DESCRIPTION OF SKILLS AND COMPETENCES ACQUIRED

The course “The World in Your Classroom Tthrough Project Based Learning“ was structured into 11 training modules, each of them focusing on the methodology used in teaching PjBL as applied to teaching English as a modern foreign language. At the end of the course the participants have expressed their evaluation about the effectiveness of the course filling in an inquiry and specifying to what extent their expectations have been fulfilled. Each module has incorporated aspects of English used in conjunction with cross-curricular subjects involving real-world global problems. The contact with participants will remain after the end of the course and the result of the discussed methods will be proved in European projects and they will achieve partnerships between their institutions. The various modules have incorporated ICT tools and resources and the methods entailed in collaborative problem solving. The participants have worked within a group instructional setting. Guidance was given on current theoretical knowledge without being lecture orientated. The trainers have guided, observed, listened, evaluated and provided feedback for each module. Concepts were examined with regard to cross-cultural awareness. This course focused primarily on Teaching English as a Modern Foreign Language. However, teachers of other languages were welcome provided that they were fluent in English. The organisational skills and competences acquired were given even by the titles of the modules: 1) Introduction to PjBL Methodology; 2) 21st Century Skills; 3) Designing a Project; 4) Using ICT Learning and Collaborative Tools; 5) Real-world Problems; 6) Products; 7) Cross-curricular Collaboration; 8) Generating, Defining and Categorizing Problems; 9) Learning, Sharing and Distribution; 10) Role of Facilitator/Leader/Manager; 11) Standards, Assessment and Global Project Workshop. Teachers have put the methodology of Project Based Learning into practice through various tasks using 21st Century Skills, ICT learning tools and web resources in order to design meaningful projects for their own schools. Besides, teachers have completed a project construction plan appropriate to their classroom/students’ requirements which they can update on their return home.