innovative learning environments · innovative learning environments international seminar and...

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Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI), OECD

Utdanningsdirektoratet, Norway

Innovative Learning Environments

International Seminar and Meeting of Participating Systems

THE ILE ‘UNIVERSE’ – CASES TO DATE

This document contains summaries of the innovative learning environments that have been

submitted by 12 participating systems and included in the project “Universe”. Additional

information is awaited for other cases and a number of participating systems have not yet

submitted their ILEs.

CONTENTS

AUSTRIA ............................................................................................. 3

CANADA-ALBERTA ........................................................................ 19

DENMARK ........................................................................................ 21

FINLAND ........................................................................................... 22

GERMANY-THURINGIA ................................................................. 31

HUNGARY ........................................................................................ 36

MEXICO-NUEVO LEON .................................................................. 40

NORWAY .......................................................................................... 45

PORTUGAL ....................................................................................... 48

SLOVENIA ........................................................................................ 50

SWITZERLAND-BERN .................................................................... 53

SWITZERLAND-TICINO ................................................................. 57

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AUSTRIA

ID ILE case Austria001-SP

Name of the ILE BRG&WRG 8

Location/Address Feldgasse

Country Austria

Website http://www.feldgasse.at

Age range 10 - 18 years

Duration of ILE

Keywords student-centered; holistic; social learning

BRG&WRG 8, an inner city school with high social and cultural diversity, applies

innovative teaching methods permitting students to learn from one another and allows

individualization of the learning process. The school aims to help students become self-reliant and

independent individuals capable of lifelong learning and able to use today's media in a responsible

and critical manner. It expects students to develop social competencies in addition to cognitive

ones.

In the 2nd and 4th years, students learn a variety of student-centred learning methods, including

Eigenverantwotliches Arbeiten (independent learning), open learning, projects, and assessment

according to defined learning aims. There is further individualization through the use of the

Moodle platform and the provision of learning materials via the local IT network.

In order to meet the needs of students from diverse linguistic backgrounds, extraining for reading

and a "reading pass" has been introduced. Moreover, the dual language programme in the lower

cycle and the use of English as a working language with native speaker support in the upper cycle,

especially in the sciences, help prepare the students for an international working environment.

In the afternoons, additional support is offered to students in the main subjects, and sports and

creative subjects are offered. Students are allowed to either learn individually or participate in

activities with others. It should be noted that special attention is paid to students who have an

immigrant background.

In the upper cycle, the organization of learning is especially innovative. Based on a modular

principle, the curriculum is divided into standard courses and elective courses, allowing students

to make their own timetable. In what is called 'special era' projects, students work individually and

independently on interdisciplinary topics from Germany, history and arts, while documenting

http://www.feldgasse.at/

their progress in a portfolio. There is also an emphasis on social skill development - combined

lessons are offered in communication, cooperation, and conflict resolution for first years and peer

mediation is provided by upper cycle students.

All teachers at the school have university degrees in their subjects. Teachers teaching school in

specific subjects have obtained various post-graduate certificates. Some have acquired additional

qualifications at the university colleges of teacher education and have participated in in-service

teacher training.

The student portfolios are used for their assessment and also to assess that of the schools.

Additionally, enhanced forms of performance assessment are used including tests within the scope

of piloting national standards for education. Other evaluations are planned for the school,

including the assessment by experts of the modular approach of the upper cycle.

Name of the ILE Hauptschule HIMBERG

Location/Address Himberg

Country Austria

Website http://www.hauptschule-himberg.at


Duration of ILE

Keywords creative & social learning; student-contributed; collaborative;

interdisciplinary; project-based

Hauptschule Himberg aims to empower students to acquire the subject matter competencies they

need, with top priority being accorded to the best possible personal result for each individual. It

attempts to do so by basing the instruction on the principle of creative social learning. This

includes a compulsory unit dedicated to enabling students to develop social skills, to find out how

they perceive themselves and are perceived by others, to learn how to work and live in a group,

how to solve problems in a team, how to deal with aggression, how to manage conflicts, etc.

The school uses a variety of measures to achieve its stated goals: targeted remedial and support

measures; team teaching; involvement of students in decision-making and delegation of

responsibilities to students; special-focus weeks; orientation week for first-year students; joint-

activity weeks, which consists of project week (year 5), summer sports week (year 6), winter

sports week and language week in the UK (years 7 and 8, alternatively); joint planning and

organization of end of year party with students and parents - opportunity for graduates to visit;

close contacts with graduates, with a special focus on feedback on the value of the knowledge

acquired at the general secondary school; use of English as a working language; and, Information

Technology.

http://www.hauptschule-himberg.at/

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The teaching activities include individual work, seminar teaching, station teaching, optional

exercises, which include research lab, creative design, music group, dance, nutrition, football,

volleyball, karate, gymnastics, etc., special curricula for learning fields (used under the umbrella

of school autonomy), interdisciplinary teaching, practice-relevant vocational orientation with one-

on-one counseling for parents and students, and an incorporation of various pedagogical

principles (SOL, Montessori, Klippert, etc.).

In addition to having undergone the prescribed education for teaching at a general secondary

school, most of them have additional qualifications in different areas. The school places an

emphasis on having a diverse range of competencies among its teaching staff. Teachers also pay

close attention to the concept of role perception - being part of a greater whole with lots of

personal freedom and options, and understanding that common objectives for the students can be

attained in different ways. They also coach trainee teachers and counsel students on vocational

orientation.

Student progress, in addition to being measured by traditional written and oral tests, is assessed

through project work, portfolios, performances, talks, presentations, exhibitions, competitions,

tournaments, and journals.

The school has been part of a government pilot program on the development of educational

standards. An external evaluation was conducted to assess the English as working language

program by the University College of Teacher Education in Baden. Currently, the school is

partaking in the COMENIUS project with 7 other European countries. The school continuously

incorporates insights gained from deliberate perception and observation to better itself.

Name of the ILE Integrative Lernwerkstatt Wien Brigittenau

Location/Address Wien, Vorgartenstrasse

Country Austria

Website http://www.lernwerkstatt.or.at


Duration of ILE 1997 - present

Keywords mixed-age; individual autonomy; social learning

This ILE, which is a state school run by the municipality of Vienna, has all mixed-age classes

(10) with a reform pedagogy focus for students. All classes integrate disabled children into them.

Structurally, the school is a full-day school (open school) with two full-day focus days planned for

the future (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 to 16:00). Students spend part of their time in

courses, which are offered in groups, formed based on interests, abilities, and needs. There are

also a range of activities offered in the afternoon, characterized by a high level of flexibility for

staff in terms of who works where, as well as by a relatively high autonomy for pupils in terms of

mobility and activities, all within clearly defined limits in terms of space and time.

http://www.lernwerkstatt.or.at/

Emphasis is also placed on building active relationships between all stakeholders, the

development of a constructive culture of conflict resolution, as well as projects aimed at

preventing violence and raising gender awareness. These efforts contribute to the school's focus

area, which can be described as "schooling the senses and nurturing social skills".

The learning is organized so that there is a high degree of individualization and differentiation in

the learning process. Project-based learning affords students' opportunities to learn from others

across age and other categories. Interactions between facilitators and students are guided by the

principle of mutual respect. The instruction is based on reform pedagogy, and applies principles of

Montessori, Freinet, Jena plan and variants of open learning. The school makes used of the

renovated school building as well as the outdoors, an example of which is the tree-house that is

being built in the school courtyard, in the learning process. The goals is to provide children,

especially those with disabilities, a friendly environment that is geared to the children's need and

provides adequate framework for living and learning at school.

The term "learning facilitators" is used to collectively describe all the educational staff, regardless

of whether they are deployed primarily in teaching or in after-school supervision. This is a

preliminary step in merging all learning, coaching, and support activities provided by all our staff

members in the best possible manner.

Feedback on learning progress and on current focal points of learning activities is provided

regularly in the form of personal presentations made by the pupils to parents and facilitators on a

portfolio basis. For the purposes of internal evaluation of the school among parents and teachers, a

"quality committee", which has members from all groups of stakeholders, has supplied valuable

feedback and data in 2 large-scale surveys, with high return rates, conducted in 2007 and 2009.

There is no funding available at this time for external evaluation.

Name of the ILE GTVS Europaschule

Location/Address Vorgartenstrabe, Wien

Country Austria

Website http://www.europaschule-wien.com


Duration of ILE

Keywords project-based, individualized, mentoring, cultural learning

GTVS Europaschule has expanded the standard curriculum to cover topical and global issues:

technologies of the future, intercultural competencies, climate change etc. Every year, several

projects are carried out by the whole teaching team with all the children in the school. Learning

and recreational activities are interlined at the school, whose latest contemporary focus includes a

project on obesity prevention in cooperation with a physician, psychologist, and nutritionists. To

increase the involvement of parents in the learning process, beyond the cooperation in classes and

with the parents' association, the school has set up a "cultural cafe" where parents (especially

http://www.europaschule-wien.com/

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those with an immigrant background) and teachers can meet once a month outside of school to

discuss relevant topics.

The school aims to promote global citizenship competencies and enhance intercultural skills. It

attempts to empower students on a personal level, and bestow social and ecological responsibility

on them. Also, it seeks to familiarize learners with real-life situations and understandings of

interdependencies.

There school also places an emphasis on diversification of languages. In addition to English as a

standard foreign language from year 1, it also offers Italian, Turkish, though with insufficient

demand, and students' native languages such as Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian. A mentoring

project - "Balu und du" - has been developed, and staffed by students from Vienna College of

Teacher Education, to serve children with special social needs. Individualized support in all

classes is ensured through, project-oriented teaching, and the "support round about", in which

children from all forms attend non-form-specific remedial lessons where they are assigned to

small groups to cater specifically to their individual needs and problems.

Students are afforded the opportunity to select from a variety of special-focus topics - outdoor,

language or creative activities, sports, therapy units, etc. There is also the opportunity to select

recreational activities for leisurely interests and the opportunity to be a part of the school council,

which lets students be a part of important decision made about the school.

All teachers hold teacher's diplomas. Some of them have university degrees in sociology, special

needs and ortho-therapeutic pedagogy, and intercultural competencies. The leisure coaches have

appropriate education and training. Other staff members have additional qualifications in areas

such as special needs, speech therapy, kinetic learning, drama pedagogy, creative design, Warnke

method (dyslexia support), etc.

Various evaluations are/have been performed. The mentoring project is being evaluated by the

University of Osnabrück and the cultural cafe initiative by a graduate of Danube University

Krems. The school participates in various competitions and award processes for benchmarking

purposes (for example, the school won the ESIS award for innovative language projects in 2005

and 2008, and the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development Award in 2007).

Learning outcomes are also assessed and verified through communication with secondary-level

schools the graduates transfer to.

Name of the ILE Hauptschule St. Marein bei Graz

Location/Address St. Marein/Graz

Country Austria

Website http://www.hs-marein.at


Duration of ILE 20 years

http://www.hs-marein.at/

Keywords individualized; socio-emotional learning; interdisciplinary; project-

based; mixed-age; teacher-teacher collaboration

Hauptschule St. Marein bei Graz was founded on the belief that school development is a process

that is in need of continuous evaluation, reflection, enhancement, modification and amendment.

The school has progressed in close collaboration with a network of innovative schools.

It aims to provide a stable emotional environment in the classroom where students can feel at

ease, and offer a sense of belonging and family, for those who are not fortunate enough to have it

at home. KL:IBO project launched at the school offers professional support and guidance to the

students when it comes to developing personalities, personal perspectives, and visions for the

future. The focus is on each student's strengths and aptitudes, which helps to develop individual

abilities. This is achieved through strength portfolios, vocational orientation, and individualized

open teaching. In addition, students' self-reliance is developed through differentiation and

individualization, via ongoing efforts in organizational development to improve cognitive

achievement.

Six to seven 45-minute units of instruction is provided every day. Furthermore, 25 minutes of

coaching and support activities take place daily. The first three units are dedicated to

German, mathematics, and English, which are taught using within-class differentiation divided

into basic courses and exercises. Instead of homework, students get weekly work schedules which

for the most part can be completed at school with teacher guidance. The remaining units of each

day are devoted to topic-specific interdisciplinary project-based instruction, covering all subjects.

Organizationally, there are mixed-age classes and permanently assigned classrooms (homerooms).

Small teams of teachers collaborate and there are rituals at the school that include morning circle,

discussion of topics, presentations, festivities and celebrations. Teachers are given the flexibility

to develop individual unit contents. The surroundings are utilized in the learning process through

outdoor teaching, field trips, and excursions. Students support their peers and are given the option

to select their groupmates in project work.

Teachers possess the prescribed education that is required of instructors in general secondary

and/or special schools. Most also have additional training in diverse fields such as social learning,

Jena plan pedagogy, dyslexia, dyscalculia, school development, and information technology. Staff

meetings are organized to share the available knowledge and expertise.

The school model is subject to both self- and external-assessment. In the summer of 2009, a

research study has been proposed, which would be conducted in cooperation with the University

College of Teacher Education of Styria.

