Main idea and objective
The main objective of the project is to foster the implementation of transversal competences in upper secondary education. Transversal competences include knowledge, skills and values that are important for a holistic education based on democratic global citizens. These competences reach beyond individual disciplines and domains of society. In school education they can be enhanced by integration of subject content and cross-disciplinary pedagogical approaches.
In order to enable teachers and teacher students to enhance their students’ acquisition of these competences, the project draws on an action-oriented scenario approach that aligns languages with other disciplines to promote the integration of transversal competences (such as those derived from OECD “21st century skills”, and "The European Reference Framework of Key Competences for Lifelong Learning" (e.g. media literacy, sustainability, democratic citizenship, learning to learn).
We address this focus from two perspectives:
- How to integrate transversal competences into language education -> in practice, topics, tasks and methods addressing transversal competences can be implemented integratively in intercultural communicative language classes.
- How to enhance transversal competences through cross-disciplinary approaches to language education (CLIL/ cross-disciplinary scenarios) -> in practice, topics, tasks and methods addressing transversal competences can be enhanced by linking language(s) with other disciplines such as history or geography.
Thus, through a variety of scenarios and tasks (North & Piccardo, 2018; Ellis & Shintani, 2014), upper secondary students will be supported to acquire transversal competences in an integrative way, e.g. while working together in cross-disciplinary (and/or in the case of tele-collaborations also in transnational) communities of practice.
The various scenarios/projects can be used as the basis of learning and teaching modes (including virtual/transnational tele-collaborations) as well as for portfolio work. Additionally, guidelines for creating digital portfolios will be provided for the documentation of students´ performance.