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Hello my name Is George and I' m teacher of french as a foreign language and drama. 

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Hello my name Is George and I' m teacher of french as a foreign language and drama. 

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I teach in a Music School which is located in the southern part of Athens near the sea. I enjoy going to school every morning because I can see its deep blue waters.

Our school is located in the southeastern part of Athens and specializes in the field of music. The students come from different parts of the capital. It has about 370 students, and more than 80 teachers of all disciplines. The school comprises both junior and senior High School (12-18 years old). Except the main subjects which are taught in every Greek school,our students take music lessons (theory and practice: music theory courses, harmony, learning a musical instrument). They are offered the opportunity to integrate into several musical groups, where they can play and practice under semi-professional conditions.

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The first video was really interesting and indicative of the fundamental changes the world is undergoing as far as education is concerned. The importance of transversal skills changes the focus, but I don't think they should be separated from content or subject-based learning altogether. In my opinion self-motivation and motivation form others (i.e teacher as well as peers) is very important especially when referring to the ability of "learning to learn'. Psychological support should be provided, when necessary, in order for our students to enhance their sense of self autonomy and persistence. Now, turning to the rest of the competences I should like to highlight the importance of cultural awareness and expression as well as social competence. Students should creatively and collaboratively come up with solutions, which concern their way of being into the world in co-existence with the others, finding their way to become themselves the subjects/co-creators of knowledge that has meaning for them. Finally,  critical thinking is of utmost importance as a learner and citizen.

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The first video was really interesting and indicative of the fundamental changes the world is undergoing as far as education is concerned. The importance of transversal skills changes the focus, but I don't think they should be separated from content or subject-based learning altogether. In my opinion self-motivation and motivation form others (i.e teacher as well as peers) is very important especially when referring to the ability of "learning to learn'. Psychological support should be provided, when necessary, in order for our students to enhance their sense of self autonomy and persistence. Now, turning to the rest of the competences I should like to highlight the importance of cultural awareness and expression as well as social competence. Students should creatively and collaboratively come up with solutions, which concern their way of being into the world in co-existence with the others, finding their way to become themselves the subjects/co-creators of knowledge that has meaning for them. Finally,  critical thinking is of utmost importance as a learner and citizen.

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The thing is  the educational system moves away from solely content-led approaches.  The focus is on the development of several skills to be able to cope in our complex world.  There a constant change as far as the skills are concerned. Nowadays more transversal competences are needed. The key words are personal growth, citizenship, collaboration, high order skills. The need to improve the learners' competences is related to youth unemployment. We quote:  "A useful definition is given by Hoskins and Crick who state that a ‘competence’ can be defined as ‘a complex combination of knowledge, skills, understanding, values, attitudes and desire which lead to effective, embodied human action in the world in a particular domain’. In other words, being competent means being able to effectively apply a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes to successfully react to a situation or solve a problem in the real world. This term started to be developed in France in vocational education. There is not such a thing as a unique definition of the term, but it depends on each European country. According to the ATC 21st century skills there are four dimensions : ways of thinking, ways of living in the world, ways of working, tools for working.   Ways of thinking is conceptualized as including creativity and innovation, criticalthinking, problem-solving, decision making and learning to learn. Ways of living in the worldincludes local and global citizenship, life and career skills, personal and social responsibilityand cultural awareness. Ways of working is considered to include collaboration andcommunication; and tools for working comprises information literacy and ICT literacy. According to the European Union Framework there are 8 main Key Competencies., which are considered to be equally important.  Take for instance...

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The thing is  the educational system moves away from solely content-led approaches.  The focus is on the development of several skills to be able to cope in our complex world.  There a constant change as far as the skills are concerned. Nowadays more transversal competences are needed. The key words are personal growth, citizenship, collaboration, high order skills. The need to improve the learners' competences is related to youth unemployment. We quote:  "A useful definition is given by Hoskins and Crick who state that a ‘competence’ can be defined as ‘a complex combination of knowledge, skills, understanding, values, attitudes and desire which lead to effective, embodied human action in the world in a particular domain’. In other words, being competent means being able to effectively apply a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes to successfully react to a situation or solve a problem in the real world. This term started to be developed in France in vocational education. There is not such a thing as a unique definition of the term, but it depends on each European country. According to the ATC 21st century skills there are four dimensions : ways of thinking, ways of living in the world, ways of working, tools for working.   Ways of thinking is conceptualized as including creativity and innovation, criticalthinking, problem-solving, decision making and learning to learn. Ways of living in the worldincludes local and global citizenship, life and career skills, personal and social responsibilityand cultural awareness. Ways of working is considered to include collaboration andcommunication; and tools for working comprises information literacy and ICT literacy. According to the European Union Framework there are 8 main Key Competencies., which are considered to be equally important.  Take for instance...