Name of the ILE Volksschule 23 Klagenfurt - Wölfnitz

Location/Address Klagenfurt

Country Austria

Website http://ww.vs-klagenfurt23.ksn.at

http://ww.vs-klagenfurt23.ksn.at/

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Duration of ILE

Keywords individualized, interdisciplinary, student-directed

Volksschule 23 Klagenfurt is a school that has marked ecological orientation and demands active

learner participation. It has been rated an ECOLOG school for 6 years now. It aims to offer

children up-to-date, individualized and differentiated teaching in mathematics and German in

order to proactively counteract dyscalculia and to provide efficient support strategies to children

with dyslexia problems as early as possible. The school develops and applies interdisciplinary

curricula, with mathematics as the starting point. Learners have responsibility for their own

learning, working independently during periods of open learning, and at their own speeds, yet in

line with learning schedules applicable for longer periods of time (6-8 weeks).

Up-to-date teaching methods comprise of, but are not limited to: developing team and problem-

solving skills, providing a sustainable foundation for learning later in life, paying special attention

to different starting levels for learning, different aptitudes and skills, and different learning speeds,

keeping in mind that not being able to understand implies a lack of knowledge; learning contents

are to be acquired, consolidated, and exercised through active, explorative and hands-on learning,

for information cannot be converted into knowledge unless it means something to the learner, and

remembering that learning achievements depend on prior knowledge as well.

Children's interest in higher numbers in not discouraged and golden bead decimal material up to

10000 is used in dyscalculia prevention efforts. Reading/writing-learning principles are applied

according to the "Kieler Leseaufbau" and "Lautgetreu Lese-Rechtschreibförderung von Carola

Reuter-Liehr" programmes, which aid children with dyslexia problems.

The school environment is based on Montessori pedagogy, with mutual respect and appreciation

as the underlying principles of interaction. Pupils work independently and individually on

learning letters, numbers and the multiplication table based on pre-planned working units.

Following recent insights from dyslexia research, at primary level 1 only words whose spelling is

phonetically regular and a few high-frequency in the mandatory vocabulary is taught.

In addition to legally required qualifications, teachers are proficient in Montessori and Freinet

pedagogy, undergo school librarian training, and participate in a course focused on developmental

problems in children. There is extensive collaboration among teachers at the primary level and

best practices are shared. Teachers have become facilitators and coaches in the learning process,

instead of following a "lone wolves" approach.

In 2007/08 the school was an IMST pilot school. There are ongoing surveys of learning outcomes

and an external evaluation by IMST is planned. For students, reading and writing screening

according to the Salzberg model is followed from year 1, and mathematics testing based on the

Eggengerger model is in the planning stage.

Name of the ILE BRG/BORG Landeck

Location/Address Römerstrasse

Country Austria

Website http://www.brg-landeck.tsn.at



Keywords interdisciplinary; computer-based

BRG/BORG places much emphasis on its student learning information technology. The school

caters to learners aged 10-18 who were assessed "very good" or "good" at primary school. In the

very first year, students receive grounding in using the computer, emails and the school's learning

platform. In the lower cycle, IT is taught 2-5 days per week as a compulsory subject under school

autonomy provisions, depending on the selected focus. IT is chosen by two thirds of all students,

and music/creativity is chosen by approximately one third of all students. In the IT branch,

students attain the ECDL level in the lower cycle, and in the music/creativity branch students are

required to develop music projects into performance-level maturity and they are performed at

internal and public events.

The school offers many optional exercises such as recreation and sports activities. In recent years,

up to 100 students have also been part of the drama group and have carried out large-scale

projects. Furthermore, in the school's own studio, the media team produces short films,

documentaries, and interviews that are made available to the local TV station. Some live events

have been broadcast over the internet. Also, in an interdisciplinary cooperation with music, the

cartoon group produced a number of award-winning cartoon and animated films, which were

broadcast on Japanese and Bavarian TV. Since the 2008/09 year, a separate group has been

devoting itself to robotics and in preparing for Robocup 2009. The chess group at the school has

won several regional and national awards.

The school is equipped with many modern amenities. Every room has a PC, a video projector, and

a large projection screen. The school has a modern server structure, a Moodle platform, the web

2.0 Mahary platform with blogs and e-portfolio. Plans are in the works for hotspots for laptop

based learning.

Teachers facilitate the learning process on the learning platform, which offers training material for

students to practice at home. Students who do not have internet or PC access at home are allowed

to access the computer rooms outside of teaching hours. The platform utility is most significant in

cross-disciplinary and inter-institutional projects. One such project is the current project in

Biology and English - "Forest" - that is being carried out in cooperation with the higher-level

academic secondary school Schopenhauserstrasse.

Many teachers have acquired the required knowledge in ECDL and INTEL courses. They have

been and are learning how to use the computer and new media in a number of school-specific

INSET event and through the eBuddys system.

http://www.brg-landeck.tsn.at/

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An external evaluation of the school was conducted by the University of Innsbruck within the

framework of eLSA in 2007. Another external evaluation was conducted in 2005 within the

framework of School Portraits Austria. A further internal evaluation is planned for this year.

Name of the ILE Höhere Lehranstalt für wirtschaftliche Berufe des Zisterziensertiftes

Zwettl (HLUW) special focus on Environment and Business

Location/Address Schulestrasse 13, Yspertal

Country Austria

Website http://www.hlaysper.ac.at

Age range year 9 - year 13


Keywords self-determined; open learning; holistic; theme based;

HLUW aims to respond to the issue of globalization and the dominance of technology in the

world economy, as well as to related problems of the environment in which we live. At the subject

level, the objective is to educate "eco-social" managers for small and medium-sized enterprises.

The school attempts to create specialist networkers, analysts, and project managers who solve

ecological, economic and social problems in companies and organizations. General learning aims

also include high commitment, consistency, frustration tolerance, and accepting "foreign"

elements. The focus lies on laboratory engineering and management engineering skills.

At the methodological level, the school has implemented the following principles since its

foundation in response to societal challenges to the 21st century: The view of the whole is

preferable to the details, supremacy of practice over theory - theoretical instruction is built around

practical experiences and theory and practice are assessed jointly.

Four weeks of project instruction, blocked in modules, are offered per year in which students

obtain an understanding of how companies actually work. In dedicated learning weeks at the start

and end of the term (teaching projects), learner related pedagogical methods are used - from self-

determined, open learning to team work and developing assessment proposals for the team

members. A structured, pre-scientific project report and its presentation mark the end of at least

15 project assignments students submit in the course of 5 years at the school.

In practical exercises, students learn to keep accurate records in line with established standards.

These exercises focus on completion of such assignments that are necessary for the school and the

affiliated boarding school and are of practical relevance (for example: repairs, furniture

manufacturing, turning waste into compost and selling it via JUNIOR firms). The affiliated

boarding school promotes life-long learning skills through a variety of self-reliance activities.

Students also acquire "real world" experience by becoming toxic substances officers, quality

managers, safety officers, etc.

http://www.hlaysper.ac.at/

Teachers, in addition to the standard training and education, undergo internal and external

preparation for specific challenges. They do not have rigid roles, and are flexible and innovative,

making them excellent facilitators to the school's overall goals.

The school is an ISO 9001,14000 and ECOLOG certified school. It is a member of the Global

Marshall plan initiative and has received the Austrian Environmental Quality Seal. The school has

published sustainability reports in the last 3 years and its graduates have gone on to have excellent

opportunities in European and Austrian labor markets.

Name of the ILE Lernwerkstatt im Wassserschloss (LSW) Pottenbrunn - Privatschule

mit Öffentlichkeitsrecht

Location/Address Pottenbrunn

Country Austria

Website http://www.lernwerkstatt.ws


Duration of ILE

Keywords self-determined; holistic; strong family involvement

LSW is an innovative learning institution where learning is always self-determined by students.

The aim of the school is holistic development of the young person in accordance with their

individual talents and skills. This includes the acquisition of fundamental understanding and

actions structures in the following areas - language and writing, mathematics, social and

emotional development, arts/creativity, and physical exercise.

Learning is self-organized and students are free to select the activity and the level of facilitation.

In general, the school follows the pedagogy of Maria Montessori, Rebecca, and Mauricio Wild.

Moreover, experiences derived from implementing various pedagogical principles guide actions at

the school.

Learning takes place in the Pottenbrunn mooted castle. There a variety of areas in the learning

environment - kitchen, workshop, board games, mathematics, languages, the world, painting,

handicraft, role play, exercise, music, and multi-purpose area for other activities. Weekly outings

are arranged to different sites and on different themes, as well as a summer and a winter week.

The gymnasium of the local school is used regularly, and contacts have been built with companies

and organizations to offer internships to pupils.

Student progress is determined through observation and on-going contact with children, which are

documented in appraisal sheets and summarized yearly in a development report. Moreover, there

are regular team reflections on the development state of each individual child.

Teachers are required to have a Montessori education or comparable reform pedagogical

education. Some hold teaching diplomas from university, and most have special

http://www.lernwerkstatt.ws/

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qualifications such as advanced seminars on non-directive pedagogy. Teachers are expected to

show affection, love, and respect vis-à-vis the children and to trust their development plan. They

are not expected to intervene directly; instead, they act as counterparts to adolescents who live

through a phased of confrontation with the world. They observe and facilitate group processes and

act as moderators in developing communication and in conflict work.

Although there are no external evaluations, a comprehensive quality assurance manual guides the

internal evaluation process.

Name of the ILE Europaschule - Linz

Location/Address Linz, Lederergasse

Country Austria

Website http://www.europaschule-linz.at

Age range 5th - 8th years

Duration of ILE

Keywords holistic; inclusive; individualized; social learning

Europaschule-Linz is a pilot school that offers a modern teaching approach. Its points of reference

are the latest scientific findings in the area of methodology and didactics as well as the skills,

leanings, and needs of the learners. Within a Europe that is opening up and growing together,

Europaschule attaches great importance to building and maintaining international contacts.

Foreign languages are particularly stressed in the school. The entire teaching staff at the school is

involved in empirical research in education. Additionally, the school is a practice school for

students in programmes leading to teacher accreditation for primary, general secondary, and

special schools.

The school promotes educational processes within which the students learn to assume

responsibility and in which the development of intelligence and personality are to the fore. An

inclusive and holistic approach is preferred and therefore there are no ability groups -

heterogeneous classes are conducted with flexible ability differentiation. The pedagogy attempts

for general orientation with a further focus on multiple intelligences. In depth coverage only takes

place in interdisciplinary projects, the priorities in the first two years are the topics

health/nutrition/physical activity, and creativity and design.

As an alternative to performance assessment and feedback, the following procedures are taken:

assessment and feedback are given in writing and orally without marks, written feedback is given

in the form of a portfolio (it also includes a section on self-assessment by the student), a general

report on the student's work and social behavior. Written feedback is produced twice a year and

the oral feedback is provided during the two meet-the-teacher days and during weekly office

hours.

http://www.europaschule-linz.at/

At the end of each semester, a full day is set aside for the presentation of the student work in an

exhibition under the motto "We make time for you". Comprehensive feedback discussions take

place at this time.

In the 5th year, in introductory phase up to Christmas takes place under the special focus of

method training, in which students acquire learning, communication, organization, and

presentation techniques. In 7th and 8th years, students are offered 4 optional in-depth strands -

language and communication, science and engineering, music and creative design, and applied

media design - and add-on courses for further education, for which five hours are dedicated every

year.

In addition to regular teacher training, some teachers have proficiencies in Montessori methods,

sociology, psychology, educational science or pedagogy, or other higher education.

Currently, a study is being undertaken to assess whether the feedback culture developed in

connection with alternative performance assessment and conceived as an integral part of learning

processes has had an impact on the development of personality traits and the general performance

progress made in the school. There is also continuous use of various qualitative and quantitative

research methods.

Name of the ILE Educating Multilingual Language Users

Location/Address Rankweil

Country Austria

Website http://www.hlwrankweil.at



Keywords multilingual; hands-on; international learning

HLW Rankweil is a five year College of Management and Service Industries. It aims to promote

wider use of language learning strategies, enhanced learner autonomy, lifelong language learning,

and enhanced metalinguistic awareness.

In addition to sound general education, the school provides an intensive vocational training in

subject-related practical, theoretical and business-oriented subjects. Students develop working and

decision making skills that they can put into practice in careers in the service and public sectors as

well as the tourism and catering industries. Further objectives include personal growth, creativity,

critical awareness, social involvement, teamwork, cooperation skills, and communicative skills in

both the students' mother tongue and foreign languages.

Among the modern languages offered are English, French, Spanish, and Italian. In the third year,

students study marketing in English and German. Moreover, based on evidence that positive

transfer occurs between known languages in a multilingual environment, students are given the

http://www.hlwrankweil.at/

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option of a multilingual seminar in the 4th year, which offers flexibility in switching from one

language to another and makes students aware of similarities and differences between languages.

