Teacher Academies Project

The third and final TAP-TS Summer School took place as an autumn academy from September 27 to October 1, 2024 under the motto "Beyond borders: Whole school approaches to sustainability education for secondary level educators". The event brought together secondary school teachers, principals and teacher educators from all over Europe to discuss education for sustainable development "beyond borders" from the perspective of the Whole School Approach. This approach to education for sustainable development was highlighted using the example of the Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium Pirna (FSGP) using a mosaic principle developed by the school itself. Other interdisciplinary pedagogical approaches were discussed in other innovative workshops.

The Autumn Academy took place at Friedrich-Schiller-Gymnasium Pirna, the host of the five-day face-to-face event. The school directed by Dr Kristian Raum is the partner school in the TAP-TS consortium and plays a leading role in the development of holistic school concepts. It is located close to the Czech-German border and known as a bilingual school and is committed to democratic, anti-racist and sustainable education. In addition to the events at the school, workshops were also held at extracurricular learning locations. Activities were carried out in the region that offered practical experience in sustainability education and insights into this ecologically and culturally unique border region.

Partners from the Teacher Academy Project - Teaching Sustainability (TAP-TS) gave a full symposium at the recent European Conference on Educational Research in Cyprus. Under the title: “Navigating Uncertainty in a (Post)Digital World: Open Learning Cultures and Resources for Teaching Sustainability in European Teacher Education” the symposium explored and bridged new media sustainability and teacher education themes in relation to TAP-TS.

The symposium explored aspects of uncertainty in a world characterised by digital technology with regard to ESD in Europe drawing on data and experience from Teacher Academy Project-Teaching Sustainability (TAP-TS). Our research and analysis is anchored in a shared theoretical basis in social-constructivism and in particular critical-constructivist perspectives on social learning with a foundation - in the broadest sense - in critical theory.

The first paper "Coping with Uncertainty in Education for Sustainable Development in a Digital World" Nina Grünberger (TU Darmstadt) Judith Maria Neuthard (TU Darmstadt) and Klaus Himpsl-Gutermann (Pädagogische Hochschule Wien) discussed the symposium question on a general level. Introducing and contextualising the topic firmly with open education and the post-digital world the presentation also introduced relevant questions for educational practice and schools which provided a theoretical framing of the inherent uncertainties in pedagogy ESD and digitality.

The second paper presented "Digital media and open learning communities for international sustainability teacher education". Rachel Bowden (TU Dresden University of Technology) Pavlina Hadjitheodoulu (Cyprus Pedagogical Institute) Nikolaos Palavitsinis (EUMMENA) and Mats Westerberg (Luleå University of Technology) had a central focus on questioning how educators’ transdisciplinary relationships across boundaries of academic disciplines institutions (pre- and in-service teacher education primary and secondary schools civil society) and nations facilitated in part through digital media have fostered improvements and even transformations in sustainability education. This offered a thoughtful reflection on how new media have enabled our transdisciplinary community of practice and some challenges and limitations.

The third and final paper of the symposium was titled “Engaging Materials: Fostering Green Values and Sustainable Lifestyle choices through open Educational Resources”. In this presentation Conor Galvin (University College Dublin) Elena Revyakina (Pädagogische Hochschule Wien) Rachel Farrell (University College Dublin) and Joanna Madalińska-Michalak (University of Warsaw) looked at how TAP-TS materials and events engage the challenge of educating towards more sustainable ways of living requires a considerable change in what is taught and how teachers are prepared and supported to meet this change. This provided a discussion of teacher engagement and reflection with the project activities and resources.

In her closing commentary Professor Kondratjuk reflected on the potential of transdisciplinary teacher education for navigating educational and socio-ecological uncertainties and the ways TAP-TS seeks to address this. She noted how the TAP-TS project engages substantively with this challenge at a European level. The project centres on designing assembling testing and validating Learning & Teaching Packages (LTPs) - sets of novel and innovative OERs that take as their start-points the EU GreenComp framework for teaching and learning for sustainability and build towards reflective-engagements that foster values agency and informed life-choices - and help teachers navigate this complex but important area of education.