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https://www.creativityatwork.com/2014/02/17/what-is-creativity/
Let's take a closer look : Learning to learn, including awareness of one's learning process and ability to overcome obstacles. It is also important to build on prior learning and apply knowledge and skill. The former requires effective management of one's learning, career and work patterns and the ability to to persevere and concentrate for extended periods and to reflect critically http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/critical-thinking-development-a-stage-theory/483
It is also a matter of the right attitude such as the motivation and confidence to pursue and succeed.
A problem solving attitude supports both the learning process itself and an individual's ability to handle obstacles and change.
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_00.htm

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It seems as though there need to be certain conditions to develop and implement the appropriate methods to enhance competences, and it is something we should take care of. Traditional classroom environments are not the appropriate context for such activities. We are talking about real world situations and the creation of interactive learning environments where learners can engage in inquiry-based tasks using techniques such as 'debate, experimentation, exploration and creativity'. This is in accordance with Dewey's and Vygotsky's theories promoting a social and constructional approach (active learning in real life situations). Learners are not passive recipients, but they are explorers. For that reason PBL is ideal for the development of their competences. Key words and concepts are: working in teams, multidisciplinary topics, solving problems, using technology.
Principles:Task -based activities, based on complex problem solving with multiple solutions.
Interdisciplinarity (combination of several subject-areas). Collaborative and individualized learning.
Learner and teacher-led teaching. (responsibility but guidance at the dame time). Technologically innovative teaching. (ICT-digital competence).  In and out-doors environment (formal-informal learning).  Collaboration with wider community.
Highlighting the social and emotional aspects of learning.
There will be needed new curricula to cover these objectives. "All of these elements need to be aligned and this is closely connected to the need for new approaches to assessment. Besides the well-known summative assessment we need the interactive assessment that takes place in the course of learning (formative) necessary for the re-adjustment of teaching. And of course self-assessment that goes beyond standards (i.e. 'assessing' creativity) So assessment should be aligned with key competences. Practicing high-order skills is preferable to just emphasizing content knowledge.
The key competences also emphasize the importance of transversal skills  (important for personal assessment and for learning-to-learn)

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The thing is  the educational system moves away from solely content-led approaches.  The focus is on the development of several skills to be able to cope in our complex world.  There a constant change as far as the skills are concerned. Nowadays more transversal competences are needed. The key words are personal growth, citizenship, collaboration, high order skills. The need to improve the learners' competences is related to youth unemployment. We quote:  "A useful definition is given by Hoskins and Crick who state that a ‘competence’ can be defined as ‘a complex combination of knowledge, skills, understanding, values, attitudes and desire which lead to effective, embodied human action in the world in a particular domain’. In other words, being competent means being able to effectively apply a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes to successfully react to a situation or solve a problem in the real world. This term started to be developed in France in vocational education. There is not such a thing as a unique definition of the term, but it depends on each European country. According to the ATC 21st century skills there are four dimensions : ways of thinking, ways of living in the world, ways of working, tools for working.   Ways of thinking is conceptualized as including creativity and innovation, criticalthinking, problem-solving, decision making and learning to learn. Ways of living in the worldincludes local and global citizenship, life and career skills, personal and social responsibilityand cultural awareness. Ways of working is considered to include collaboration andcommunication; and tools for working comprises information literacy and ICT literacy. According to the European Union Framework there are 8 main Key Competencies., which are considered to be equally important.  Take for instance...

# data[].attributes.subject
The thing is  the educational system moves away from solely content-led approaches.  The focus is on the development of several skills to be able to cope in our complex world.  There a constant change as far as the skills are concerned. Nowadays more transversal competences are needed. The key words are personal growth, citizenship, collaboration, high order skills. The need to improve the learners' competences is related to youth unemployment. We quote:  "A useful definition is given by Hoskins and Crick who state that a ‘competence’ can be defined as ‘a complex combination of knowledge, skills, understanding, values, attitudes and desire which lead to effective, embodied human action in the world in a particular domain’. In other words, being competent means being able to effectively apply a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes to successfully react to a situation or solve a problem in the real world. This term started to be developed in France in vocational education. There is not such a thing as a unique definition of the term, but it depends on each European country. According to the ATC 21st century skills there are four dimensions : ways of thinking, ways of living in the world, ways of working, tools for working.   Ways of thinking is conceptualized as including creativity and innovation, criticalthinking, problem-solving, decision making and learning to learn. Ways of living in the worldincludes local and global citizenship, life and career skills, personal and social responsibilityand cultural awareness. Ways of working is considered to include collaboration andcommunication; and tools for working comprises information literacy and ICT literacy. According to the European Union Framework there are 8 main Key Competencies., which are considered to be equally important.  Take for instance...

