficiently meet the emergent demands of a world in flux. The generational gap in values and behavioural patterns is deepening. How do we ensure that our children and young people are satisfied with their educational experience – that they are happy to attend school and further educational institutions whilst also gaining required knowledge and competencies? How do we ensure young people become open to the world, willing and capable of assuming supportive as well as leadership roles, and that they take responsibility for the wellbeing of the world around them? Best practices capable of meeting these demands can be found across Europe including in Estonia. The conference aims to shine a light on these and discuss how they can be applied more widely, and calls on European countries to devote greater coordinated attention to the changing roles of teachers, schools and other educational institutions.
The conference also seeks to build a shared and coherent understanding of key educational research results and how these can support student learning and achievement. Our challenge is to find evidence-based, effective and efficient ways of ensuring our education systems evolve in an optimal manner to address both long-standing and newly emerging needs. We invite participants to contribute to discussions about best practices and their widespread implementation organised around the following three main overlapping themes:
- stakeholder engagement,
- educator and learner engagement and autonomy,
- the building of effective learning environments that address the needs of a world in flux.
We expect for the reports and discussions to be based not only on the best practices or methodologies, but also on recent educational research.
Moderator: Artur Taevere, Senior Schools Advisor at British Council
Presentations, videos and pictures
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Presentations
Mindshifts related to learning. Prof. P. Robert-Jan Simons
Benefits of hybrid systems and double-qualifications – the case of Austria. DI. Dr. Jörg Markowitsch
Education to employment: getting Europe´s youth into work. Carlos Bertrán Sundheim
Engaging guest teachers to learning. Teibi Torm
Opportunities for teacher professional development in Estonia: supporting teacher autonomy and collaboration with colleagues. Prof. Äli Leijen
Towards a personal, flexible and engaged way of studying: the Studium Individuale as an example of making European HE more relevant and contemporary. Dr. Volker Balli
Outcomes of the peer learning activity on “Teaching generations Y & Z: pedagogical challenges in T&L environments in higher education”, held in Paris, 12-13 July 2017. Julie Anderson
Conceptual model for designing learning and teaching for the future. Prof. Margus Pedaste
Learning and teaching in Europe: from the learning lab to the school. Prof. Andreas Demetriou
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Videos
DAY 1 - Recording of the conference
DAY 2 - Recording of the conference
Visual conclusions of the parallel sessions
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Pictures
Programme
Monday, 18 September
Tuesday, 19 September
The purpose of school visits is discussing how schools have engaged stakeholders through values-based management and leadership policies in order to interpret education policies, and foster the development of a student- and learning-centred school culture.
Mrs. Mailis Reps, Estonian Minister of Education and Research
Ms. Sophia Eriksson Waterschoot, Director, Directorate General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture, European Commission
- Mindshifts related to learning. Prof. P. Robert-Jan Simons, Professor of Educational Psychology, Utrecht University
Prof. Robert Jan Simons’ colloquium on three topics according to his own recent suggestion.
All the topics will be later reopened during the parallel sessions. The expectation is that
Prof. Simons will introduce some tools for shaping autonomy and motivation:
1. From Fixed to Growth mind-set (Dweck)
2. Personalisation and individualisation
3. Pedagogical tasks of teachers (Biesta) - Educational neuroscience – using insights into brain function to shape educational practices. Prof. Michael S. C. Thomas, Director of the Centre for Educational Neuroscience, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Birkbeck, University of London
- Combined child-related and contextual factors that support learning outcomes and well-being. Examples from Estonian research. Prof. Eve Kikas, Professor of School Psychology, Tallinn University
Parallel session 1:
Moderator: Janno Järve, Senior Analyst, Estonian Centre for Applied Research (CentAR)
Topic: a learning environment which is supportive of a student’s transition from one level of schooling to the next, and of developing skills throughout life.
How to shape a school environment in which teaching does not start or end at the moment that the student is in the presence of a teacher, but, rather, an environment which fosters the learner’s internal motivation for curiosity, studying outside of direct instruction, finding meaning in learning, as well as receiving a sense of assurance and security that the acquired competency will help them in the next level of schooling, as well as in life?
- Which education systems support a more equal and effective acquisition of skills at a later age? Prof. Andy Green, Director of ESRC Research Centre on Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES), UCL
The effects of upper-secondary education and training systems on skills inequality. A quasi-cohort analysis using PISA 2000 and the OECD survey of adult skills.