Our location in the beautiful and innovative “Stelios Ioannou” Learning Resource Centre at the University of Cyprus was perfect!”

Rachel Bowden

From time to time an opportunity comes along that is too good to miss. The Erasmus+ Teacher Academies Initiative was one of those. And TAP-TS was an idea that fit perfectly with the spirit and the detail of that call. So, when we came up with the central idea of designing and road-testing an innovative and challenging series of ‘learning & teaching packages’ - and then sat down to plan and design a project around these, it was like turning on a tap or more accurately a fire hose… and the rest of that story is the Journey to Here!

My name is Conor Galvin and I am based at UCD Dublin College of Social Sciences & Law, Ireland. For my day job, I direct the PhD Structured Programmes at our School of Education which is one of the largest on the island of Ireland. I also lecture and research on green & sustainable education, public policy, and research design & methods within the School and more widely within the College and university. My research interests include green and just transition, sustainable development, policy networks, professional knowledge, and the impact of new and emergent technology on learning and society. I am the principal architect of the TAP-TS project. 

UCD supports a number of strands within TAP-TS. We contribute to all of the work packages in some way, and we lead on WP 5 – which deals with project Communication, Exploitation, Dissemination & Legacy. We are also involved in the design and implementation of TAP-TS packages relating to the nature of resilience – particularly those addressing learning and teaching for sustainability by using what are called ‘serious games’ and task-based scenarios. This strand is worked in partnership with EUMMENA. These materials have been extensively tested in our online workshops and in the various on-site events associated with ALE and at the TAP-TS summer school in Cyprus last year.

Going forward, I’d like to see the TAP-TS methodology becoming an integral aspect of what we do within all teacher education  at UCD School of Education, and I’m delighted with our progress towards this to date. In a better world all student teachers would have access to materials and teaching approaches of the level and quality we are developing within the TAP-TS: I’m happy to be part of a project that is driving this idea forward and of the amazing TAP-TS partnership that is helping us on our way to better learning & teaching for sustainability. 

Conor GALVIN, PhD

Active learning Event 3 – learning together for sustainability education

From 21 to 24 March, over 50 international student teachers, school teachers and teacher educators from 12 European countries came to TU Dresden, University of Technology to explore sustainability education through a wide range of interactive workshops, simulation games and discussions. The three-day face to face event was part of the hybrid course “Sustainable Futures Education: digitality, entrepreneurship, decolonisation and serious games at secondary level” which also included 3 webinars and self-study activities on the TAP-TS Moodle platform.

Pedagogical approaches included collaborative learning in virtual environments, entrepreneurial simulations, transformative learning through games and educational museum activities at extracurricular learning venues. Various aspects of sustainability and education were examined in working groups. The working group on entrepreneurship dealt with the positive mindset that goes hand in hand with the entrepreneurial spirit. "It enables young people to overcome disadvantages, mistakes and problems in life. They learn to overcome challenges, be decisive and take responsibility for their behaviour and activities," explains Dr. Eszter Csepe-Bannert from TAP-TS partner CorEdu. The Digitalisation working group looked at the fundamental environmental, social and economic changes brought about by advancing digitalisation, the Decolonisation working group explored the link between climate change and exploitative and capitalist/colonial ideologies from Europe. In the Games & Simulations working group, participants learnt about the potential of games as an educational tool for disaster prevention, resilience and skills development.

According to the evaluation team, the format was a success: "Participants felt the event was well balanced between theoretical & practical parts and the workshops were consistent without being too similar".  It was also praised that many of the activities were designed to allow participants to network and get to know each other. In their feedback, the guests particularly emphasised the high practical relevance of the activities and their added value for lively, motivating lessons.

TAP-TS Faces: Polytechnic University of Santarém

Welcome to yet another post of the "TAP-TS Faces" series! In this  series of blog posts, we will be introducing you to the faces of TAP-TS, outlining their work with the project and their personal ambition related to the project. And in general, anything else that they're willing to share with us! For this post, we will be hearing from the team at Polytechnic University of Santarém (Susana Colaço, Neusa Branco, Bento Cavadas and Elisabete Linhares).

