The project provides 6 Intellectual Outputs (IOs) on three levels: (1) Academically required information like a Transnational Report on the status quo of student-teachers’ PLCs and an Evaluation Report on urgently needed results on requirements and benefits of students’ PLCs and the chances and limitations of combined PLCs of students and mentoring teachers. (2) Materials to guide the establishment and facilitation of student-teachers’ or combined PLCs as a Manual. (3) Materials for the practical support of teacher educators who support students’ or combined PLCs like Tool Kits of methods and Modules for Communication.
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IO1 – Consolidated report on the needs of student-teacher professional learning and student-teacher professional learning communities
This Consolidated Report on the needs of student teacher professional learning in the context of internship/practicum and student teacher professional learning communities’ analysis includes the main points from the national assessment reports in each participating country. It identifies and presents the collective training needs of student teachers in regard to professional learning and the status of student teacher professional learning communities in each participating country. This report includes both, a list of needs that need to be addressed by the program training programme and their indicative solutions. It also identifies chances and risks of possible future cooperation of student teachers and mentors in a PLC, since there is a chance of mutual learning which up to now has not been pursued at schools/during an internship, yet.
The Consolidated Report covers the following areas:
- Group work and cooperation in partner countries
- Teacher education and student-teacher internships in partner countries
- PLC opportunities for student teachers in partner countries
- Summary of the national reports: Practicing cooperation in group work in university studies and internships
- From the perspective of student teachers
- From the perspective of mentors
- From the perspective of teacher trainers
- SWOT analysis based on the national reports: Practicing cooperation in group work in university studies and internships
- Recommendations for further investigation
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IO2- Toolkit with activities to train student-teachers and mentors for
successful PLCs – developement phase
The consortium, existing of 5 university partners and 1 municipality, developed a tool kit for the implementation and training of Professional Learning Communities (PLC) in the context of university studies and student – teacher collaboration during an internship.
The tool kit provides activities and instruments for student teachers and other students in educational science classes to reflect on their role and expectations on professionalization during internship and collaboration with others at university. Furthermore, the tool kit provides activities and instruments that serve the development of student PLCs (S-PLCs) and its monitoring and elaboration.
The tools have been designed by the experts in the consortium. They have been applied in classes at the participating universities and reflected with student teachers, student teachers in an internship, and students (of educational science).
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IO2/IO3- Final version of the toolkit with activities to train
student-teachers and mentors for successful PLCs – finalization phase
The final version of the toolkit is a result of several trials and subsequent revisions of the materials with student-teachers in the partner countries.
The tool kit provides activities and instruments for student teachers and other students in educational science classes to reflect on their role and expectations on professionalization during internship and collaboration with others at university. Furthermore, the tool kit provides activities and instruments that serve the development of student PLCs (S-PLCs) and its monitoring and elaboration.
Hereafter you find an overall introduction into the method of PLC work according to the scientific discourse of professionalization. Furthermore, you find an interactive surface where the activities and instruments can be found, systemized by the overall structure of a PLC process.
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IO4 – Modules for developing communication strategies for effective PLC
The challenge of communication in PLCs is to be respectful and open-minded while inquiring into both own and others’ beliefs about teaching and learning of their students. For instance, communication about the progress of their students and about the impact of their teaching may be inhibited by lack of communication skills and the ability to inquire into practice. The module will provide strategies for developing communication appropriate for participating in a student-teacher PLC and a student-teacher and mentors PLC.
The self-instructive module is based on theory and research about what describes effective communication in PLC and what the partners have gained as knowledge from the HeadsUP project they brought out before.
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IO5 – Evaluation Report: Evaluation of the chances of the student-teacher PLCs and student-teachers – mentors PLCs
Collaboration of student teachers are occasionally practiced on the level of PLCs, however, mostly they are not as efficient and satisfying as students would want them to be.
To apply the consequent method of PLCs on courses in the phase of internship at universities is an innovation that has been developed by the partners of the TepinTeach project. It was covered by a data collection on highly interesting aspects like learning results, satisfaction, understanding of later professional development, gained competencies when student teachers practice PLCs. The Evaluation Report makes sure this innovation in the field of university didactics is covered and results are disseminated into the teaching programmes and to lecturers.
The idea of PLCs carries along the idea of professionals supporting each other in the processes of development. Student teachers, though, are just at the edge to be professionals. Thus, it is exciting to catch the experiences once they engage in PLCs. Additionally, the special version of student teachers and mentors working together in a PLCs was explored as much as the other versions of PLCs of lecturers and of master tutors at university. Those experiences are covered by the Evaluation Report, too.
Since the results emerged from transnational cooperation the empirical findings are of interest to the international scientific and school practical discourse.
Evaluation Report IO5
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IO6 – Guideline
The Guideline supplements the deliverables on the webpage (tool kit IO3 and the module on communication IO4). It provides information on aspects that are good to know when lecturers want to set up StudentsPLCs and students and mentors PLCs. The guideline explains methods of reflection and methods of communication, recommends selected scientific literature and how learning or preparing assessments can be arranged. The recommendations follow the experiences covered in the Evaluation Report.
The guideline gives advice to lecturers on how to successfully set up PLCs in regards to other requirements in the school and university context, what possible difficulties to pay attention to and how to use the deliverables of the project to assist Students-PLCs.