The MASTER Transnational Training was held online in July. The activity allowed MASTER project partners’ staff members, trainers, and experts to exchange and strengthen their competences for the delivery of tailored non-formal learning activities addressing Personal, Social and Learning to Learn (PSL) competence. These learning activities will be engaging low-skilled adults, specifically in the selected target groups (unemployed, migrants, adults with vulnerable backgrounds), to help them develop and reinforce their PSL competence.
The key outcomes of the training
During the event, participants shared specific key principles on which they can base planned training activities as foreseen in the MASTER Plan. The outcomes of the process included:
- enhancing the value of learning and ensuring that it is learner/user-centred, starting from their experience, their point of view and gradually building on them,
- fostering the link between learning and the world of work,
- enhancing the value of assessment and embedding reference practices in learning,
- supporting the learners in becoming aware of their learning path and their progress.
The participants acknowledged the significance of engaging learners and discussed how can that be achieved. It’s important to make sure that the learners understand the process and its outcomes. Another remark emphasised flexibility during the implementation of the training. The training should address all the set targets and provide the means necessary to reach them.
Following the session on Gender, participants agreed that Master Plan should also monitor gender differences, stereotypes, and bias with specific reference to the access to the world of work. The results will impact the preparation and implementation of the trainings. Preparation also includes the collection of assessment data, while looking into what actions should be taken when necessary (i.e., increase number of participants based on gender etc).
Sharing ideas and preparing for the next phase
While exchanging some very interesting ideas, it was suggested that MASTER should systemise the process’s results. Doing so will allow to better integrate the MASTER plan – or parts of it – within the curricula and/or regular activities of interested organisations. The integration can also be supported by creating an online space that brings together learning resources about PSL competence. Further building on the discussion, an idea came up to support and invest in the community of Adult Education practitioners and users. It can be an outcome of the process, which will help to further exploit the project outputs.
Overall, the outcomes of the MASTER Transnational Training show how positive this peer learning activity was for all the participants. According to the participants, “the training was a space to share and exchange views useful to learn, to but also build up on things shared – using our own experiences, expertise and practices.”
The training helped to better identify MASTER project’s main strengths. All partners believe that the training gave them very interesting insights for the MASTER Plan testing phase – starting in September – while assuring the sustainability of the MASTER results in the upcoming future.
Text: Chiara Marchetta (FORMA.Azione), MASTER project manager
Partners in the project are FORMA.Azione, Italy; Università degli Studi Roma Tre, Italy; SWAPWest, Scotland; Kerigma, Portugal; DOREA, Cyprus; and EAEA, Belgium.
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