SUSTAINABLE LEARNER-CENTRED TEACHING - ADVANCED RESOURCES FOR GEORGIA AND CHINA / STAR PROJECT

The contribution deals with the description of joint Erasmus + Project coordinated by Faculty of Education, Masaryk University, Czech Republic applied in the period 2016 - 2019. The overall aim of the project is to address the shortcomings in higher education (HE) across Georgia and China by systematically engaging higher education institutions in new practices with a learner-centred focus. Specific objectives are aimed to build capacities in partner countries (PC) institutions for implementing learner-centered teaching, raise awarenness about learner-centred teaching in PC institutions and society at large and create a basic for cooperation through international network for exchange of experiences. In the project 12 members from 6 countries are involved. The consortium includes 2 types of higher education institutions (HEIs): European HEIs with experience in teacher training and teachers’ continuous professional development; and Georgian and Chinese HEIs that are both in need of and eager to receive training on these matters.

Project activities are divided into the following phases: preparation, design, implementation, and testing. At the preparation stage, a manual for learner-centred teaching will be developed (WP1). The Manual Development team will identify methods that promote learner-centred teaching and best practices for Higher Education, taking into consideration the needs analysis conducted during the project proposal development process. The finalized manual will be piloted during training of trainers (WP2) and, after translated and published. At the design stage, development of a Continuous Professional Development (CPD) unit per PC partners is planned. Each CPD unit will be equipped with relevant infrastructure that serves learner-oriented approach implementation process. After the equipment is purchased, trainers will be trained to implement the learner-centred approach according to the manual. At the implementation stage, involved parties will develop a sustainability strategy and establish an online platform for continuous communication with beneficiaries and all other interested parties. Digital training materials will be distributed to all universities in China and Georgia (WP3). The testing stage involves the development of a project exploitation strategy and plan. It also ensures the sustainability of outcomes by holding workshops that promote the learner-centred approach. These are meant for a wider set of universities in China and Georgia. The workshops will work to incite interest in implementing learner-centred teaching from the teachers and university management (WP5). Quality monitoring strategy applied in the project processing (WP4) implies two-way control: it monitors the project procedures and the content itself.

The project work involves a mix of qualitative and quantitative methods which would provide complementary perspectives on relevant issues. The quantitative research approach accounts for the generation of reliable, objective data that is suitable for examining the short and long term variations of a situations, while the qualitative method provides an in-depth understanding of the reasons and motivations underlying the envisaged changes. Within the poster the results of the structured HEIs needs analysis in involved project institutions will be presented.