Bridge21 Project to Develop 21st Century Learning Practices in European Schools
Posted on: 12 November 2015
Trinity College Dublin’s education programme Bridge21 today launches a project run in conjunction with Erasmus + to extend its impact throughout Europe. Bridge21 supports the development of 21st Century learning (21CL) environments within secondary schools by integrating learning activities that are team-based, technology-mediated, project-based and cross-curricular.
Teachers from partner schools in Ireland, Estonia, Germany and Sweden will collaborate to progress the existing Bridge21 model into a transnational model of 21CL with a particular focus on assessment, communities of practice, and different learning styles.
The project will involve an initial immersive experience of the Bridge21 model for 16 teachers from the partner schools. These teachers will form a community of practice and design new learning experiences. Participating teachers will also be developing their skills and competencies in orchestrating and creating active, 21CL experiences, while simultaneously developing a pragmatic, transnational model of 21CL.
Project Manager, Aibhín Bray, said: “This project springs from the shared recognition that we need to integrate the basic, and transversal skills associated with 21CL into mainstream secondary school education.”
“Many teachers wish to develop teaching and learning strategies that incorporate skills associated with 21CL to benefit their students, but they are hampered by numerous factors outside of their control, including the restraints of current practices in curriculum and assessment, and a lack of relevant continuous professional development. This project should help to develop best practices in this area and spread the impact of the Bridge21 programme throughout Europe.”
Research has shown that 21CL approaches will help students to develop the habits and reasoning skills that will permit them to become effective problem-solvers and self-directed learners. However, it has also been highlighted that, without adequate structure, support and scaffolding, the creation of opportunities for young people to develop these skills within the school environment is far from a straight-forward task.
The process of this project will be shared with stakeholders and the European educational community via an open-access project website, while all related publications and results will be housed in perpetuity on the Trinity Access to Research Archive – TARA.