About us

We are a team of science education and mathematics education teachers from Polytechnic University of Santarém, with experience in initial teacher education courses. Our institution has a strong commitment with sustainability, expressed in several educational initiatives, and community outreach efforts.

What is your role in TAP-TS?

Our role in the TAP-TS project is to collaborate in the design, pilot and validation of a Learning & Teaching Package (LTP) dedicated to Sustainability and Environmental Education, for primary school teachers. Another task is the organization of Active Learning Events, in a hybrid format. These events include online and in-person moments, where participants can experience teaching and learning activities created under the LTPs. 

TAP-TS is a community of teachers highly experienced in teacher education and sustainability. Belonging to this network allowed us to share practical experiences with other teachers with the same interests and concerns in addressing the urgent social and environmental global changes. We are experiencing a strong professional development and personal growth due to the opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration, provided by the TAP-TS project.

Can you share one of our achievements in TAP-TS so far?

Recently, we were awarded the prize of the “Best Poster” at the ATEE Winter Conference 2023, held at the University of Minho, from October 26th to 28th. The poster presented the work “Teaching sustainability for primary schools”, related with the TAP-TS project. We are very proud of this prize and for belonging to the community of the TAP-TS project!

TAP-TS Faces: CorEdu

Welcome to yet another post of the "TAP-TS Faces" series! In this  series of blog posts, we will be introducing you to the faces of TAP-TS, outlining their work with the project and their personal ambition related to the project. And in general, anything else that they're willing to share with us! For this post, we will be hearing from the team at CorEdu.

Meet Eszter & Kerstin

Eszter is founder & managing director of CorEdu, certified trainer, European evaluator and founder of the bridal fashion label estorvin. With her work, she is committed to fair, inspiring and effective vocational training that broadens horizons, promotes talent and enables exchange across national borders. Her special focus lies on fostering entrepreneurship competences of secondary school students and integrating this approach into the regular school curriculum.

Kerstin is working at CorEdu as mobility coach and trainer, and she supports for example apprentices by the organization of their studies abroad. She is furthermore a founder of the online training platform “Mappenkonzept”, which trains students in their preparatory year for the admission to higher education in the design field. Kerstin is a graduate engineer for clothing technology with many years of experience in the textile and fashion industry.

What is your role in TAP-TS?

Eszter is a project leader at CorEdu and working on the development and testing of the LTPs for sustainable entrepreneurship education and Kerstin is supporting Eszter mainly in administrative issues but she also reviews the LTPs on entrepreneurship.

What are you most passionate about when it comes to TAP-TS?

Joining the TAP-TS project was a great opportunity to reflect our longstanding experiences in entrepreneurship education and education for sustainability from different perspectives and bring new ideas into this field. The great partnership with experts in the sustainability field allow us to learn from each other, to exchange good practices and through the outcomes of the project strengthen the European added value in education and training.  Through our focus on sustainable entrepreneurship education we want to foster the entrepreneurial mindset of young people to develop creative ideas for current challenges, to take responsibility for future generations and increase their participation in shaping the future of our planet and society.

Where can people find you? (i.e social media)

www.coredu.de

Instagram: @coreduleipzig

TAP-TS Faces: Technical University of Darmstadt

Welcome to yet another post of the "TAP-TS Faces" series! In this  series of blog posts, we will be introducing you to the faces of TAP-TS, outlining their work with the project and their personal ambition related to the project. And in general, anything else that they're willing to share with us! For this post, we will be hearing from the team at Technical University of Darmstadt.

What is your role in TAP-TS?

Technical University of Darmstadt (TU Darmstadt, Germany) is characterized by a high degree of interdisciplinarity between engineering, natural sciences, humanities and social sciences, which is reflected in both research and study programmes. At the centre of the new research area "Pedagogy of Digitality", which was founded in 2022, is the general pedagogical question of educational processes in the face of a world shaped by digital infrastructures. In particular, questions are addressed along the guiding premise of a more sustainable development of our society from three perspectives - ecological, economic and social. The new department was founded by the new professor Nina Grünberger, who was previously employed at the PH Vienna and was involved in a number of projects there. This means that experience and a great deal of thematic expertise will flow into the TAP-TS project and the associated creation of teaching and learning materials.