The curriculum also calls for mandatory work placements of 12 weeks after the third year. An

overwhelming majority of students choose to do it abroad and within the Leonardo program. The

foreign countries include Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, and Ireland.

The teachers are: language teachers who prepare the students for their work placement, language

teachers who themselves speak several languages and have adopted a multilingual approach,

teachers of business management with very good command of English, and one language teacher

who completed a doctoral thesis at Innsbruck University on whether metalinguistic awareness can

be trained and how the multilingual system works in young people.

One important indication that the initiative is achieving the outcomes that it is aiming at is the

high percentage of students who complete their work placement abroad. One important criterion

for these students for their choice is the opportunity to improve their language skills. Another

indicator is the high percentage of students (40 - 50%) who participate in the multilingual

seminar. Currently, a study is being carried out that will attempts to show how the multilingual

system present in the learners' minds changes due to the training in metalinguistic awareness and

the active use of different languages in multilingual contexts.

Name of the ILE Dalton up-to-date

Location/Address

Country Austria

Website http://www.mittelschule.at

Age range 5th - 8th grades


Keywords self-directed learning; individualized; goal oriented

The Dalton plan education includes an educational commitment, a rich academic and non-

academic offer, estimation and acceptance by the students. It is founded on the belief that

effective learning is composed of active, self-acting, stand-alone learning. It also understands that

each student needs a multiplicity of competencies, which is further developed and upgraded, so

that students are ready for life after school.

The Dalton plan education is a symbiosis of bonded class-phases and guided free working. Each

student gets a differentiated set of exercises and teachers coach students in different age-group

levels and in specially equipped rooms.

The curriculum calls for developing competencies and for the acquirement of key qualifications.

Learning groups are inhomogeneous because of different paces and abilities of learning.

Individualization and differentiation is practiced and the learning is goal and performance-

http://www.mittelschule.at/

oriented. The central objectives of learning are divided into 3 pillars - liberty with responsibility,

cooperation, and time management. Student helps to design the form and figure of their classes.

Some of the teachers have had academic courses in dalton-plan education. Each teacher is trained

in open teaching and self-directed learning. Coaching as method of guidance for individual

development, and decision support is practiced by the whole team of teachers.

In addition to the traditional ways of testing, parent and teacher feedback as well the teachers'

student observations. Students also demonstrate their progress through portfolio work. In

mathematics, teachers are implementing a method of evaluation called the "competence profile".

Additionally, the school is assessed through an internal evaluation that is the result of the monthly

Dalton-Council and regular team meetings with teachers.

Name of the ILE Hauptschule 1 Schärding

Location/Address Schärding

Country Austria

Website http://www.asn-linz.ac.at/schule/schaerding


Duration of ILE

Keywords project-oriented; personalized; social learning; ability-based grouping

This ILE gives students the freedom to further their personal leanings and skills within action-

based and project-oriented work, specializing in the fields of new media, health and social issues.

Classroom teaching integrates environmental education in a variety of ways. The school aims to

empower students to perceive and shape their school as a place within their natural environment,

by encouraging ecological learning and environmental awareness with a view towards promoting

sustainability. Moreover, health promotion activities that increase students' physical and mental

well-being and change the attitudes of children and their families are part of the curriculum as

well. It is done in cooperation with the "Healthy Municipality" project of the town of Schärding.

The monthly social skills training targets behavioral development and relationships.

The overarching aim is to prepare children for a successful transition to working life or higher

education. The following are stressed: Quality improvement based on school developed learning

aims, Quality management that is characterized by a willingness to achieve personal initiative and

inventiveness, and conflict resolution through all those involved in the school community.

Special-focus projects that are aimed at integrating new media and considering important topics in

health and social issues are mandatory for the students.

Learning is organized in ability groups and classes. A learning-by-discovery method is

followed, in which the path to the teaching goal is not clearly pre-defined. Rather, students always

are given the option to research independently, using trial and error. In the past few years, 4

empirical research projects were conducted using this method.

http://www.asn-linz.ac.at/schule/schaerding

17

All teachers are graduates of training institutes for general compulsory education teachers and

some have further education achieved by completing programs at universities (PhD, Master of

Arts programmes, or subject-related educational management) and INSET courses (self-reliant

working according to the Klippert model, etc.). Teachers are viewed as learning coaches and not

as imparters of knowledge. There is much collaboration between the students and the teachers,

and teachers and parents.

A number of evaluations have been performed on the ILE. Research projects conducted jointly by

teachers and students based on the "exploratory discovery" method serve as good

demonstrations of the school's principles. There are periodic internal surveys through feedback in

the form of discussions with staff, feedback questionnaires, etc. An evaluation was conducted

within a "Leadership Academy Case Study" by the University of Innsbruck. The school has also

participated in a number of IMST/MNI (Innovations in Mathematics, Science, and

Technology Teaching) projects.

Name of the ILE Kirchberg Primary School

Location/Address Kirchberg

Country Austria

Website http://www.kirchberg.eduhi.at

Age range primary school age

Duration of ILE

Keywords student-centric, social learning; project-based; cross-class learning

Kirchberg primary school is oriented toward the principles of Freinet education, which lets

children express their views and responds to pupil's questions and needs. Co-determination and

the sharing of responsibility are very important. The focus is on promoting maturity,

independence, and self-reliance, on the one hand, and on constructive and nonviolent conflict

resolution methods, on the other. For conflict resolution, a "peace stair" with four steps has been

created for nonviolent communication based on the Marshall Rosenberg model. These features

mean that children have an active say in the social life in the classroom as well as in classroom

teaching. Democracy and communication are predominant and characteristic forms of encounter

in the classrooms.

The primary learning aims are: achievement in subject contents, acquisition of required personal

skills, and achievement in methodological, strategic, social, and communicative skills. Learners

are expected to become independent, self-organized, and self-reliant. The learning is organized

according to a pupil centered approach, covering individual work, work schedules, project work

and cross-class learning, as well as joint instruction and teaching in small groups.

Many teachers have training and qualifications supplementing the required teacher credentials.

Teachers are expected to work closely with students and become learners in the school

http://www.kirchberg.eduhi.at/

environment. The school head strives to coordinate and concentrate strengths in order to take the

development further.

Learning outcomes are monitored on an ongoing basis by means of the progress documentation or

the portfolio. Portfolios require and enable an ongoing dialogue between the students and

teachers. A performance appraisal interview at the end of each semester and at the end of the

school year is part of the portfolio work. As far as school evaluation goes, Kirchberg was a pilot

school in the Reading Portfolio project.

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CANADA-ALBERTA

Name of the ILE Community Learning Campus

Location/Address Olds, Alberta

Country Canada

Website http://www.communitylearningcampus.ca

Age range grades K - 12


Keywords holistic; constructive; vocational training

Community Learning Campus (CLC) is an innovative approach to high school, post-secondary,

and community education, and addresses specific rural needs by sharing resources and working

jointly with a variety of community groups and agencies. It is the result of collaboration between

Olds College (OC), Chinook's Edge School Division (CESD), the town of Olds, and the

University of Alberta. CLC's vision is to provide an active, constructive, and holistic educational

environment that brings together high school and post-secondary education in one place that

creates a seamless transition for students wishing to enter the workforce, apprenticeship, college

or university. It aims to personalize learning to meet diverse needs, create a campus that

encompasses and promotes environmental sustainability, and advance rural community

development.

The learning environment, which includes face-to-face, online, and video-conferencing with

constructive teaching pedagogy, ensures that students develop independence, self-regulation,

collaborative skills, and critical thinking ability. CLC places much emphasis on assessment for

and of learning, and therefore students are able to reflect on their learning and teachers can use

assessment to improve teaching and learning.

The school develops a Learning Map for each student that identifies areas of interest and develops

a learner pathway. The structure and pedagogy of the school is markedly different from a

traditional school. The school has two streams for delivering instruction - seminar based and class

based (both of which are constructivist and project-based). The school follows a "quad" structure

where grades 9 and 10 have optional courses in the morning and core high school courses in the

afternoon, and vice versa for grades 11 and 12. The options are divided into 25 hour modules so

that every month the student is able to take another course in his/her learning pathway. The

learning pathway does not steer students to a particular career. Instead, it allows them have

flexibility in offering different college based courses.

http://www.communitylearningcampus.ca/

There are a variety of teachers/instructors/facilitators involved. Teachers throughout the CESD are

involved with either direct instruction or video conferencing. All teachers hold Alberta Teaching

Certificate and a minimum of a Bachelors degree. OC instructors come from disparate

backgrounds and hold credentials that include trade certificates, Bachelors, Masters, and PhD

degrees. There is much collaboration between instructors and teachers in the delivery of

instruction.

21

DENMARK

Name of the ILE Lisbjergskolen - Pedagogical Platform

Location/Address Lisbjergvej

Country Denmark

Website http://www.lisbjergskolen.skoleintra.dk



Keywords portfolios; self-learning; individualized

Pedagogical Platform intends to encourage and qualify children to become self-directed, self-

reflected, and self-evaluative learners. The reason for starting the program was a dialog between

the management and the staff that revealed that there were pedagogical and didactic differences in

the way teachers and educationists worked with pupils.

The ILE puts forward a holistic approach to education and aims to include all children. The

students and teams of teachers/educationists are organized into two groups - the first consisting of

pupils ages 6-9, and the other from ages 10 - 13. Within the larger two groups, students are further

divided into groups of 12, called home groups. Each home group is headed by a pair of teacher

and educationist, who collaborate extensively.

The overall goal of the Pedagogical Platform is to promote four integrated and holistic "life

competencies" - knowledge, self-assessment, conduct, and being. Each student has a plan for

interpersonal and educational development, titled "the child's storyline". Every two months

teacher-pupil feedback sessions are held that tracks the storyline on the basis of portfolios, in

which progress is evaluated and new aims are set. Each student possesses three types of portfolios

- working, selection, and presentational. The first contains all the student's work, the second

consists of a subset of the work that has been chosen by the teacher, and the third contains two or

three products from each subject that has been carefully chosen after a discussion between the

pupil and the primary-teacher. As far as evaluations go, the school has a quality report, something

that is required by law. 85% of teachers report that the school promotes a high degree of well

being for pupils, against a 69% average for the municipality, and 80% of the parents think the

school supports encouragement of students' ability to make up their own opinion on matters. Only

66% of parents in other schools in the municipality thinks so.

http://www.lisbjergskolen.skoleintra.dk/

FINLAND

Name of the ILE Taloista kaupunki

Location/Address Tampere

Country Finland

Website http://www.tampere.fi/taloistakaupunki

Age range Grades 4 - 7

Duration of ILE

Keywords web-based; architecture-based learning

Taloista Kaupunki sees the built environment as a natural learning resource in everyday school

life, seeing the future in the integration of school and physical environment. The project generates

inspiration, tools, and methods for learning in and about the built environment. The main

objectives, which are based on the Finnish National Core Curriculum, are to

provide architecturally-oriented learning material for basic education, strengthen the participation

of the residents in city development, and improve the recognition of the cultural heritage.

The ILE includes an interactive web application where personal observations are gathered in a

central database. The learning environment consists of both the virtual community and the real

built urban environment together. Learning and the classroom work consists of getting pupils

interested in their own environment by observing it, thereby bringing real life content into the

teaching of the theoretical subjects. The observations form the basis of exercises and class

discussions.

Seven specific observation points have been prepared to make it easier for the teachers to

integrate building spotting in everyday school work. Each observation point has a learning

package of information available online. A sample observation involves paying attention to how

the building elements and details build-up the houses and how the houses build-up the city, what

kind of shapes and colors there are, and what the buildings say about the time when they were

built.

The ILE is organized by a steering group that consists of a the Development Director of Tampere

City Education and Teaching Service Centre, the Principal, teachers, alumni, architects, and

officials from the city's planning division. The school also cooperates with experts from a

museum, university, and the National Board of Antiquities.

http://www.tampere.fi/taloistakaupunki

23

The learning outcomes are assessed through normal evaluation of pupils' learning. High student

motivation has observed throughout the project and the teachers have found that the built

environment is adaptable to different learning objectives.

Name of the ILE Active Childhood and Youth in Kuopio: Culture Path programme

Location/Address Kuopio

Country Finland

Website www.kulttuurikasvatus.kuopio.fi

Age range Grades 1-9

Duration of ILE Since fall, 2006

Keywords Cultural learning, humanistic, holistic

The Culture Path programme in the city of Kuopio aims at promoting and improving the

emotional, physical and social well-being of the child and young people as well as the

empowerment of teachers by ensuring that every pupil has equal opportunity to become

acquianted with culture and cultural services. By its activities, it promotes social and cultural

equity and non-violence. The programme covers all cultural facilities (museums, theaters,

churches etc. including cultural environment) as a complex learning environment instead of

limiting learning just to the classroom and school.

The programme was started to promote equality among students, to create and strenghten learning

environments in cultural facilities and to bring culture more strongly into the school curriculum. It

was initiated by the cultural services in cooperation with the education services of the city of

Kuopio in fall 2006. It is for all the students at comprehensive schools in the city of Kuopio,

approximately 9000 students aged 7-16 in grades 1-9.

