Developing Collaborative Learning Scenarios for Teacher Educators in Times of a Pandamic. On the Implementation of the CONTESSA Train the Trainer Workshops in Cambodia and Sri Lanka.

Research output: Contribution to conferencesPaperContributed

Abstract

This paper contributes to the domain of teacher education and deals with the challenges of education programs that strongly rely on synchronous and cooperative learning formats. Context is the organization and implementation of workshops for teacher educators in two Asian countries. The workshops´ design requires face-to-face interaction. However, there is uncertainty whether this can be realized due to the Covid-19 pandemic and current travel
restrictions.
The workshops are part of an Erasmus+ Capacity Building in Higher Education project. The CONTESSA (Contemporary Teaching Skills for South Asia) project is built on a cooperation between Austria (project coordinator), Cambodia, Germany and Sri Lanka, including a total of six universities. CONTESSA aims at the further development of teaching skills by establishing a teacher training program in the primary education sector in Cambodia and Sri Lanka. Leading universities in Phnom Penh and Colombo are involved directly in the
content development.
Most learning arrangements developed by the project partners include online or blended-learning formats. This enables a high degree of flexibility in learning. Apart from these so-called online modules, there are additional Train-the-Trainer workshops, which are currently being developed at Dresden University of Technology (TUD) in Germany. In these learning arrangements (scheduled for summer 2021), teacher educators are guided through topics
(e. g. professional development, mentoring) and learning activities that typically demand collaborative learning scenarios. In preparation for a successful program, the workshops need to be designed for both the face-to-face option and the virtual alternative.
The Chair of Adult Education and Continuing Vocational Education at TUD in Germany is happy to address the changing requirements for virtual learning environments and to pass on its own strategies in creating interactive distant learning scenarios. Moreover, the question arises how continuous education programs in teacher training can be organized so that the learners´ can actively participate – especially taking into account the perspective and the
needs of teaching professionals under the given conditions in both Asian countries. In addition, we want to point out how the current situation affects the international cooperation in teacher education with regard to the CONTESSA project.

Details

Original languageGerman
Publication statusPublished - 14 Oct 2021
Peer-reviewedNo

Conference

TitleWork2021 Conference
Abbreviated titleWork Beyond Crises
Conference number
Duration13 - 14 October 2021
Website
Degree of recognitionInternational event
LocationUniversity of Turku
CityTurku
CountryFinland

Keywords