Primary Students and Creative Competence: Thriving in the Unknown

Description

We now thrive in a culture of innovation. More than half of the jobs our children will pursue in their future lives do not even exist yet.  

Accordingly, as teachers, we need to provide pupils with the proper tools to navigate a changing world. What learners need to acquire at school are competencies and skills to be successful in an unknown future – rather than content knowledge and conformity!

The course will introduce participants to Performance-Based Learning (PBL), i.e., as an innovative approach to teaching and learning that is ready for the challenge of innovation.

Performance-Based Learning (PBL) focuses on creating tasks related to real-world situations, and that require learners to teamwork and deploy a full set of competencies to succeed.  

As such, PBL allows pupils to demonstrate their acquired knowledge and skills in practical and applied settings and prompts the development of soft skills and higher-order thinking skills (HOTS).  

The course will familiarize the participants with the different aspects of structuring teaching and learning in the PBL approach.  

Participants will learn to value process over product and discover non-traditional methods to develop and evaluate children’s abilities and attitudes, as well as their achievements. Moreover, participants will understand how to implement the ‘four Cs’ (critical thinking, collaboration, communication, and creativity) into classroom activities.

The course will also offer precious advice and tips on how to make students fully engaged, take ownership of their work, and activate their higher-order thinking skills.  

By the end of the course, participants will feel more confident in increasing their learners’ motivation, real cohesiveness, and the overall school climate.  

They will master the basics of a new methodology to provide children with the essential skills and practice they will need for careers as they evolve over time.

Concept by Petra Candida Mundy

Learning outcomes

The course will help the participants to understand how to: 

• Support and celebrate failure that leads to progress;
• Give choice and voice from early childhood;
• Build teams and celebrate the success of others;
• Use the key competencies to develop learning skills;
• Create a positive school atmosphere through project work and TBL;
• Help children work in groups and take decisions;
• Implement self and peer evaluation.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Course introduction & setting goals

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
• Icebreaker activities using drama for trust and ensemble building;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools;
• Identification of needs and goals for each participant and relevant populations;
• A reality check on our current situations, attitudes, and opinions about how teaching and learning happen;
• The theory and practice of creative and critical thinking and how we can adapt our materials and resources to promote them.

Day 2 – Liven up your lessons

• Are my classes boring?
• Creating activities and interaction patterns that incorporate a variety of competencies and skills to make potentially dull content more attractive to and useful for learners.

Day 3 – Student inclusion

• Involving the learners in the educative planning;
• Correction and evaluation process to promote responsibility;
• Autonomy and emotional intelligence.

Day 4 – Resolving conflicts

• Identification and resolution of common classroom conflicts, through brainstorming and analyzing case scenarios;
• Using role-play and drama to promote collaboration and critical thinking.

Day 5 – Designing your own PLS

• First a look at the theory of working on projects and task-based learning;
• The practice;
• Design a practical learning situation to present to your colleagues.

Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.

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