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https://www.creativityatwork.com/2014/02/17/what-is-creativity/
Let's take a closer look : Learning to learn, including awareness of one's learning process and ability to overcome obstacles. It is also important to build on prior learning and apply knowledge and skill. The former requires effective management of one's learning, career and work patterns and the ability to to persevere and concentrate for extended periods and to reflect critically http://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/critical-thinking-development-a-stage-theory/483
It is also a matter of the right attitude such as the motivation and confidence to pursue and succeed.
A problem solving attitude supports both the learning process itself and an individual's ability to handle obstacles and change.
https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_00.htm

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Competence-based education in Europe today

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Competence-based education in Europe today

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The concept of key-competences has been adopted by all European education systems, but it expressed through a different term. Some of these countries have amended legislation, or introducing new legislation to set goals and frameworks for integrating key competences into school education. The situation in Europe remains rather varied with only some countries having launched strategies for the development of most of the competencies. In some of them, there has been a significant progress in the matter, while others do not seem to have any progress. Apart form curricula, some countries have used various strategies  to foster competence-based approach, such as innovative partnerships, pilot projects etc. Here are some examples of programmes : Norway's Cultural Rucksack Programme (partnership between the educational and cultural sectors).The Global Enterprise project (teaming up students with professionals). The Project Maths in Ireland. In some countries like Spain support is given to teachers to help them implement the new approach. There is still a lot to be done for competence-based education to become reality, and this presupposes involvement (collaboration, communication) among stakeholders.

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KeyCoNet 2013 Literature Review on Key competence development in school education in Europe

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Frameworks for key skills have been developed for lower and upper secondary education in Ireland. The approach is to embed the competences into the learning outcomes of the formal curriculum and assessment. In this case, school seem to play a vital role in ways that work best for each case. According to the reformation in junior cycle (12-15) literacy, numeracy and six key skills continue to be important. But the focus now seems to be on the skills, like learning to learn, working with others and being reflective, creative an innovative.In senior cycle the change has been made through Project Maths, the first subject to have its syllabuses completely reformed. One of the main aims of the initiative was to improve skills such as reasoning, sense-making and problem-solving. The students should be able to apply knowledge beyond the classroom and to unfamiliar situations, to work collaboratively, to analyse their strategies and use technology. In Ireland, there had been felt a deep need for change in syllabus, and in aligning it with the learning outcomes.

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How to design project-based Learning
PBL is ideal for developing students' competences since it uses methods such as inquiry-based learning and problem-based learning.
Inquiry is searching for the truth, information or knowledge. The three phases are: questioning, exploration and investigation, and is concluded when we come up with solutions, when we draw a conclusion, we make a decision, or we apply new knowledge or skills. (e.g Are all humans born free?). Questions should go beyond the immediately available information. Students should also ask themselves open-ended questions, go deeper and generate new questions. (J. Mergendoller:"non-Googleable Driving Questions"). The concept is to UNCOVER information and EXPLICATE concepts. The purpose of PBL is to help pupils develop higher-order thinking skills: analyse the information, interpret it, compare their findings, make a synthesis, spot strengths and weaknesses, assess it in peers or individually, find solutions and create a new project.
The Problem-based learning method is more practical. Pupils are given a real life problem to investigate (authentic). Different solutions can eventually been discussed and tested to see which will work best in a given situation.  Students should work in small teams or groups, they should analyse and judge all answers (there no right or wrong answers). Some practicalities before implementing PBL approach:

what is your project idea?
time frame?
is it manageable?
limited in a class or does it involve other teachers? (school, another country?)
what is the language proposed?
what will be the subjects integrated?
any technical tools?
how does it fit with school planning and calendar?

The 7 steps:

1) Involve students from the beginning (guided exploration of some topics-ground rules about behavior)

2) break the task down into different tasks, is any technology going to be used?

3) Plan, set goals, define outcomes. Be concrete.

4) put pupils into small groups with responsibilities/encourage pupils to ask relevant and socially significant questions

5) create a tangible artifact

6) arrive at a conclusion, take a stand, take action

7) document, justify and share conclusion with larger audiences.

If the activities are meaningful for students, then their attitude to learning changes for the better.

https://www.edutopia.org/practice/wildwood-inquiry-based-learning-developing-student-driven-questions
http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/12/02/how-to-make-sure-that-project-based-learning-is-applied-well-in-schools/