- Benefits of hybrid systems and double-qualifications – the case of Austria. DI. Dr. Jörg Markowitsch, Senior Partner, 3s Management Consulting
- Transition between upper secondary and higher education - student success according to background, and policies to improve success rates. Gro Beate Vige, Senior Adviser, Department of Higher Education, Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Parallel session 2:
Moderator: Artur Taevere, Senior Schools Advisor at British Council
Topic: how can external stakeholders help make learning more effective?
Subtopics: a) engaging businesses and community organisations, and b) improving student movitation, knowledge and skills
Learning can happen beyond traditional classrooms and it can be supported by people who are not traditional teachers. External stakeholders can help make learning more effective. Businesses and community organisations can bring important benefits to students: (1) better motivation, (2) deeper knowledge, and (3) better skills. Students are more motivated when they place value on the content of learning and when they find it meaningful. Deeper knowledge and better understanding are attained when real life examples are regularly connected with accurate, scientific explanations. Better skills are learned when relevant curricula are carefully designed and effectively delivered. These curricula may be focused on content knowledge or skills such as communication, problem solving, digital skills, etc. Often, the programmes are more relevant when they are designed and delivered in collaboration with employers or community organisations. All participants are encouraged to tweet their thoughts and questions using the hashtag #EffectiveLearning.
- Different contexts for learning: why do we need to make learning meaningful (and why we often fail in that)? PhD Grete Arro, Researcher, School of Educational Science, Tallinn University
- Education to employment: getting Europe´s youth into work. Carlos Bertrán Sundheim, COO for Generation Initiative, Spain
- Engaging guest teachers to learning. Teibi Torm, Back to School Initiative leader, Estonia and Eilike Maarand, Guest teacher
Parallel session 3:
Moderator: Julie Anderson, Policy Officer, Higher Education, Directorate-General for Education and Culture, European Commission
Topic: the expectations and roles of students and learners from the new generation
The parallel session will have a strong focus on the differences between the generations in terms on teaching and learning, the changing role of the teachers and learners, how should the current and the new generation be taught, how higher education systems are supporting educators to meet the needs of the new generation student population, include how teachers’ autonomy, collaboration and changes in their pedagogical beliefs and instructional practices could be supported.
- Opportunities for teacher professional development in Estonia: supporting teacher autonomy and collaboration with colleagues. Prof. Äli Leijen, Professor of Teacher Education, University of Tartu
- Towards a personal, flexible and engaged way of studying: the Studium Individuale as an example of making European HE more relevant and contemporary. Dr. Volker Balli, Academic Director Studium Individulae, Leuphana University of Lüneburg
- Outcomes of the peer learning activity on “Teaching generations Y & Z: pedagogical challenges in T&L environments in higher education”, held in Paris, 12-13 July 2017. Julie Anderson, Policy Officer, Higher Education, Directorate-General for Education and Culture, European Commission
Wednesday, 20 September
The topic of the panel: many expectations are in the air – expectations for teachers and students, expectations of teachers and students, the expectations of parents and society. How to consciously guide the expectations of different parties? What are the tasks and responsibilities of teachers, students, and political leaders in this task?
Panel discussion with the participation of pan-European unions:
- School students´ representative – Ferre Windey, Member of the Board, The Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions (OBESSU)
- University students´ representative – Caroline Sundberg, Vice President of the European Student Union (ESU)
- Educators´ representative – Joke van der Leeuw-Roord, European Association of History Educators (EUROCLIO) Founder and Special Advisor
- School leaders´ representative – Clive Byrne, Director of National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD)
- Employers´ representative – Arnold de Boer, Adviser for Social Affairs, Union Européenne de l’Artisanat et des Petites et Moyennes Entreprises (UEAPME) / The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
- Trade unions´ representative - Agnes Roman, Advisor, Education and Training Committee, European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC); Senior Coordinator for Education and Training Policy, European Trade Union Committee for Education (ETUCE)
- Conceptual model for designing learning and teaching for the future. Prof. Margus Pedaste, Head of the Pedagogicum of the University of Tartu
- Learning and teaching in Europe: from the learning lab to the school. Prof. Andreas Demetriou, Professor Emeritus of the University of Nicosia, an Honorary Professor of Durham University