The Culture Path programme is divided into nine paths which every student attends annually as a

part of the school curriculum: Library, Art, Museum, Media, Environment, Dance, Music, Theatre

and K9-card. With a K9-card, a 9th

grade student may use cultural services at little or no cost after

"trekking" eight years in Culture Path at comprehensive school. All the paths in the programme

fulfill the requirements of each grade's curriculum in both individual subjects (e.g. literature, art,

music) and larger subject areas. The pedagogy is based on a humanistic approach emphasising the

holistic, emotional and multisensorial dimensions of learning.

The Culture Path programme creates places to learn which promote humanistic and constructive

way of learning. The students are introduced into learning processes which are holistic, active,

communal and socio-emotional and promote critical thinking as well as involvement. It aims to

bring culture into individual subjects and larger subject areas in different grades, and to promote

socialization, cultural identity, media and responsibility of nature, environment and sustainable

development. The aim is that a student learns as a member of community and expresses

him/herself freely and creatively.

The Culture Path programme coordinator is responsible for interaction and cooperation with the teachers,

cultural facilities and the educational services of the city of Kuopio, and every school has its own

Culture Courier, a contact person between schools and cultural facilities. The programme

produces and provides innovative learning materials for use by teachers. It gives teachers tools

and practical examples for goal-oriented cultural education that emphasises direct experience,

creativity, comprehensiveness, multi-sensoriality, and social interaction and understanding.

Results take a long time to emerge but it can be seen already that the teachers have become more

acquainted with the use of cultural facilites and the learning materials produced by the programme

as a learning environment. Culture has become more everyday and possible barriers between the

education services and the cultural services have diminished.

Name of the ILE Fiskarin malli / Fiskarin koulu (The Fiskars model / Fiskars elementary

school)

Location/Address Fiskari

Country Finland

Website

Age range Elementary school, 1st to 6

th grade and "esikoulu" (last year of Finnish

kindergarden, grade 0); 6 years to 12 years of age.

Duration of ILE Since 2006/7

Keywords Learning by doing, immersive learning, student-professional

collaboration

The public elementary school Fiskarin koulu located in the city of Raseborg has broadened its

definition of learning environment to encompass the Fiskars village community in which the

school is situated. The village has about 600 inhabitants of which 107 are members in The

Artisans, Designers and Artists Cooperative of Fiskars. The village history as an ironworks village

is still very much present in the village: most of the old building are intact and are now the homes,

studios and workshops of the new inhabitants.

The knowledge of the local artisans, artists and other community members is integrated into the

curriculum and teaching of the school. The curriculum is a combination of the normal curriculum

used by all Finnish public elementary schools and the "Fiskars model", the special model of using

the wider learning environment that has been developed at the school. All the pupils of Fiskars

elementary school take part.

One of the ways in which the surrounding environment/vicinity is incorporated is through art and

craft workshops developed together with members of The Artisans, Designers and Artists

Cooperative of Fiskars. The workshops have been developed to suit the different grades (1-6th

grade and the "esikoulu" (last year of kindergarden)) and are part of the schools curriculum. In the

art and craft workshops, the pupils get acquinted with the profession of the artist leading the

25

workshop and with his or her workplace. They also make something themselves under the

supervision and guidance of the workshop leader. The workshops are combined with preparation

work in class beforehand. Depending on the subject of the workshop the teacher can also choose

to continue to elaborate on the subject in class after the actual workshop. In the Fiskars school

learning environment active participatory ways of learning are combined with more traditional

classroom teaching. The pupils learn in "real life" contexts / authentic environments, while adults

can follow their education more closely, which creates a safer learning environment. The

workshops link the new generation to the village's history and the pupils learn practical skills and

are trained in creative problem-solving.

The workshops cover: Esikoulu (last year of kindergarden/year before starting 1st grade) - paper -

making of paper - paper art; 1ST

grade - wood - woodworks – woodworking; 2nd grade - painting

- fine art; 3rd grade - textile - knitting design; 4th grade - ceramics – design; 5th grade - nature -

environment - linnen workshop / or blacksmithing; 6th grade - glass - blown glass.

The vicinities of the school are incoporated into the curriculum in other ways. The school's pupils

take part in "travel in time" - workshops ("aikamatka") created by the local Fiskars museum to

learn about different periods in the village's history and about earlier professions and crafts. In

2008, they also participated in a community theater production that took place in the open air in

different parts of the village. In 2009 the pupils of the school are participating in making an

exhibition about the local environment together with a local artist.

The positive outcomes of this kind of learning environment are difficult to "measure". We do

know however that the pupils have been very excited about the workshops and what they have

learnt there. Also the teachers are very motivated to work with this wider learning environment

and enjoyed cooperating with the artisans and other professionals in the village.

The ILE strongly believes that the children learn more easily when learning is supported by

authentic environments that provide examples, visual memory aid and contexts. The knowledge

and skills of the other professionals active in the village provide an extra support to the teaching at

school. It aims to make pupils learn more deeply as the pupils are given a more active part in their

own learning process.

Whilst continuing with its work to integrate its wider learning environment into the school

curriculum the Fiskars school is also developing a learning environment model for other schools.

The aim of the model is to show elementary schools how they can incorporate their local vicinities

into the teaching and learning taking place at the school. Fiskars school is currently working with

elementary schools in Karjaa and Pohja two other parts of the Raseborg city.

Name of the ILE Liikkeelle! (On the Move!)

Location/Address Heureka, the Finnish Science Center, Vantaa

Country Finland

Website

Age range Lwer and upper secondary school students and teachers in Finland; student

ages 13 to 19.

Duration of ILE Since early 2008

Keywords Holistic, cross-disciplinary, learning, collaborative learning, virtual

learning

On the Move! is a development project for learning environments funded by The Finnish National

Board of Education. The project is implemented by the City of Kalajoki and Heureka, the Finnish

Science Centre. The project co-operates with the University of Helsinki, the University of Oulu

and experts from the fields of education and social sciences, environmental sciences, and

community planning. Eight pilot schools participate in the project in the school year 2008–2009.

It takes the pupils and teachers out of the class-rooms to study and evaluate their local

environment, for example by carrying out air quality and noise measurements, evaluating the

pleasantness and aesthetics of the environment, and familiarizing themselves with local history

and urban planning. The project aims at producing a concept of authentic, collaborative and

inquiry-based learning in the school neighborhood, using modern technology and media in a

pedagogically meaningful way. It is producing an Innovative Learning Environment on the

Internet, including a social forum, an interactive GIS-platform, as well as methods and tools for

different subjects and for project management at school. The goal is to create a flexible, user-

oriented environment that the students might also use in their free time, and to narrow down the

gap between the school and the every-day reality of the youth outside school. However, the school

building and the classrooms also maintain their importance as a social meeting point for the

community.

Key subjects include natural sciences, history and civics, art, mother tongue, as well as sports and

health education. One of the goals is to enhance cooperation within the school between the

different subjects and disciplines, but also to increase communication and mutual learning

between the schools and other actors of the society. Methods, materials and tools are produced for

various subjects as well as project management. The participation of young people is a key

element: the students share their knowledge and insights with local authorities, politicians, and

experts. Besides the more conventional methods to do this, the project experiments using social

media as a tool for societal participation of young people.

The project seeks to respond to 21st sentury learning challenges. Situated, customized and self-

oriented learning are known to result in good learning outcomes, and the methods used respond

well to the learning needs and motivations of the digi-native generation. The knowledge gained by

the students is integrated and holistic rather than fragmented and decontextualized. The role of the

teacher is of a guide or a team leader of the learning project. As students usually are more skilled

in using new technology and social media, they can become experts in this sense. A diversity of

learning sources is used, and the cooperation with experts in different fields provides the students

role models and more realistic ideas of career options. The students attain knowledge, skills and

attitudes that are needed in active citizenship and democracy. At schools, the project aims to have

an influence on the pedagogic policies and practices, and to promote the culture of a learning

community.

27

The knowledge and skills to be gained by the students are, e.g.: Using and evaluating various

sources of information to acquire knowledge, using the scientific method, representing their

knowledge and insights to other people, understanding how the democratic society functions and

how to participate, using the modern informations technology and media in a meaningful, safe

way. Furthermore, each school and teacher set their specific learning goals in different subjects.

Attitudes and qualities to be attained are, e.g., self confidence as a learner and an actor,

collaborative skills, responsibility for one's life-long learning.

In each pilot school, an interdisciplinary team of teachers is responsible of the school's project.

The project also has a working group of pupils, which participates in producing and testing

learning methods and tools. Each school carries out their own project, based on their local

environment, social interests and learning goals. The school neighbourhood is used as a learning

environment and a source of information. Cooperation between subjects is encouraged: the

teachers act as overhead managers but students also take an active role in setting the goals,

designing activities and evaluating the results.

Name of the ILE New Innovators for the World: A Development Project of the Social

Learning Enviroment with Tenth Formers, Upper Comprehensive Learners

and Foster Home Youngsters

Location/Address The College of the Home Mission Society of the Church of Finland,

Pieksämäki

Country Finland

Website www.sisop.fi

Age range 15-18 years old

Duration of ILE Since 2008

Keywords Individualized, small-group learning, collaborative, emotional

learning, social learning

The Development Project of the Social Learning Environment has been established in order to

support both the social and the psychical welfare of the learners. The core aim of the project is to

create a learning environment, where it is easier to learn and which provides different kinds of

support for studies and for life as a whole. This means to teach the learners according to their

special needs, to study and discuss the different learning methods the learners have, and to

improve the group dynamics among the learners.

The concrete aims of the project are:

o To help the learners to get the school-leaving certificate from comprehensive school and

to apply for and to get into further education;

o To help learners to learn how to learn and to identify their own learning methods or

strategies;

o To create a safe and pleasant learning environment and to create and produce material

supporting the learners;

o To provide professional development for teachers and school assistants who work with

the target groups, and to co-operate with other schools, colleges and organisations.

Learners have succeeded in finishing their basic education and getting the school-leaving

certificate from comprehensive school; they have improved their motivation to study, for

example, absenteeism from school has diminished.

There are different kinds of challenges in supporting the learners of small-group teaching at the

higher comprehensive, learners in the 10th form and the young in youth homes specialising in

rehabilitation of drug abusers, to be able to get along in life. Some have great difficulties in their

own lives, especially with family affairs. They have maladjustment to the normal basic education.

Some learners are also socially excluded and/or taken into care and placed in foster homes. The

project works with small-group teaching: there are 8 learners in one group, consisting of four girls

(three 16-year-olds and one 15 year-old) and four boys (aged 14, 15, 16 and 17); and 17 learners

in another, consisting of 12 girls (nine 16-year-olds and three 17-years-olds) and 5 boys (three 16-

year-olds, one 17-years-old and one 18-years-old).

The learning aims are to confirm learners’ self-esteem by increasing the number of the

experiences of succeeding at school; to increase learners’ social skills; to diminish absenteeism

and improve learning results; to help the learners to finish their basic education and to continue

their studies after comprehensive school; to confirm learners’ capabilities to take control of their

own lives and to prevent learners’ marginalizing from the surrounding society.

Education is based on the core curriculum, which is confirmed by the National Board of

Education (FNBE) and on the curriculum confirmed by the provider of education, the College of

the Home Mission Society of the Church of Finland. Learners study daily in small groups with the

guidance of the special teacher and a school assistant, and there is much discussion and interaction

between the learners and the teachers. If needed, the learners have access to remedial teaching.

There is a homelike environment created for the small-group teaching, taking place in an

apartment consisting of four rooms and a kitchen with desks, sofas and armchairs. On special

occasions or with a special need, the learner can study in privacy, too. One aim of the

Development Project of the Social Learning Environment is to create a safe learning environment

where grouping of the learners is possible. Furthermore, it is also possible to study with the help

of web courses.

Name of the ILE “Model Vihti” – school garden, farm, forest and environmental art education

in everyday school work.

Location/Address Vihti

Country Finland

Website http://www.vihti.fi/palvelut/koulut_ja_opiskelu/prime100.aspx

29

Age range 3-12 years, mainly 7-12

Duration of ILE Pilot 2003, full project 2008

Keywords Sustainable development; experiential learning; collaborative learning;

community-based learning; environment; agriculture, horticulture,

forestry

The modern era often fails to provide children with hands-on experiences of nature, forests and

basic everyday knowledge of food production. This may have severe implications in the future:

sustainable development to be carried out by adults without the skills and understanding of nature

and primary production is a contradiction.

Development project "Model Vihti" is a complete model to enlarge the learning environment

outside of classroom. It functions without special fundings or fees to be a part of everyday school

work year throughout the seasons. It has been built to serve all primary schools in Vihti and serves

as well the daycare and pre-school children in same schools. It is led by project facilitators in

collaboration with schools, all main officials in Vihti Municipality (youth and leisure, culture,

environment, education and pre-primary education) and local NGOs such as 4H and The Martha

Organization. Local collaboration between schools, Vihti Municipality, parents, NGOs and farms

and people seeks to create sustainable learning environments outdoors. All schools in Vihti (15

schools different sizes and pedagogical backgrounds, covering 3,500 learners) are eligible to take

part. Three students have been involved from the University of Helsinki and Universities of

Applied Sciences, documenting and organizing learning environment and material for learning

outdoors.

