GEOMATECH@Digital teaching practice

Organisation and country where the good practice has been implemented: Association for Hungarian Digital Education (AHDE)

Title: “GEOMATECH@Digital teaching practice” – Community of Practice for using of digital technology in classroom for teaching STEM

Main Theme/Area of intervention: Technology Enhanced Learning

Main objectives: The aim of the national wide “Community of Practice” based CPD upskilling program is to develop a working knowledge for the STEAM teachers in digital pedagogy by sharing knowledge and practices about the use of:

• the digital OER (open educational resources),
• experience-based math and science teaching methods,
• and the gamified interactive educational contents

in the classroom.

After 03/2020 the program focused on the Technology Enhanced “Home-learning”

Target groups addressed: There was a national call for developing the ICT competencies of the teachers and the school applied for both ICT infrastructure and CPD in EdTech. The school appointed the teachers.

Main activities necessary for its realisation: “This was a “Community of Practice” based CPD upskilling program. It is an 84-hour course (72 online, 12 in F2F). The structure of the “”CPD”” course is as follows:Three 8 weeks long periods with two hours Teach-Meet like Skype-meeting week by week (all together 24 weeks) Each teacher had to use the EdTech in her/his classroom Each teacher was mentored and supported individually by TEL expert before the her/his classroom lesson in the Teach-Meet the participants (8 teachers in each learning group) discussed the digital pedagogy behind the used EdTech, the behavior of the students, the effectiveness of the EdTech were used in the lesson, the advantage of the EdTech compering the F2F approach and so on. Finally, the participants gave advice about the improvement of the usage of EdTech. The program was an ongoing professional support and mentoring program for the whole school year. The teachers that teach the same subject and age group – even if they are physically separated from one another – can observe each other’s digital teaching practices in virtual learning groups (8 teachers/groups). The Skype meetings – run by a mentor TEL expert – create new opportunities for connections, learning and sharing knowledge and good practices that otherwise wouldn’t have existed. It gives opportunities for educators to come together (virtually) to learn with, and from, their peers.”

Results achieved: The total number of the participants were 455 from 82 schools (both public and VET schools)

Innovation: The full academic year long “Community of Practice” based CPD upskilling program acted as an organizational development and change management program for developing and fixing digital teaching/learning culture in the schools. At this point, it was a unique program in Hungary.

Transferability: It is fully adaptable.

Impact: Organisation