Coherence - an overall framework?

This is the coherence page, getting a grip on the overall direction of the project.

When we put S-TEAM together, we had a diverse collection of individual ideas for contributions, and we still retain this diversity. The structure of the work packages reflects this diversity and copes with it using themes such as scientific literacy, professional development etc.

One possible way of moving this forward might be to regard the training packages and related items as course modules for a professional development qualification at a European level.  This would fit with the European principles for teacher competence, including the suggestion that teachers should be part of a learning organisation, that they should be lifelong learners and that they should be mobile within Europe.  It also fits with the ideas embodied in the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the European Credit Transfer and accumulation System (ECTS). The qualification could be called:

Science Teaching  in  Europe -  Professional development  - Unified Programme (STEP-UP)

It would carry points according to the EQF level 6 - advanced knowledge of a field of work or study, involving a critical understanding of theories and principles.

The importance of the qualification is that it will be the first to be designed as a European qualification from the beginning, and thus fulfils an important role in one of the EU "Common principles for Quality assurance in higher education..." (EQF brochure p.15):

Quality assurance orientations at Community level may provide reference points for evaluations and peer learning

There is of course no European structure for accrediting or administering this type of programme, since the intention of EQF is to bring coherence to national programmes.  Therefore the national partners will have an essential role in arranging provision and accreditation.  However, much of the course material could be provided online, with a wiki as the basis of a Europe-wide network for participating teachers and the core of a learning organisation for science education.

The full implementation of such a programme is probably beyond the scope of S-TEAM, since we have neither the time nor the resources to run it, but  the next FP7 Call may provide us with an opportunity to submit a proposal.

From the existing training packages we have the basis for two kinds of module:

1) Core competences such as argumentation, collaborative working, dialogic teaching, scientific literacy skills and motivation

2) Specialised competences such as the use of drama, computer animations, Nature of Science, school-university collaboration etc

The table below shows how this might work.