"Model Vihti " has its roots in NGO work by Vihti 4H- association, which emphasises learning by

doing and the four Hs stand for hands, head, heart, health. The core of learning is based on school

curriculum, "Model Vihti" is giving new possibilities to organize learning, involving the children,

teachers and other persons working in schools, project facilitators as well the officials in Vihti

Municipality and local NGOs building up different every day settings and special happenings.

"Model Vihti" means a holistic network for schools to improve the learning and well-being of

children and to give better working motivation for teachers and other personnel in schools as well.

It enlarges the learning context out of the class room and into the nearby environment. There is

also nature-based environmental art education.

1) All schools have a small garden plot to cultivate, mostly it is used by the 3rd grade by spring

time: planning the next season, growing plants indoors, preparing the soil, planting and sowing

seeds before school holidays. In the autumn the same children are in the 4th grade and they pick

the yield and prepare the soil for winter time. This garden is in wide use for all classes and

subjects in curriculum by other grades of the school.

2) School-Farm collaboration means the possibility to work and learn in the farm. Pupils are

divided in groups with different tasks to be useful for the farmer: cleaning horses' boxes and

equipment, doing the work needed at the moment like carrying firewoods to storage etc. Children

learn how much is needed to produce food, how nature is playing part in every stage in cultivation

and agriculture, their work is important and meaningful, children and teachers and farmers

experience positive achievement and learn to work together.

3) Nearby forest is a place to learn the basics of forestry in Finland, the balance of nature, get

knowledge of water system, climate change and work towards it in sustainable manners. This part

includes the principles of first aid, dealing with the cold, making up a safe fire in forest, using

trangias, everyday rules and rights etc.

The most important outcomes from this ILE are holistic and meta-cognitive, children learn to

appreciate their own skills and knowledge, enlarge thinking to include processes about nature in

nature, and have access via hands-on experiences to feelings and deeper knowledge and

understanding.

31

GERMANY-THURINGIA

Name of the ILE Stiftung Deutsche Landerziehungsheime Herman-Lietz Schule

Haubinda

Location/Address Haubinda, Thuringia

Country Germany

Website http://www.lietz-schulen.de

Age range 6 - 20 years (410 students)


Keywords collaborative; socio-cultural learning; interdisciplinary; agricultural

focus

Hermann-Lietz Schule Haubinda was founded with the goal of creating a school environment

where students with different levels of talent and from various socio-cultural backgrounds can

come together to form a community of cooperative learners. It aims to help each student graduate

with the highest diploma possible for him/her, educate students in practical/manual skills and

foster a sense of shared responsibility, and instill a high standard of tolerance and democratic

thought.

The school, which follows the obligatory Thuringen curriculum, is organized on the 19th century

pedagogic principles of Dr. Hermann Leitz. Students are placed in teams led by groups of teachers

in lower grades (teams 1 to 4 and teams 5 to 6), and by topics of interest in the middle grades

(team 7a to 10a - Natural Sciences; Team 7b to 10b - Economics, Environment, and Europe;

Team 7c to 10c - Drama). Regular meetings are organized throughout the year to unify various

team curricula and to promote interdisciplinary learning and projects. The school has a school

board, composed of parent and teacher representatives, which helps oversee the functioning of the

school, as well as a school Parliament, which is composed of the school chancellor, and student

and teacher representatives, that helps determine the course of day to day school activities and

rules. The school makes use of eighty hectares of land, which includes forests, fields, and the

various buildings scattered across campus.

Student evaluations are conducted via grades and school reports, which are issued twice a year.

Parents also receive a verbal evaluation of their children's development. An outside firm, Steg,

conducts periodic surveys of the teachers and parents to provide feedback on how to improve the

school's performance. The school model is studied at the University of Bamberg, where students

analyze the Lietz pedagogy and make recommendation's for school activities.

http://www.lietz-schulen.de/

The school is recognized by the local as well as higher level authorities as a successful example of

an innovative school. Over 90% of the students successfully attain their sought after diploma.

Around 55% of graduates go on to pursue further studies. There is a high demand for the limited

spots in the school.

Name of the ILE ImPULS-Shcule

Location/Address Schmiedefeld, Thuringia

Country Germany

Website http://www.schule-schmiedefeld.de



Keywords holistic, student-directed, project-based, individualized, cross-

curricular

The administration sees ImPULS-Schule as a school that: is formed around the child and his/her

"world"; prepares and builds up a learning culture, which has lifelong learning as its aim; and

keeps the balance between both the support of the individuals interests and needs of the students

on one hand and the moral values and standards of the society and the general culture and the

other. The school was initiated as a project school for the "Development of Teaching and

Organization in a small, integrated secondary modern school with Jenaplan and media profile".

The school's primary focus is on student achievement, which is improved through holistic

learning. It includes a focus on social (which is supported throught many extracurricular

activities) and moral learning in addition to developing academic knowledge and ability. Students

are perceived as independent, sef accountable, self-active learners who are able and ready to use

their creativity. The pedagogy is organized around these concepts and individual-, partner-, group-

and project-work are practiced through "weekly-plans" or "learning stations/circles".

Assessment is performed through clearly defined quality criteria according to issue-, social-, self

competence and competence of methods. Special "observing instruments" such at the "Note-

book" and rubrics for assessing competencies in lessons were developed. Twice a year students

recieve a school report letter, which gives an individualized assessment of their competencies.

These reports are accompanied by individual conversations between students, parent and teachers.

The first such conversation of the year results in the development of the learning contract for

every student.

The school utilizes a staff with a variety of expertise to carry out its mission. The Head teacher

finished teacher training in Chemistry and Mathematics, has more than 15 years of experience as

head teacher and is currently pursuing a Phd. She delegates tasks, and manages teachers and other

staff.

http://www.schule-schmiedefeld.de/

33

The teachers, nearly all of whom have expertise in two subjects, act as consultants for various

subjects, didactic trainers, Comenius moderators, and counsellors. They participate in working

groups at ministry of education, the ThILLM (teacher training institute), and the local school

authority. There are also turtors/learning coaches, social workers, extracurricular workshop

leaders, and secretaries that provide a range of support functions.

The school recognizes individual differences and uses a special form of learning organization -

Individual Learning Time (ILZ). It is used once a week in math, German and English. Two

teachers guide each student in ILZ in which students pick appropriate materials to focus on as

well as "special tasks" that are more indepth. Time is allotted for relaxation in the learning process

so that there is time for processing in the brain.

There is high regard for the school model among the experts of the development project and

students, parents, teachers and alumni have given the most positive feedback

Name of the ILE Jenaplan-Schule

Location/Address Jena, Thuringia

Country Germany

Website http://www.jenaplan-schule-jena.de



Keywords individualized learning; project-based; mixed-age; inclusive pedagogy

Jenaplan-Schule attempts to tackle 21st century learning challenges through its specific features

and forms of organization. It makes use of a variety of instructional techniques: 1) mixed age

groups with all the consequences resulting from this fact such as learning in an atmosphere

without competition leading to higher motivation; 2) individualization of the learning and

evaluation process; 3) integration of students with minor physical challenges and/or learning

difficulties; 4) consistent concept of basic democracy; 5) a student-teacher relationship marked by

warmth, sympathy, empathy and confidence.

These practices are used to achieve a variety of learning goals - acquiring basic skills and working

methods, increasing skills in individual and independent research, installing ability to find ways to

collect and structure information, applying working methods to a new context, using new

technology and media for research and presentation, reflecting on achievements and learning,

applying working methods to a new context, social interaction, acquiring a sense of democracy

and responsibility, tolerance of diversity and mutual respect, integration and support of students

with physical and mental challenges, and active participation in school life.

The school is organized so that there is a smooth transition between the different levels. Lessons

are structured in open learning situations, which allows for individual study and work rhythms,

without constraints of traditional 45-minute blocks and homogeneous age groups. The pedagogy

http://www.jenaplan-schule-jena.de/

combines project work and courses. The project involves several subjects connected by content

area, enabling students to think outside the box. Foreign languages and mathematics are among

the subjects that are taught and not project-based. The periodical schedule, each of which lasts 3-4

weeks, is organized so that students have 3 lessons per week in which they they choose to focus

on a sub-topic belonging to the broad areas of history, geography and natural science. The school

also has a morning assembly on Mondays to discuss current events, and an end of week ceremony

on Friday afternoon to present weekly work results or for special group activities.

Teachers are partners in the learning process and not mere transmitters of knowledge. At the

primary level they are supported by aides, and at the secondary level by a school counselor and a

social worker. Most teachers are trained in two subjects. There is no traditional hierarchy between

teachers - a co-operative management model is followed. Teachers also have much autonomy to

make decisions and to assume responsibilities. In addition to the regular team and departmental

meetings, there is a period of annual seclusion where teachers evaluate the school year, reflects on

projects, and sets new goals. The school also has regular exchanges with other schools, including

multilateral visits, to improve processes.

Assessments are mostly verbal and self (facilitated by the use of portfolios), except when grades

are demanded by school authorities, starting from grades 7. School reports are handed out twice a

year in thirty minute sessions in the presence of parents, who are involved in virtually

all decisions made at the school.

Name of the ILE Lobdeburgschule

Location/Address Jena, Thuringia

Country Germany

Website http://www.lobdeburgschule.de



Keywords holistic; cross-disciplinary; collaborative learning

Lobdeburgshcule attempts to provide holistic, sustainable education and training in preparation

for everyday life and work. The learning, which is cross-curricular and interdisciplinary, is

student-directed, differential and promotes teamwork. The elective work is based on the particular

tastes of students. The primary learning aim of the ILE is to have graduates that are generally

educated, soft-skilled, and self-dependent to solve problems.

The school is facilitated by a variety of stakeholders - Thuringian Ministry of Education,

Education Authority of the City of Jena, Friedrich-Schiller-University, Local Society of the City

of Jena, and teachers who assume responsibility for their own actions. Fixed teams of teachers are

dedicated to each grade. The school also make efforts to reach out to other innovative schools to

learn from successful practices.

http://www.lobdeburgschule.de/

35

The school's pedagogy revolves around the curriculum of the Free State of Thuringia. The

schedule is organized so that there are no blocks of different classes. The week starts off with a

"Morning Circle" on Monday. On the other days, the first two hours consists of autonomous

completion of given tasks and free creative work on given topics. The second two hours consists

of a professional lesson. The 5th and 6th hours are dedicated to interdisciplinary lessons followed

by autonomous and free creative work on a given topic. The school day concludes with two hours

dedicated to specialized elective lessons.

The learning includes cooperation agreements with many local bodies and institutions. Learning is

not limited to classrooms; it extends to the library, computer rooms, open work areas, well-

equipped specialist rooms, as well as museums.

The school has received a number of awards for being an innovative school. Its achievements

have been made part of the school regulations for the free state of Thuringia and are thus a model

for other schools. Alumni as well as professional agencies and receiving facilities have provided

positive feedback for the school.

HUNGARY

Name of the ILE Gyermekek Haza Alternative Foundational Programme (Kuno

Klebelsberg Primary and Grammar School)

Location/Address Budapest

Country Hungary

Website http://www.gyermekekhaza.hu



Keywords Student-centred, inclusive education; differential learning, cooperative

learning

Gyermekek Haza school, whose name in English is "Children's House", is a primary school that is

based on the idea that every child can find his/her sense of security and a home in school. Its

beliefs include that all children should fully develop their abilities, play an active role in the

process of learning, be able to learn independently and assess their won work, be able to accept

themselves and their peers and be able to cooperate with them, and have access to a broad range

of differentiated learning possibilities.

The school integrates disabled children into its classrooms, all of which have 2-3 special needs

students (30 out of 185 children in the school are considered those that have special needs). The

school attempts to offer each child the same learning opportunities according to his/her abilities.

Students are considered the center of the school and not the curriculum.

Every school day starts with a "talking circle", in which children have informal conversations in

small groups. Students take on different roles such as spokesman, writer, "chief of silence", etc. in

these circles. Teaching methods are not standardized to ensure diverse ways of learning are

preserved. Teachers apply differential teaching methods and cooperative learning.

Assessment is different from practices in the traditional Hungarian system. In the first six years,

students get a written evaluation, i.e. a school report, and only in the 7th and 8th years do students

receive marks assessing their performance. Learning outcomes are balanced, i.e. nobody drops out

and nobody is forced to stay down for a year.

The staff includes 16 full time teachers, 3 remedial teachers, and one speech therapist. Every

member of the staff is considered an "owner", who is part of every decision made, that is

responsible for the successful functioning of the school. There is much collaboration between the

http://www.gyermekekhaza.hu/

37

teachers and newer teachers have mentors who help in the preparation of lessons. There are

regular teacher meeting to assess the school's progress.

