RESEARCH & RESOLVE PROJECT (R&R): AN EXAMPLE OF AN INNOVATIVE CURRICULUM DESIGN TO PROMOTE PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCES IN PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS

Summary
The goal of this project is to enhance personal and professional competences in students teachers by an innovative curriculum. The Bologna Declaration on the ESHE expects undergraduate students to develop abilities to solve relevant problems in specific domains. This requires conceptual and procedural knowledge and general skills, such as web searching, writing or teamwork abilities. As university teachers, we are responsible for designing activities that elicit these knowledge and skills on students. To do so, we designed the Research and Resolve (R&R) project, which asks students to solve problems concerning teaching daily tasks. R&R involves designing an innovative curriculum and requires the coordination of eight university teachers.

Why do we launch this innovative project?
The Bologna Declaration on the ESHE established the promotion of competences that enable students to solve real professional and/or social situations as a primary goal. Solving problems involves a complex set of skills, including conceptual and procedural knowledge and general skills such as web searching, data analysis, writing composition and, personal and interpersonal abilities. For instance, a Primary School teacher who has immigrant students in a classroom with students with racist attitudes has to be able to manage the problem, which includes identifying the students' hostile behaviors and the immigrant's reactions to these behaviors; she also has to be able to design actions to prevent segregation; she also should be able to communicate the situation to students' parents; and so on. As university teachers we are in charge of designing activities that elicit this knowledge and skills in student. Accordingly, we designed the R&R project for our student teachers as part of two subjects of the Degree in Education at the Universidad de Cantabria, Spain.

What shall we ask students to do?
We shall ask them to form small groups and solve real cases concerning teaching daily tasks. Each group must analyze and research the case to finally suggest solutions to the problem described in the case. The solution has to be written, presented in classroom, and delivered through Moodle.

What shall we do as teachers?
We should work out cases related to the teaching practice. We also should supervise the analysis and research done by the students. This consists of suggesting appropriate literature and assisting each group in the analysis of the assigned case, apart from evaluating the student personal and professional competences displayed on the accomplishment of their R&R project.

What are the expected effects of the R&R project on learning?
In solving the R&R project, students would acquire knowledge and develop personal and professional competences, such as gathering information about a specific real-world problem, managing diverse information to analyze the case, debating with their mates in order to arrive at conclusions, writing a research report and, communicating with others. Also, the R&R project would enhance students motivation because it involves real teaching scenarios.