What are you most passionate about when it comes to TAP-TS?

As a team – PH Vienna and TU Darmstadt, we are interested in exploring how the two areas of sustainability and digitality are related, and what connects the two discourses. More importantly for TAP-TS, our aim is to establish which pedagogical approaches could be used for school education, specifically at primary level, to introduce the two subjects and educate the younger generation about sustainable use of technology, increase awareness of the impact of technology on the environment and society, and engage them in small actions for a more sustainable future. 

 We hope to contribute to TAP-TS with our expertise in media literacy and sustainability in the digital age as well as with our experience developed in the award-winning project on the life cycle of a smartphone called "ÖHA! - Ecologically sustainable media use at school and beyond" (https://oeha.phwien.ac.at). In 2022, we launched a new learning space called DINA Lab, which stands for “DIgitalität und NAchhaltigkeit” (Digitality and Sustainability), where we develop and test teaching and learning materials, and provide pre-service and in-service teacher training in the areas of sustainability, digitalization and media studies. 

 At the TU Darmstadt, we are already implementing the experiences of TAP-TS in teaching in the BA and MA in Education and in the teacher training programme. We are also setting up a NADI-Lab based on the DINA Lab at the PH Vienna and integrating it into the existing ComputerStudienWerkstatt at the TU Darmstadt. We are already working with TAP-TS learning materials in numerous projects and workshops with student teachers and in-service teachers.

Where can people find you? (i.e social media)

TAP-TS Faces: University College of Teacher Education Vienna

Welcome to yet another post of the "TAP-TS Faces" series! In this  series of blog posts, we will be introducing you to the faces of TAP-TS, outlining their work with the project and their personal ambition related to the project. And in general, anything else that they're willing to share with us! For this post, we will be hearing from the team at University College of Teacher Education Vienna

What is your role in TAP-TS?

University College of Teacher Education Vienna (PH Vienna), Austria’s largest teacher training institution, offers a program of primary, secondary, vocational and special needs teacher education as well as CPD courses. PH Vienna researchers and educators contribute to TAP-TS with their expertise in the field of digital technology and sustainability, bringing experience from a number of ongoing projects at both national and international levels. 

The PH Vienna team coordinates work on the development, validation, and publishing of seven sets of high-quality, open and flexible learning and teaching packages, incorporating innovative resources and pedagogical approaches. These packages aim to develop a European and international perspective towards learning in a digital world, sustainability, equity and inclusion.

What are you most passionate about when it comes to TAP-TS?

As a team – PH Vienna and TU Darmstadt, we are interested in exploring how the two areas of sustainability and digitality are related, and what connects the two discourses. More importantly for TAP-TS, our aim is to establish which pedagogical approaches could be used for school education, specifically at primary level, to introduce the two subjects and educate the younger generation about sustainable use of technology, increase awareness of the impact of technology on the environment and society, and engage them in small actions for a more sustainable future. 

 We hope to contribute to TAP-TS with our expertise in media literacy and sustainability in the digital age as well as with our experience developed in the award-winning project on the life cycle of a smartphone called "ÖHA! - Ecologically sustainable media use at school and beyond" (https://oeha.phwien.ac.at). In 2022, we launched a new learning space called DINA Lab, which stands for “DIgitalität und NAchhaltigkeit” (Digitality and Sustainability), where we develop and test teaching and learning materials, and provide pre-service and in-service teacher training in the areas of sustainability, digitalization and media studies. 

 At the TU Darmstadt, we are already implementing the experiences of TAP-TS in teaching in the BA and MA in Education and in the teacher training programme. We are also setting up a NADI-Lab based on the DINA Lab at the PH Vienna and integrating it into the existing ComputerStudienWerkstatt at the TU Darmstadt. We are already working with TAP-TS learning materials in numerous projects and workshops with student teachers and in-service teachers.

