Continuing Intercultural Professional Development ..
Continuing Intercultural Professional Development in Europe
The main theme for the CPD will be representations of cultural media and artefacts fromthe participating countries, such as iconic works of art, literature and music, includingcultural representations of, and by, migrant communities within these nations. Teacherswill be encouraged to appreciate the interconnection between their growing culturalawareness and appreciation, and their approaches to teaching. From the projectpartners' perspective, `professional development' for teachers ought to be understoodas personal and cultural development, rather than narrower `technicist' conceptions ofCPD. The project will embed research, evaluation and dissemination from the outset inorder to analyse and raise awareness of the impact of this approach on teachers andtheir professional development. The project partners will develop, evaluate anddisseminate an online (web-based) Continuing Professional Development (CPD)package for teachers. This CPD will enhance teachers¿ intercultural awareness, theirunderstanding of the educational applications of technology, and their ability to fostercitizenship and intercultural understanding among students in schools. It will alsoprovide a model of CPD that can be utilised to support teacher professionaldevelopment at all stages, from initial teacher training to induction/year one and toteachers moving towards enhanced/expert/experienced status.The starting point for this CPD will be an emphasis on epistemological questioning thatwill require teachers to reflect critically on their current professional and culturalassumptions. They will then be guided through a process that enhances their personaland professional `vocabulary and understanding in order to create a framework in whichinternational professional dialogue can take place around critical pedagogical andcultural issues. The CPD will be delivered via an online learning environment (OLE) thatwill stimulate, provoke and support teachers, bringing them together within a virtualcommunity of enquiry. This approach will be piloted with, and provided free to, groups ofteachers from five EU states, and made available more widely at the end of the Project,following evaluation and assessment of impact.
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