The results of the National Measurement of Students' Competencies from 2006 and 2007 show

that 8th grade students in the school performing higher than the Hungarian average in

mathematical and reading competence. The school has a close association with Eotovos Lorand

University Faculty of Special Education and the Budapest Teacher-Training College. Moreover,

the Soros foundation chose the school as a Model school, which fosters open relationships with

parents and other visitors.

Name of the ILE Bela Korzeti Altalanos Iskola en Napkozi Otthonos Ovoda (Bela

District Primary School and Day-care Kindergarten)

Location/Address Hejokeresztur

Country Hungary

Website http://ivbela.ning.com


Duration of ILE

Keywords Personality development, cooperative learning, socio-emotional

learning

This ILE varies consciously from conventional approaches of Hungarian education for providing

more attention to the learning needs of pupils. It seeks to avoid the selection and discrimination of

certain strata that is peculiar to the regular model. The school targets below and above average

pupils and underprivileged pupils. It seeks to achieve thinking that is bright and bold, but

deliberate, clear and accurate, organized and integrated, within the time constraints.

The school activities are organized around three programs - Complex Instruction program, which

is based on group work, Logic Table-game Program, which develops strategic thinking, and

Dialogue between Generations Program, which is based on cooperation of students, parents, and

grandparents. These programs, which are oriented to the national curriculum and takes place in

45-minute sections, seek to implement a varied curriculum that is conducive to the development

of various abilities as well as cognitive and meta-cognitive skills, develop interdependence among

pupils and harmonized cooperation, and have a heterogeneous classroom that promotes group

work.

In addition to the focus on knowledge development, the school pays close attention to personality

development, and reinforcement of good behaviour and self-esteem. In addition

to developing competencies in key subject areas, the school aims to provide a personalized

education through differentiation, individual work, cooperation, and project centered education.

All staff members are part of the program implementation under the guidance of the

headmistress, deputy headmaster, and study group leaders. All teachers have participated in the

Complex Instruction Program - an intercultural teaching-learning method based on cooperation

http://ivbela.ning.com/

which enhances the principle of equal opportunity in heterogeneous classrooms (Stanford

University), MindLab, which develops thinking by interactive games (Yale University), and a

Hungarian didactic workshop in Differential Learning.

Students from the school have performed better than the Hungarian average in National level

mathematical and reading competencies. Students from the school also captured the top 5 spots in

the national Table-games competition. Teachers' work during the lessons is measured to evaluate

their competencies and evaluate classroom activities. The evaluation of students’ activities

includes measurement of cooperation during group lessons and measurement of achievements and

class-room activities.

Name of the ILE Deák Diák Általános Iskola (Deák Diák Primary School)

Location/Address Budapest

Country Hungary

Website http://www.deakdiak.hu


Duration of ILE

Keywords Self-assessment, peer assessment, project-based learning

Heterogeneity forms the basis of organization for this ILE. In the continuously segregating

Hungarian school system, Deák Diák attempts to offer a safe and helping learning environment

for children coming from every layer of society. The learning is organized so that pupils become

more tolerant while taking part in various school programs. The school focuses on social skills

and metacognitive abilities and makes use of self- and peer-assessment to do so.

Lower primary grades have two class masters who share teaching tasks and take turns in

organizing afternoon activities. All lower primary students stay in school the whole day, learning

and playing together. More than 2/3rds of the upper primary students spend the afternoon in

school, preparing together for the next school day.

Once a year, all students, except first graders, go to a campsite not too far from the school. This

exercise is intended to reinforce a sense of belonging. Special one-day school programmes, as

well as Christmas parties, class concerts, and others are organized so that children can get to know

their peers' talents. Every year, all classes also have one-week forest school an event organized to

develop social skills, environmental awareness, and health education.

Currently, the school is designing a learning atmosphere that makes use of modern IT equipment.

These technologies allow cooperation and peer teaching, and quite a few teachers have

participated in designing competence based programmes, and their testing and adaptation were

performed at the school. Digital information sharing platforms such as SMS, websites, and email

are used during the teaching/learning period as well as afternoon activities.

http://www.deakdiak.hu/

39

The school also has had a music school for 10 years which assists in the development of the

students with a special music programme. Students become members of various bands and the

school choir plays a vital role in the education of special needs children.

The school was a pioneer in the use of a variety of techniques - projects, scientific work,

formative assessment, etc. - which have gone on to become parts of the national practice. Project

based learning and scientific work is utilized to assist students in becoming lifelong learners.

Children work in groups of four on projects and parents have access to their work via the school

website. Each year, teachers choose a central topic and the majority of the learning is organized

around it.

The two teacher leaders have been part of various educational projects and development teams,

which designed modern pedagogy based methods, and have different experiences as teacher-

trainers. All teachers have relatively high education for primary school teachers, and they are open

to innovative methods and have participated in many training programmes.

Students perform above average in national competencies, and more than 90% of them go on to

institutions providing GCSE and A-levels. The school assessments are both summative and

formative. Self assessment is closely linked with group assessment, and a satisfaction evaluation

section is a part of the school evaluation system. There is forum where parents express their

opinions.

MEXICO-NUEVO LEON

Name of the ILE Centro de Atención (CAM) Múltiple Profr. Rubén Reyes Rodríguez

Location/Address Nuevo-León

Country Mexico

Website

Age range Nursery - 6

Duration of ILE

Keywords Art-based learning; non-verbal communication; collaboration;

individualized; self-esteem development

CAM attempts to support the schooling of students with physical or learning disabilities, which

prevent them from attending regular school, through a program that promotes the development of

artistic skills. The program targets non-verbal communication and expression, personal autonomy,

self-identify and interpersonal relationships, collaboration and team-work, social integration, and

reconciliation of the individual with the society.

The impetus for this program was an evaluation conducted by CAM, which showed that 86.57%

of early childhood population showed low achievement in language and communication skills,

and the fact that 44.23% of students show multiple disabilities. Specifically the program aims to

increase students’ attention span by participating in art classes, develop their motor skills,

improve their self esteem, self-realization, independence, and sense of safety, develop their

leadership skills, and increase parent participation. Groups of students participate in two 30-

minute sessions per week, each of which can be either Music, Drama, Dance, Events, Festivals, or

Clown Club. There has been increasing parental involvement in the various artistic activities.

The facilitators are certified teachers and specialists in different areas. Most are project leaders

with more than 10 years of experience as well as members of multidisciplinary teams. The

program implementation has been the result of collaboration among the staff. The teachers

participate in planning session to exchange experiences and promote better learning outcomes

according to students' capabilities.

The program has had a positive impact on the personality development of disabled children. The

program has met all its short term goals. There has been a decrease in the percentage of students

with low learning profiles from 86.57% to 58.43%. Students have shown improvements in

mathematics, life skills, and physical education well beyond expectations.

41

Name of the ILE CENDI DEL FPTYL

Location/Address Monterrey, Nuevo Leon

Country Mexico

Website http://www.cendi.org

Age range 45 days - 6 years


Keywords student-student learning, community interactions, extracurricular

programs, social equity, holistic, inquiry-based learning

CENDI aims to achieve social equity by guaranteeing access to services that would help integrate

children under 6 years of age to society. The school attempts to provide holistic development

through a system based on five key processes - pedagogy, health, nutrition, psychology, and social

work. CENDI provides supplemental learning processes based on a scientifically designed

curriculum.

The early childhood program, which targets 0-3 year olds, includes infant massage, bits of

intelligence, music, English, and gymnastics to support neuromotor affective, and social

development. The K-K program, targeting 3 to 6 year olds focuses on six content areas - arts, life

skills, mathematics, physical education and health, language arts and science. These areas are

enriched by the presence of technology, karate, drawing, molding, dancing, physical education

and yoga. For both tracks, there exists ongoing evaluation that allows detection of children's

developmental needs in a multidisciplinary fashion. There an institutional version of the program

that serves approximately 3150 individuals, and a house-schooled version that serves about 1150.

CENDI has strong links to the parents and the community, who are strongly linked to the

children's learning. It uses effective use of play as a learning tool. The program's evidence base is

very strong and spans 18 years. Alumni activities have been tracked to assess the impact of the

program for 12 years. There have also been systemic studies conducted by the Canadian Institute

for Advanced Research in collaboration with McMaster University and with the support of World

Bank.

Name of the ILE CEDIM

Location/Address Santa Catarina, Nuevo Leon

Country Mexico

Website http://www.cedim.edu.mx

Age range 17-19 years


http://www.cendi.org/

http://www.cedim.edu.mx/

Keywords project-based, private partnership, professional education, student-

centric, collaborative, formative assessment

CEDIM was founded to develop a 21st century educational model that brings together students,

professors, and external organizations. It aims to become a center of opportunity, development,

community, interaction, personal projection, and expansion where students can put their creativity

to use in solving real-life problems. The impetus for its creation was the concern that students

were graduating without enough skills or experience to immerse in professional life.

The curriculum is focused on Innovation, Humanity, Technology and business. Students develop

solutions to complex problems, while interacting with their environment through technological

and social cultural tools, and coexisting with people from different cultures and profiles. The

learning is organized in a digital RoadMap tool, which keeps track of student progress, serves as a

location for interchange of ideas, and manages study sessions. Students are responsible for their

own learning, and periodic goals are set and their progress is assessed. Students take one class at a

time for 2-4 weeks and about 6 classes in a semester. Professors assume facilitative roles, and

creative analysis and problem solving is used to stimulate both sides of the brain.

The ILE includes multiple kind of facilitators: Teachers, with much teaching experience and

expertise in redesigning educational programs; Specialists, who offer courses in focused areas;

and Guests, who are designers, artists and professionals, that teach classes as well as provide

tutoring to help students with talent and global vision of the tendencies in innovation, design and

business.

Parents are involved in the learning process and learning takes place at many of the public places

and cultural facilities that Monterrey has to offer. Student work is tracked through portfolios and

their work is presented frequently to the larger community.

There is an inter student evaluation - Design Innovation Awards, which is a competition of all

student projects judged by external organizations and professionals. This process is integrated into

the academic process.

Name of the ILE Colegio Guadalupe

Location/Address

Country Mexico

Website http://viaeducation.org

Age range 6 - 15 years old

Duration of ILE

Keywords student-led; individualized; holistic; equity; civic education; research-

based projects

http://viaeducation.org/

43

The Education for Democratic Citizenship Program aims to foster democratic ideals among

Mexican youth at a time when democracy is weak and the population is willing to accept an

authoritarian regime in Latin America. The program targets lower-middle and lower class urban

population. The impetus for the program came from the founders' studies and research, experience

working with marginalized indigenous communities, and research that had been done at the MIT

Media Lab. In addition to developing democratic tendencies that help them identify themselves as

individuals with rights, the program attempts to foster an inclusive society that supports socially

sustainable development. The focus on democratic citizenship is combined with diverse content

areas such as language arts, civics, and economics.

Learning is oriented towards content as well as attitudes, values, and life skills. Students initiate

and lead the learning and teachers act as facilitators. The pedagogy focuses on real life problems

and attempts to incorporate the ideas of Vygotsky, Freinet, and Piaget. The school also puts into

practice what it teaches through its democratically elected student council that is responsible for

many important school decisions.

The program has followed a systematic roll out process with a design, implementation, evaluation,

adjustment, systematization, end-of-pilot, and transference phase. The training of the facilitators

as well as the experience of the participants have been evaluated periodically. The qualitative and

quantitative analyses have shown that program is well aligned to its objectives and that it is

serving its purpose.

Name of the ILE Nuevo Colegio Israelita De Monterrey, A.C.

Location/Address Monterrey, Nuevo Leon

Country Mexico

Website http://www.cimac.edu.mx


Duration of ILE

Keywords multicultural learning; pluralism; collaborative learning;

constructivist; student-contributes

The overall objective of this ILE, as a Jewish community day school, is to share its culture and

traditions with the society that it is a part. It is founded on the belief that an innovative school

demands that the outside world be brought into its educational realm in order to promote

multicultural dialogue within the community, thus allowing the school's members to live

harmoniously within it and share its array of fruits. It also aims to move away from the traditional

school model which restricts learners to pre-defined and solely academically sound parameters.

Specifically, the school aims to contribute to the successful deployment of children and

adolescents for a highly competitive world, enable students to base their characters upon human

values, namely integrity, honesty, humility, respect, and tolerance, provide children with an

atmosphere conducive to continuous education, promote and practice respect towards a diversity

http://www.cimac.edu.mx/

of abilities, beliefs, and cultures, as well as the environment, and provide the required elements

for the formation of each student's Jewish identity based on a commitment to Israel, the Jewish

people, their traditions, and institutions.

The educational model is based on constructivist theory of learning. The work carried out in the

classroom is centered on teaching that is adaptable to the students' individual learning needs. It

promotes collaboration and teamwork. Specific projects, activities, and concepts for learning new

items are derived from the curriculum are developed and coordinated by the teachers over the

course of the year. It is common practice for students to actively participate in the planning and

evaluation of their own learning.

