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Hi, my name is Drita. PBL is very useufull and helpful.

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Hi, my name is Drita. PBL is very useufull and helpful.

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Hi everyone!
My name is Jenny (Evgenia) Karoumpali.
I come from Greece and I teach music (since 1998) in both primary and secondary education (in Greece) I am 43 years old.

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1.2. The Importance and Definition of Key Competences

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1.2. The Importance and Definition of Key Competences

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Education adapts to the market’s need throughout history. The paradox is that youth unemployment is high, although young people have developed a range of competences at school much more than older people. I wonder whether the youth unemployment is rather the lack of work places than young people’s training  or skills. I also wonder whether low achieved people could respond to such competences.

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1.3. Key Points on Teaching Key Competences

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1.3. Key Points on Teaching Key Competences

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It is obvious that the teaching of the key competences is crucial for the 21rst century education.

The interdisciplinary teaching, , the collaborative learning, the collaboration with the wider community, the technologically innovative teaching and learning are mentioned in the General part of the current Curriculum for the primary and lower secondary education in Greece (the so-called “Diathematikon Programma”).

On the other hand the Current Curriculum does not encourage much task based teaching. The tasks proposed do not attract pupils much, especially in secondary education.

The use of ICT in classroom is problematic in Greece, as in the majority of schools there is not the necessary infrastructure (in some cases the infrastructure is obsolete).

The current legislation and the bureaucracy in Greece are not helpful for the schools’ collaboration with the wider community. The legislation has to change and the bureaucracy has to be diminished, so that schools’ collaboration with the wider community becomes more effective.

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http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Key-competencies/Tools/Key-competencies-in-teaching

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1.4. Key Points on Assessing Key Competences

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1.4. Key Points on Assessing Key Competences

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In Greece both formative and summative assessment are used. Summative assessment is more important officially (exams) especially in secondary education.

In my opinion the assessing of key competences should be aligned with the exam system which is legislated in secondary education in Greece. There is no accordance between them at all.

The legislation with regard to the assessment is not aligned with the assessing procedure which is proposed in the current curriculum.

Although the current curriculum places emphasis on qualitative assessment, the school reports consist exclusively of quantitative assessment. There are no rubrics which could help with the assessment of key competences.

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1.5. Competence-based Education in Europe

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1.5. Competence-based Education in Europe

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Although the current curriculum in Greece enhances key competences, the exams orientated system (especially in secondary education) contradicts the development of key competences. Pupils develop strategies, which help them to pass the exams. On the other these strategies do not develop all strategies (for example cultural awareness & expression, social  & civic competences, sense of initiative & entrepreuneurship).

The majority of parents in Greece are interested in their children’s exams (especially in the exams for the access at the Universities), so they are interested in the key competences which have to do with the exams (Mathematical competence & basic competences in science and technology, communication in foreign languages, communication in mother tongue).

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1.6. Irish Case Study: Key Skills in the Irish Curriculum & Project Maths

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1.6. Irish Case Study: Key Skills in the Irish Curriculum & Project Maths

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Although I teach music, I can say that Project Maths sounds very interesting. That reminds me of a maths project for secondary education lead by the University of Vanderbilt (Nashville, U.S.).

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2.2. How to Design Project-Based Learning Activities.

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2.2. How to Design Project-Based Learning Activities.

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PBL is an excellent learning tool. On the other hand, things have to be done, so that PBL could be applicable in Greek educational reality.

Greek educational system is too centralized for PBL to work, at least in secondary education. Although projects can be accomplished in Greek schools, there are practical issues with regard to PBL.

The current exam system in secondary education (especially the exams for the admission in Universities) should be aligned with PBL, which does not happen nowadays. Moreover there is not the necessary infrastructure for PBL in the majority of (public) schools in Greece (libraries, ICT etc)

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2.3. How to Develop Learners’ Collaborative Problem Solving Skills.

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2.3. How to Develop Learners’ Collaborative Problem Solving Skills.

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Professor Patrick Griffin mentioned that Pisa exams focus rather on cognitive work than on collaborative work, which I found very interesting.

I agree that participation and contribution in PBL are very significant. In “classical” projects (in Greece) is very usual that high achieved pupils contribute and collaborate much more than low achieved pupils (in secondary education). I have such an experience as parent of my 13 and 14 year-old children, which that complain that few pupils work in their school (“classical”) projects.

A lot of work should be done on the social regulation of group work in the context of PBL (at least in Greece).

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2.4. A Teacher’s Experience of using Project-Based Learning to Teach Mathematics.

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2.4. A Teacher’s Experience of using Project-Based Learning to Teach Mathematics.

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Although I teach Music (not maths) Project Maths is an excellent initiative. It worked for the following reasons:

The syllabus could be redesigned.

The school support was excellent

The leadership was supportive as well.

Project Maths confirms the English saying “it takes two to tango”.

Could this project work in a centralized educational system (like the Greek one) where teachers are not allowed to design their own curricula?

Could this project work in a strict exam system (like the one which exists in Greek secondary education), with a non-flexible curriculum?

Could this project work in inadequate infrastructure?

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2.5. Examples of Project-Based Learning from across Europe.

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2.5. Examples of Project-Based Learning from across Europe.

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I have heard of e-twinning projects. Colleagues of mine have worked on e-twinning projects and they are very contented of their experience. I would like to work an e-twinning project in the future as well.

Although I have heard of entrepreneurial projects that take place in Greece (not very often, let me say). I thought that entrepreneurial learning has to do with teachers that teach economics exclusively. Therefore I thought that entrepreneurial learning was not my business (I teach music).

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3.2. The Key Principles of Assessing Key Competences.

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3.2. The Key Principles of Assessing Key Competences.

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In Greece a teacher uses summative assessment, formative assessment and self assessment. Self assessment is used in both primary and secondary education in Greece the past 10 years. Portfolios are most popular in Kindergarten.

There is a gap between the mode of assessment between in primary and in secondary education in Greece. In primary education emphasis on placed on pupils’ effort, whereas in secondary education emphasis is placed on summative assessment. Therefore there is much difference between pupils’ grades in primary and in secondary education.

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3.3. Good Practice in Assessing Key Competences.

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3.3. Good Practice in Assessing Key Competences.

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It is true that too many pupils and an overloaded curriculum are an obstacle to the effective formative assessment, especially in secondary education.

The portfolios (either analogue or digital) are a very good assessment tools. On the other hand the assessment in Greece is (still) quantitative (in the last classes of primary education and in secondary education), which is not helpful.

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3.4. Assessing Collaborative Problem Solving

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3.4. Assessing Collaborative Problem Solving

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I think that rubrics is the most effective assessment tool for the assessment of the collaborative problem solving.  The social skills of the pupils are very important in the collaborative problem solving as well. I wonder to what extent school can cultivate pupils’ social skills.

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3.5. The Irish Experience of Assessing Mathematics Using a Competence-Based Approach

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3.5. The Irish Experience of Assessing Mathematics Using a Competence-Based Approach

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Although I do not teach Maths (I teach Music) I found this experience of Assessing Maths very interesting.  I am looking forward to ongoing research about the effectiveness of this project, as the results of an educational reform are visible after a decade of their establishment at schools.