Where can people find you? (i.e social media)

TAP-TS Faces: Mats Westerberg

Welcome to the third post of the "TAP-TS Faces" series! In this series of blog posts, we will be introducing you to the faces of TAP-TS, outlining their work with the project and their personal ambition related to the project. And in general, anything else that they're willing to share with us! For this post, we will be hearing from Mats Westerberg from K & R Education.

A little about me

I have always had a strong interest in learning more about foreign cultures and travelled as backpacker extensively both in Europe and all over the world in my late teens and early twenties. I am an engineer by basic training and trained in social sciences as a researcher. I normally work as professor at the entrepreneurship and innovation subject at Luleå University of Technology, but I also work for KR Education in some projects - such as this - where I use my 30 + years of experience as educator and researcher to help TAP-TS become as successful as possible in the role as ongoing project evaluator.

My work

Formative assessment – providing feedback with the purpose to improve rather than to judge if something is good or bad – has always been at center when I teach. When I learnt about Carol Dweck’s Mindset Theory, it helped me realize that life-long learning is not just a catch phrase, but actually possible and desirable for all. If we focus on learning and development instead of just performing well, we can lead better lives and have less anxiety in our daily activities. Promoting this dynamic mindset is something I try to do every day both for myself and for those I work with. Becoming more sustainable is a lot about learning and development as the best measures for becoming more sustainable depend on context and situation. Even if we know a lot about the “big picture” of what we need to strive towards, situation and context will always play a role and therefore it is central to always allow for learning and development. I like the green competence framework as it highlights that sustainability is complex, but yet a set of competences that can be learnt if we decide to do so. As my main competence as educator and researcher is entrepreneurship, I can clearly see that being entrepreneurial is central for achieving sustainability goals, which also the green competence framework portrays.

K & R Education

Our mission is to strengthen the individual’s inner drive through education.

We help preschools, schools, and other organizations to develop through education activities and on-going evaluation activities. Our company was established 1990 and has since the start worked closely with practice to apply state-of-the-art educational methodologies and modern pedagogy. We are trained pedagogues, in-service teachers, teachers’ educators, and certified on-going evaluators with a broad competence. Together with our customers and partners, we customize efforts to attain measurable results and permanent sustainable long-term effects. We have our office in Malmo, but we work with customers and partners all over Sweden and Europe. We are passionate about bringing sustainability and sustainability competences to the forefront as an educational common thread all over Europe- in courses, among teachers, in classrooms. We are also passionate about the connection between Green Competences and Entrepreneurial Competences as it is though entrepreneurial actions sustainability is achieved in practice!

TAP-TS Faces: Marie Kniest

Welcome to the second post of the "TAP-TS Faces" series! In this series of blog posts, we will be introducing you to the faces of TAP-TS, outlining their work with the project and their personal ambition related to the project. And in general, anything else that they're willing to share with us! For this post, we will be hearing from Marie Kniest from K & R Education.

A little about me

I have worked with people throughout my entire life, starting in emergency care, and then shifting my focus to the education sector. I have worked at all levels of the Swedish education system, from preschool to university, serving as a teacher, process leader, development leader, and assistant principal. I have a degree in Social Science, Educational Science, and Entrepreneurship. I am particularly interested in the holistic approach to how everything is interconnected—competencies, learning, language, interculturality, etc. In TAP-TS, I am one of the evaluators, with a focus on formative assessment.

My work

My everyday work revolves around mindset, entrepreneurial learning, and pedagogical organizational development. I am passionate about helping others succeed, both kids, youngsters and adults, through lifelong learning linked to the entrepreneurial mindset. I focus on development and learning instead of what is "right" and what is "wrong." With an entrepreneurial approach, our focus is on the positive and what works, ultimately making learning more sustainable. In this work, entrepreneurial skills and sustainability competencies in Green Comp complement each other, very well. In our assignments, we are often inside organizations, schools, preschools, for an extended period, 2-3 years, sometimes longer, as process development takes time and must be given time, especially for sustainable organizational development.

Our website

Get in touch with Marie

K & R Education