The teaching staff create dynamic and enjoyable learning environments, full of vitality, that

stimulate the students into developing responsibilities for their own particular style of learning.

The staff consists of 2 directors, 3 academic coordinators, 13 homeroom teachers, 5 Judaic studies

teachers, 14 specialized (phys. ed, Arts, IT, etc.) teachers, and 1 on-site psychologist. All teachers

are required to have at least a Bachelor's degree, with many having a Master's level education.

They lease with students parents, and the community in all the activities and provide a cooperative

working environment.

Evaluation is a fundamental took in the process of teaching and learning and students play a vital

role. Both summative and formative evaluation is practiced. These evaluations are used to

incorporate three major threads into the school model - National syllabus, Judaic studies

programme, and the English language thread. The tools for evaluations include oral interviews,

written appraisals, through hands-on, group wide activities in and outside the classroom, and via

student portfolios.

45

NORWAY

Name of the ILE Ruseløkka school

Location/Address Oslo

Country Norway

Website http://www.ruselokka.gs.oslo.no

Age range Primary & lower secondary school years


Keywords hands-on technological learning; small group learning;

The school model attempts to tackle 21st century learning challenges through the provision of

state-of-the-art general education to a broad range of pupils. The backbone of the project is

developing, testing, assessing, and documenting a number of multi-subject teaching programmes.

The programmes continue for one to two weeks and are implemented once or twice a year. The

common factor for all the programs is a practical approach. Students have made simple

technological products such as a crane, and electronic warning circuit, a new and modern design

for an old lamp, etc. Parents, professionals and representatives of working life and educational

institutions are regularly invited to participate in teaching programmes.

Dual emphasis is placed on theory and practice. There is an emphasis on pupil work and follow-

up work. Practical work takes place in small teacher-led groups of 4-5 people. All teachers

participate in designing the program before it begins and evaluating it after it is completed. The

equipment and tools used are inexpensive and robust and can be used in a variety of teaching

programmes in technology and design.

The students design, and redesign products with social relevance. In this process, they are

confronted with decisions that concern resources, the environment and ethics. Students use formal

mathematics and central subject matter from natural science and arts and crafts to resolve practical

tasks. The practical approach gives students the joy of mastering and keeps them motivated.

The arts and crafts teachers in close collaboration with natural science teachers played a decisive

role in the development of the school's learning arena. The project manager at the school has an

engineering background and maintains close contacts with leading experts in technology and

education. She and two other teachers have authored a book in the field, Teknologi og designboka,

http://www.ruselokka.gs.oslo.no/

and have taught many courses across the country in the topic. The ILE has skilled arts and crafts

teachers.

There are a number of documents that cover the school's activities quite comprehensively. These

include planning documents from teacher teams, information letters to pupils and guardians, week

plans/work plans, pupil journals that contain pupil assessments of learning profits and overview

features, etc. These documents form the basis for a qualitative assessment of the project. There

has been a scientific follow-up research of the autumn semester of 2008 by the University College

of Oslo. Student performance and responses to survey indicate positive effects from the ILE.

Graduates of the program have also been observed to consider a broader range of education

choices.

Name of the ILE Breidablikk Lower Secondary School

Location/Address Sandefjord

Country Norway

Website http://www.sandefjordskolen.no/breidablikk

Age range 12 - 16


Keywords Student-led; Experiential learning

During the structural renovation of the school, teachers, seconded by administrators, felt the need

to introduce content and pedagogy that motivated students to acquire tools for lifelong learning

early. Students are encouraged to exploit their interests in one of three paths: FROY - traditional

Norwegian curriculum with a focus on experiential learning; FRIGG - offers students four

choices: nature, environment, and outdoor school; sports, health, and lifestyle; media and

communication; and, Music; ODIN - an elite section for alternative learning the places equal

emphasis on theory and practice.

The learning, which utilizes Microsoft's Learning Gateway for planning and organization, takes

place in groups of flexible sizes in periods lasting six weeks, within each of which a student

chooses an area of interest to focus on. The six-week period is organized through teacher-student

collaboration and the pedagogy used is inspired by Piaget, Dewey, and Vygotsky to provide

cognitive and socio-cultural learning. Following each six week period, students are assessed and

suggestions are given for improvement. Pupils have been observed to have increased self esteem

and alumni of the school have some of the lowest dropout rates in the nation at higher levels of

education.

Teachers have varied academic backgrounds from college and university. Administrators possess

domestic and foreign business organizational experiences.

http://www.sandefjordskolen.no/breidablikk

47

Name of the ILE Prestehia School - Age Mixture/LP Model

Location/Address Kristiansand

Country Norway

Website http://www.minskole.no/presteheia

Age range Grades 1-7

Duration of ILE at least since 2005

Keywords Mixed-age learning; student-student teaching, learning plans

The Presteheia school makes use of a mixed-age learning model and a Learning Environment and

Pedagogical Analysis (LP) model. In the mixed-age learning model, students from years 1-4 are

grouped together to participate in activities that last an hour a week for 22 weeks, and students

from years 5-7 are grouped together for 36 weeks, where three hours per week for four weeks

feature the same activities.

The former group has a choice of 11 activities - literature, games, physical exercise, construction,

ICT, Arts and crafts, textiles, woodworking, dancing/playing, food/health, and English - and the

latter group has a choice of 9 activities - technology & design, mathematics, sport, ICT, arts and

crafts, textiles and woodworking and pottery, music, outdoors school focusing on natural science,

and food and health. There is a "dialogue and socialization" section that focuses on relationship

building and reduces bullying, and a "learning pyramid" section, which is self-organized, that

gives students the opportunity to teach other pupils.

In the LP portion, the school closely follows the original model of Thomas Nordahl providing the

widest perspective possible for the students. The school has been placed above the national level

in pupil, parent, and teacher surveys and students have performed better than their peers in most

schools in the national tests.

Most teachers have general teacher education (4-5 years). 20 percent are preschool teachers with

additional training.

http://www.minskole.no/presteheia

PORTUGAL

Name of the ILE Escola Movel

Location/Address Online

Country Portugal

Website http://escolamovel.dgidc.min-edu.pt


Duration of ILE 2005 - present.

Keywords distance learning, interdisciplinary, multiple literacies, interactive,

equity, inclusive, portfolios, individualized, student-centered

Escola Móvel is a distance learning project that was started with the goal of providing permanent

access to a virtual, national-curriculum oriented learning environment for the students from

families of showmen, and circus artists and workers, who would otherwise have to change schools

frequently. Specifically, it attempts to reduce the high dropout rate among this population, which

has resulted from the families' constantly changing environments. Today, the program has

expanded to include teenage mothers as well as students over 15 who have repeatedly failed to

complete compulsory education. The ILE has formed partnerships with public schools and

welfare institutions to expand its target population beyond the travelling families.

The project, while adhering to the Portuguese national curriculum, makes use of interdisciplinary

subject areas, and mandatory tutoring periods. Curriculum design, instruction, and assessment are

adjusted to the students' specific interests and learning needs. The program aims to create subject-

based core competencies as well as cross-curricular and interpersonal skills.

Student schedules are organized so that they interact online (on a Moodle platform) with teachers

and their peers at regular times. These interactions happen via chats and forums, which are

student-centered and provide individualized learning with continuous feedback. There are also

face-to-face meetings with teachers that happen four weeks in a year, which includes tutoring

sessions.

The program has resulted in the reduction of the dropout rate, as 91.5% of the student population

received passing marks, including positive results in national exams. An external evaluation by an

expert in e-/b-learning has also showed that having regular and undisrupted access to a learning

environment has a positive relationship with students' success and development of teaming,

collaboration, and interpersonal skills.

http://escolamovel.dgidc.min-edu.pt/

49

The 24 subject teachers are organized into 3- or 4- person groups in each subject area. Senior

teachers make pedagogical and organizational decisions. All teachers come from public schools

and have undergone training in b-/e-learning and other innovative practices. They prepare

multimedia virtual resources and teach classes online by moderating chats/forums. Each teacher

conducts tutoring sessions with 3-5 students to build close relationships with students and their

families. In these sessions, the portfolios are organized and updated, and cognitive, social, and/or

interpersonal difficulties are identified and attempted to be rectified.

SLOVENIA

Name of the ILE Internet Classroom

Location/Address Skofja Loka

Country Slovenia

Website


Duration of ILE

Keywords e-classroom; virtual environments; cooperative learning; cross-subject

connections

The PS Skofja Loka-Mesto e-classroom (based on Moodle) offers pupils diverse activities and

actions for a more in-depth learning and opportunities to use different learning paths to

knowledge. Virtual environment, where established, enables optimisation of learning for both

gifted pupils as well as for those with learning difficulties. The use of ICT gives pupils support in

their creativity and capacity of innovation. It raises the level of motivation for all pupils. The

acquisition, consolidation, and deepening of knowledge on the internet classroom is an excellent

supplement to teaching and an excellent tool for evaluation.

The internet classroom encourages children to develop key competencies, including

communicating in mother tongue and foreign language, mathematics, science and technology,

teaching to learn, self-initiative cultural awareness, and social competencies. Pupils are directed to

search independently on the internet for information, which makes them accustomed to a safe and

critical use of ICT in their work, in their spare time, and in their communications which

contributes to the development of their critical and independent thinking.

Mutual communications and those with teachers are enabled via forums and chat rooms as well as

individual reports contribute to a deeper student-teacher relationship and positively contribute to

the social development of children. The fact that the classroom is virtual allows the students to

learn outside regular class times, whenever and wherever.

A qualitative assessment is provided through messages and feedback is immediately provided

after the final examination, which takes place online. Computer analysis of results makes it

possible for teachers to detect those areas of knowledge where pupils have difficulties and need to

be consolidated.

51

More than 20 teachers are part of the project. They have expertise in a wide variety of subjects -

mathematics, physics, chemistry, music education, techniques and technology, history, English,

geography, citizen education and ethics, and computer science.

Name of the ILE Enrichment Programmes

Location/Address Domzale

Country Slovenia

Website

Age range Primary school age

Duration of ILE

Keywords Self-development, constructivist learning, motivation, use of ICT

This ILE attempts to tackle 21st century challenges and follows the realization of key

competencies for the global society, society of knowledge, and the development of individual

potentials for an active lifestyle in the community and for lifelong learning.

Enrichments programmes have been derived from the contents of the regular curriculum and they

enable the students to: choose programmes based on their interests; create their own process of

learning; researching, creating, and publically performing; acquire knowledge and exchange

experiences in heterogeneous connection among their contemporaries; recognize their own

potential and discover inner motives for learning; and develop social skills, learning strategies,

independence and working responsibility.

Evaluation at the school goes beyond the limits of regular school assessment. Regular up to date

information is gathered and provided on separate phases of learning and achievements. Teachers

and pupils assess processes with the help of different evaluation approaches - questionnaires,

scales, reports, interviews, etc., and the two groups engage in enriched pedagogical conversations.

Students' work is presented at the school level and in the wider community through presentations,

exhibitions and through promotions and via modern technical solutions, which include films,

animated films, etc.

The programmes are usually implemented as activities that are counterparts to the regular

curriculum. They include free interest activities, additional lessons, and hours of individual and

group assistance. Learning takes place in a variety of ways. Field- and research-work is conducted

in nature and diverse social interactions are created through which social skills are developed.

Active methods of learning such as observing, comparing, analyzing, using knowledge in new

situations, cooperative learning, and project work is practiced. Active multilingualism and

multicultural learning is encouraged.

At the moment there are 15 teachers involved in the enrichment programmes. They often

collaborate with outside experts - artists, researchers, scientists, etc. - when implementing the

programmes.

There is self-evaluation that is being developed. Students respond positively year after year to the

additional programmes that are added. A variety of documentary sources (reports, films, etc.),

which detail the work done so far, exists.

53

SWITZERLAND-BERN

Name of the ILE Institut Beatenberg

Location/Address Beaternberg

Country Switzerland

Website http://www.institut-beatenberg.ch



Keywords teacher-facilitated; individualized; collaborative; mixed-age

Institut Beatenberg aims to: 1) consistently focus on the sustainable success of the individual

learner on the basis of personal preferences and social involvement; 2) provide and elaborate

system of setting as and tools that foster the learners' competence in subjects like mathematics,

foreign language, as well as methodical/metacognitive and social competencies; 3) develop a

learning culture with variable structures that is oriented towards pupils' strengths and needs; 4)

train teachers/facilitators to become "LernCoaches" (Learning Coaches). Specifically, the ILE

attempts to form self-forming competence, which includes knowledge which is applicable if

requested by situations and needs, skills that are multifaceted, methodical, and becomes part of a

strategic repertoire, and attitudes that include relating to others, self-responsibility, pleasure in

constructive handling/mastering of resistance.

