Training for educationalists 

This course is designed for staff members who have an active role in supporting teachers in the organization of VIS projects.

Target audience

The course is suitable for employees working in one of the following areas: 

• Digitization, 
• internationalization, 
• or teacher professionalisation 

Training content

The main goal of this course is to acquire tools and develop skills in order to support teachers with developing international virtual projects. This training will enable participants to enrich current education with an international component, independent of the industry or faculty they work for.  

During the first session, participants will be introduced to the concept of virtual international (VIS) collaboration. They will learn how to support teachers during the creation of VIS projects. Participants will be introduced to different models of virtual exchange pedagogy. The emphasis will be on increasing interaction and dialogue, in order to reinforce cultural understanding. In the second session, participants will learn how to use different cultural models to evaluate education and alter programs.   

They will learn how to use this information to help teachers in adapting the VIS projects accordingly. In order to strengthen international collaboration, participants will also be looking into the theory of virtual exchange pedagogy. The third and final session will focus on impact. Participants will connect the goals of the educational institution to the goals of the VIS project, in order to create sustainable impact in the whole organisation. They will be given practical tools, and tips and tricks in order to gain understanding of the desired impact and make it last.  

Overview

Dates:
– Dutch: friday morning 09.00-12.00 (March 10, March 17, March 24)

– English: tuesday morning 09.30 – 12.30 (April 4, April 18, April 25)

Language:
Dutch or English

Weekly time commitment:
4 hours per week

Total hours:
12 hours

Successful completion:
— Attend all synchronous sessions (3 out of 3)

Learning objectives 

By taking part in this training, participants will:  

• Understand what a virtual international collaboration project is; 

• Understand the basics of Virtual Exchange pedagogy; 
• Be able to support teachers with their VIS projects 
• Understand the problems that teachers may encounter, and know how they can help them with these problems; 
• Learn how to work with different cultural theoretical schemes and base advice on these schemes to promote cultural sensitive teaching; 
• Know how to design an international project based on a learner led approach; 

• Be able to relate the goals of VIS to the vision and goals of the educational institution; 
• Know who to involve inside and outside the organisation, to increase the impact of the VIS-project; 
• Be able to embed the VIS project into the organisation; 
• Be able to determinate the impact of the VIS project, and help teachers design the desired impact; 

Sessions

Session 1: Introduction to virtual international collaboration  

• Learn what virtual international collaboration is, and explore the different options for implementing and integrating VIS projects;  
• Gain knowledge on the Virtual Exchange pedagogy and its benefits;  
• Get inspired by the outcomes and opportunities of VIS projects;  
• Identify the role of virtual exchange pedagogy within virtual international collaboration.   

Session 2: Cultural sensitivity and virtual collaboration  

• Design intercultural learning according to virtual exchange pedagogy;  
• Deepen your understanding of the different cultural models and their impact on education;  
• Give advice on the development of culturally sensitive lessons, based on virtual exchange pedagogy and other cultural models;  
• Increase insight in teaching from a learner led approach within international collaboration;  

• Explore the importance of cultural sensitivity within VIS projects.  

Session 3: Impact of international collaboration  

• Gain tools for making impact with international collaboration;  
• Gain insight on internal and external stakeholders of a VIS project;  
• Disseminate the impact of the VIS project within the educational institution;   

• Relating stakeholders to the intended impact.  

Attendance & participation 

Trainees are expected to be available on the provided timeslots for the full duration of the training and join the online group sessions with working camera and audio. 

Trainees are requires to: 

• Attend all synchronous sessions (3 out of 3)