The Institute has created learning environments that integrally combine individual support and

collective learning. In mixed-age and mixed-achievement learning-teams the learners work

individually and/or in groups on individual projects/intentions/enterprises and personally relevant

goals. Intensive training and subject-oriented workshops/ateliers (in small groups) provide the

opportunity to systematically construct domain specific competence, particularly in areas of

mathematics and language. There are daily arrangements called "Aktivs", which consider creative,

manual, and sportive interests. "Special Learning Days", "Service Learning", and "Units"

(projects), which takes place periodically, lay focus on certain content/domain-specific and

methodical/metacognitive aspects.

Learning takes place in a large open space and each student has a designated personal workspace

called "home base". Pupils act as pedagogues as they are expected to teach to and learn from

others.

Teachers have classical teacher education and there are people with professional experience and

http://www.institut-beatenberg.ch/

background on the staff who serve as instructors. In addition, all undergo intensive internal

training to become "LernCoaches". Each coach has a group of 12 adolescents under his/her

supervision and two or three such groups form a learning team. Much collaboration is demanded

and observed between coaches.

The school is periodically evaluated by the learners. Diploma and master thesis have been

produced evaluating the learning environment. There have been many national and international

publications that have praised the model used at the Institute. The school has also been using the

"2Q" quality control and development system.

Name of the ILE Primarschule Lindenfeld

Location/Address Burgdorf

Country Switzerland

Website http://www.lindenfeld.kibs.ch/schulentwiklung.html



Keywords mixed-age learning; cooperative; individualized; socio-emotional

Primarschule Lindenfeld aims to create a learning environment which is based around mixed-age

learning as a pedagogical principle. It aims to create a cooperative/collegial developmental arena

for pupils. In trying to make the most use of mixed-age learning, it uses the heterogeneity of the

children for their learning, starting from their individual levels of learning. It views individuality

as an enrichment for the community. Subject-matter, social, and self competence are given equal

importance.

The learning primarily occurs in class communities. Instruction is organized in the plenum, in

differently composed groups, in partner work and in individual work. Subject specific lessons are

variably endowed for different grades giving the school and opportunity to work individually with

each grade group, allowing quicker detection of the learning status and the assistance needs, and

enables fostering of small groups. Age-group-spanning forms are used to introduce themes and

common activities, and deepening of content occurs in mixed-age groups or performance-

homogeneous learning groups. Students have daily as well as weekly schedules ("schedules

work"), which are composed tasks they choose and elect to work at their own pace.

In both schedules work and project work teachers act as learning companions (counselors). The

teaching team is composed of young professionals and experienced staff. Some of them have

further training in various areas. There are remedial teachers who support the regular teaching

staff. The school is headed by Anna Müller, primary school teacher, graduate teacher for adult

education, and graduate headmaster.

Despite the use of mixed-age groups, pupil evaluations are conducted by age. Students' progress is

tracked all year long and parents are notified of assessments results 4 times a year.

http://www.lindenfeld.kibs.ch/schulentwiklung.html

55

The University of Teacher Education in Bern has launched a project analyzing and documenting

the mixed age-teaching at the school. Currently, it is also conducting an evaluation of the school.

Name of the ILE REOSCH, Ressoourcenorientierte Schule

Location/Address Bern

Country Switzerland

Website http://www.resosch.ch

Age range Grades 7 - 11


Keywords individual/independent learning; emotional learning;

REOSCH attempts to instill domain- and subject-specific knowledge by fostering

attentiveness/mindfulness, personal learning techniques, and consciousness of resources. It is the

school's belief these are essential preconditions for lifelong learning. Mental training and martial

arts are used as means for reaching these goals. More specifically, REOSCH aims to enable

students to: plan and analyze tasks independently, under their own initiative; overcome resistance;

develop the ability to concentrate, resist stress, and cope with pressure; self-motivate; acquire

flexibility, patience, sense of responsibility, and competency in relationships and ability to deal

with conflicts.

The school's pedagogy is based on the official curriculum for public schools. Each student

develops a weekly schedule on his/her own and organized tasks that would be completed in a

given week. At the beginning of each day, the teacher declares which of the content can be trained

orally and when the teaching will be interrupted by mental trainings or exercises in martial arts

(Kung-Fu, Aikido), allowing the students to plan their time. Before the end of each day, the

students reflect on their day in the "energy diary". The cognitive learning aims are assessed in a

report; however, it is only used to track the progress of individual students - there is no

comparison with the peer group. The emotional learning, as observed by the teachers, is reported

in a diploma. Once a week each student has a confidential coaching conversation with the

facilitator.

All teachers have a diploma or a certificate. Additionally, teachers undergo "Intervision" (peer

consulting) every Friday afternoon. The learning aims of the students apply to teachers as well

and they receive undergo regular exercises in meditation. There have been no studies/analyses

conducted about the ILE so far.

Name of the ILE Gesamtschule Lindetal

Location/Address Boll

http://www.resosch.ch/

Country Switzerland

Website

Age range 6-15 years

Duration of ILE

Keywords individualized progression through grades; autonomous; problem-

solving

Gesamtschule Lindental is a "comprehensive school" that includes grades 1 to 9 in a single

classroom (the school only has 19 students). The mixing of ages is intended to mimic everyday

life. Such grouping results in a healthy and natural mixture in a community aiming for discovering

new topics and for keeping the joy of learning alive. Each child is perceived and fostered in

his/her developmental process. There is no grade retention and each child passes through the nine

years of school at a pace that corresponds to his/her cognitive and intellectual development. Such

an approach ensures that low achieving students are not confronted with their weaknesses again

and again, but find ways and solutions on their own leading to increased self-confidence. This

also means that gifted students encounter additional material corresponding to their interests and

abilities. Furthermore, since students are seldom over/under challenged, there are nearly no

disciplinary problems in class.

The fact that children take over changing roles in a structure constant over many years leads to a

naturalistic and socially stable situation which enables creative and individual forms of learning.

In his/her social and emotional development each child passes through the nine school years in a

natural role distribution like among siblings.

The learning is organized so that each quarter is dedicated to a theme. The themes alternatively

focus on scientific, social, historical, and environmental topics. The lower grades approach the

themes quite emotionally, the middle grades systematically, and the upper grades theoretically.

Students are free to use learning materials, instruments, sport equipment, and more after lessons in

developing the theme. The regular school timetable is not organized by subject but by student

preference for learning. The learning content is not presented by lessons, but treated by each

student individually in his/her time needed for the work (week plan work).

Grades are seldom used. At the end of each task or a project feedback and recognition of work is

given. The grades in the school report correspond to the abilities expected at the developmental

state of a certain age.

The school/class is maintained by persons with combined 150% full time equivalents. For half of

the lessons per week, two teachers are present. During this time there is much cooperation

between the teachers. The headmaster works 100% of the time and lives in the school building.

Three lessons in textile handicraft are given by a specialized teacher.

57

SWITZERLAND-TICINO

Name of the ILE Chiamale Emozioni

Location/Address Locarno

Country Switzerland

Website



Keywords socio-emotional learning; collaborative;

Chiamale Emozioni attempts to promote life skills and socio-emotional competencies by

supporting cognitive and emotional maturation in children. The school model is based on the

"Life Skills education is school" guidelines published by the WHO/OMS in 1993. The school also

gives strong consideration to CASEL's (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional

Learning) social and emotional developments standards, as there is growing evidence that

improve such competencies can have a positive outcomes in education.

Critical thinking and active involvement are primary characteristics of this ILE. Children are

given different ways to show personal learning, such as paintings, role playing, oral

communication, and handcraft. Formative feedback is provided through discussions with children

and analysis of life experiences.

The learning is organized such that project assistants work once every week for one hour in every

class involved. Teachers enforce activities and educational messages during the week. They have

weekly meetings and other occasions where they organize opportunities of learning. Project

assistants act as teachers and the pedagogical relationship between the teachers and students is

very traditional. The school structures its own curriculum based on techniques developed at ASP,

the only college of teacher education in the area. Furthermore, the school takes advantage of Mark

Greenberg's PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies) curriculum and several

scientific publications on English and Italian language.

The teaching staff consists of two coordinators, who act as leaders of the group, three assistants,

and twelve kindergarten and elementary school teachers. The coordinators have advanced degrees

in education, and experiences in the social field in different countries. The assistants and teachers

have bachelors degrees and a few also have further qualifications. The organization is kept "light"

to ensure that the model is easily replicable.

Teacher self-reports and questionnaires are used to assess the impact of the intervention. From

these it is clear that the program has improved children's ability to name and recognize emotions,

reflecting skills, and increased the ability to think before they act. The effect of these

improvements on academic achievement has not been assessed yet.

Name of the ILE Obiettivo: comprensione

Location/Address Bellinzona

Country Switzerland

Website http://www.ti.ch/decs/ds/usr/default.asp


Duration of ILE

Keywords social learning; critical reasoning abilities; collaborative

The aim of this ILE is to lead an extended number of students of some Swiss vocational schools to

develop forms of authentic understanding, interacting with their teachers in a framework inspired

to the methodology "Understanding by design (UBD)" by Wiggins and McTighe. The process

takes place in a collaborative environment and is based on a systemic view where a School

Improvement Advisor-researcher (SIA) helps and gives advice to the school and to its teachers in

a non-invasive, but scientifically sound way.

The program is founded on the belief that in a fast changing environment, where access to

information and communication skills are of primary importance, the ability to reason correctly

and to interact with others is essential. Socialization and interpersonal relations are of great

importance at the school and cooperative and collaborative learning is practiced at the school.

The learning is organized on the basis of "backward planning", where the foreseen understandings

are stated in the first instance, followed by the determination of the acceptable evidence, and at

the end, by the real planning of the learning experiences. Each unit starts with a presentation to

the students; then their motivation is aroused through interesting and stimulating questions to be

debated; thereafter the students will be equipped and scaffold in order to conduct a rigorous

enquiry on the theme; these stages are followed by a deep reflections and the process ends with

the "product". Formative evaluation, where possible, is conducted with the help of rubrics. Of

particular importance is the authentic performance, a kind of concrete situation that ends the cycle

of lessons.

The teachers participating in the project are working in the Swiss vocational school domain,

mainly teaching cultural subjects. There is a plan in the works to include vocational and technical

subject teachers. The SIA, a new kind of figure in the school domain, who brings together the

roles of consultant, critical friend, and academic researcher, is present on a part-time basis at the

individual schools with which he/she cooperates.

There are a variety of assessments - authentic performance for whole understandings; convincing

explanations for individual understandings; use of a checklist for formal knowledge; and

realization of a task for skills.

http://www.ti.ch/decs/ds/usr/default.asp

59

The first results from the experience, on the basis of data stemming from a questionnaire assessing

teaching by the students were positive. There are plans to conduct interviews and other

evaluations.

Name of the ILE Differenziare per un apprendimento migliore per tutti

Location/Address Stabio, Ticino

Country Switzerland

Website http://www.scuoladic.ti.ch/riforma3/pratiche-

pedagogiche/implementrazione07-08/index.htm


Duration of ILE since 1970s

Keywords Teacher-teacher collaboration; socio-cognitive; organizational

This ILE makes use of pedagogical differentiation by capitalizing on the experiences of a few

teachers who possessed the experiential knowledge. It was implemented in heterogeneous groups.

Pupils, through differentiation (non-structural), are expected to learn better all the curricular aims

in the disciplines they are taught. The new curriculum includes academic knowledge, attitudes,

and social skills. Teachers often collaborate with one another and build consensus on general

goals that should be taught.

The learning organization is very flexible. Teaching activities include group-merging, co-

teaching, project days, and activity displays during presentations to other learners, teachers, and

parents. Through formative assessment strategies, the teaching is fine-tuned to closely follow how

the pupil's learning evolves. The learning progress is thus clearly visible, which allows teachers to

collaborate in setting up targeted activities together with SEN teachers when dealing with children

facing greater challenges in their learning and adjustment to class/school.

The learning environments include classrooms, laboratories, open and free spaces, and virtual

learning environments. Interactive and peer learning is used, besides materials and strategies that

are geared more towards the individual.

Teachers in the project volunteered their services based on a desire to change, having realized the

ineffectiveness of traditional methods ignoring the differences in their classes. They noticed that

the traditional systems were nurturing in students feelings of intolerance, apathy and in some

cases violence. The teachers did not undergo any specific training on pedagogical differentiation.

Most of their personal and professional development took place via on the job training. It includes

theoretical inputs, preparation of teaching activities, classroom visits by coordinator, formative

interviews, and shared moments of reflection and discussion of the experiences carried out.

There have not yet been any systemic evaluations. The "experimental" classes have not scored

significantly better or worse than the other schools. However, students have been noticed to have

improved motivation, better self-assessment skills, and competence development related to

responsibility taking for learning at school. These experiences counteract the negative effects of

disillusionment and stigmatization that often accompany structural differentiation.

http://www.scuoladic.ti.ch/riforma3/pratiche-pedagogiche/implementrazione07-08/index.htm

http://www.scuoladic.ti.ch/riforma3/pratiche-pedagogiche/implementrazione07-08/index.htm

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