Across the world, COVID-19-induced school closures severely disrupted learning, disproportionally affecting those from more disadvantaged backgrounds. At the same time, continuous professional development (CPD) educators shifted to remote and online delivery. Yet often, these educators were not well prepared for this.

Despite these challenges, many educators and policy-makers have increased awareness about the potential of remote and online education to increase access and quality. Blended CPD, defined as a pedagogically sound combination of in-person and online modalities, may combine the best of both worlds. 

In this session, three case studies will illustrate the value of blended CPD trajectories for educators:

• VSO describes how principles of universal design for learning were applied in a blended CPD offering to early childhood education and care educators in Bangladesh;
• VVOB describes how technology was used in a blended CPD trajectory for mentor teachers in basic education in Rwanda, to keep them motivated and engaged;
• Aga Khan Foundation reflects on how the Aga Khan Foundation’s Learning Hub has been created as a cost-effective online CPD platform reaching 6,400+ users around the world.
• EdTech Hub reflects on the three case studies drawing on cross-cutting themes, including diversity, gender, and inclusion; motivation and engagement; cost-effectiveness, scalability, and sustainability.

More information here.

CIES 2023 - Improving Education for a More Equitable World

Comparative and international perspectives are essential to fulfilling the dream of educational equity. The CIES 2023 Annual Meeting will explore the following crucial questions: how should we critically look at and meet desired outcomes across time and space? What changes can bring about responsible and sustainable advancement in learning, teaching, and schooling? What implications may these changes have on individual systems, contexts, and the already vulnerable planet? And how may our endeavors help redefine comparative and international education in a way that reconnects it with contextualized educational policy and practice?

Digital credentials are an emerging phenomenon all over the world, that can capture, recognise and validate a broader range of learning outcomes than traditional certification schemes, saving time and money for certificate issuers, retaining control over the validity of credentials and increasing visibility of skills. But: is this relevant for educators, and how?

The European Commission has recently launched its Europass Digital Credential Issuer, a free‑of‑charge web-app that allows credential-awarding bodies to prepare and issue degrees, diplomas or other learning credentials to learners in the form of European Digital Credentials for Learning.

Open Badges are a widely adopted type of digital credentials, that contain verifiable metadata about achievements according to a common data format and are presented as visual symbols of accomplishment. In 2023, the ETF Community of Innovative Educators will start issuing Open Badges to recognise the achievement of those members who submitted a teaching innovation practice and who have been particularly active in the community. During the webinar, the first set of ETF Open Badges will be showcased.

At the end of the webinar, an open session will take place to collect ideas from the community members on new activities to be developed within the community.

On the Agenda: 

➡️ The digital credentials revolution: why is it important for educators? Anthony Camilleri, KIC

➡️ The European Commission strategy for digital credentials, Koen Nomden, European Commission (TBC)

➡️ Open Badges at work: get your badge through the ETF Community of Innovative Educators, Simone Ravaioli 

➡️ How to implement micro and open credentials in daily work of schools, Questions and Answers session – moderated by Fabio Nascimbeni, ETF

➡️ Co-creation session 

The event will take place online on the Zoom platform and will be delivered in English, Russian and Arabic. 

How to register? Please fill in the the registration form

After registering you will receive the link to access the meeting. 

Digital credentials are an emerging phenomenon all over the world, that can capture, recognise and validate a broader range of learning outcomes than traditional certification schemes, saving time and money for certificate issuers, retaining control over the validity of credentials and increasing visibility of skills. But: is this relevant for educators, and how?

The European Commission has recently launched its Europass Digital Credential Issuer, a free‑of‑charge web-app that allows credential-awarding bodies to prepare and issue degrees, diplomas or other learning credentials to learners in the form of European Digital Credentials for Learning.

Open Badges are a widely adopted type of digital credentials, that contain verifiable metadata about achievements according to a common data format and are presented as visual symbols of accomplishment. In 2023, the ETF Community of Innovative Educators will start issuing Open Badges to recognise the achievement of those members who submitted a teaching innovation practice and who have been particularly active in the community. During the webinar, the first set of ETF Open Badges will be showcased.

At the end of the webinar, an open session will take place to collect ideas from the community members on new activities to be developed within the community.

On the Agenda: 

➡️ The digital credentials revolution: why is it important for educators? Anthony Camilleri, KIC

➡️ The European Commission strategy for digital credentials, Koen Nomden, European Commission (TBC)

➡️ Open Badges at work: get your badge through the ETF Community of Innovative Educators, Simone Ravaioli 

➡️ How to implement micro and open credentials in daily work of schools, Questions and Answers session – moderated by Fabio Nascimbeni, ETF

➡️ Co-creation session 

The event will take place online on the Zoom platform and will be delivered in English, Russian and Arabic. 

How to register? Please fill in the the registration form

After registering you will receive the link to access the meeting. 

A key element of solving the teaching and learning crisis worldwide is better supporting teachers to deliver quality education. While it may be easy to think only of school- or high-level interventions, there are key actors at the middle tier of education systems who are uniquely effective in providing this support.

In this second of the two planned webinars, UNESCO International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP) and Education Development Trust (EDT) will examine what does it take for instructional leaders at the middle tier to be successful.

Learn about the first webinar here.

Celebrating the launch of a new research report from IIEP and EDT, Leading teaching and learning together: the role of the middle tier, the webinars will explore the role of a critical but too often neglected set of actors: those working at the ‘middle’ of education systems, such as district education officers, network facilitators, supervisors or teacher mentors. Together, these actors can contribute to improving the quality of education, by acting as mediators of new policies to the frontline and instructional leaders who work across schools to support the improvement of teaching and learning. The webinar will highlight promising practices for policymakers globally and bring key thought leaders into conversation with country experts and middle-tier leaders.

For more information and to register consult this page.

A key element of solving the teaching and learning crisis worldwide is better supporting teachers to deliver quality education. While it may be easy to think only of school- or high-level interventions, there are key actors at the middle tier of education systems who are uniquely effective in providing this support.

In this first of the two planned webinars, UNESCO International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP) and Education Development Trust (EDT) will examine how instructional leaders positioned at the middle tier of education systems can improve teaching and learning.

Learn about the second webinar, planned for 23 February, here.

Celebrating the launch of a new research report from IIEP and EDT, Leading teaching and learning together: the role of the middle tier, the webinars will explore the role of a critical but too often neglected set of actors: those working at the ‘middle’ of education systems, such as district education officers, network facilitators, supervisors or teacher mentors. Together, these actors can contribute to improving the quality of education, by acting as mediators of new policies to the frontline and instructional leaders who work across schools to support the improvement of teaching and learning. The webinar will highlight promising practices for policymakers globally and bring key thought leaders into conversation with country experts and middle-tier leaders.

For more information and to register consult this page.

The Teacher Task Force Steering Committee guides the work of the Secretariat and sets the strategic and thematic direction of the TTF. It is composed of representatives of the major constituencies of its membership. Steering Committee members are elected for a two-year renewable mandate. More information on the role and members of the TTF Steering Committee can be found here.

The first Steering Committee of 2023 will take place on 8 February and will be online. Focal points of the TTF members currently in our Steering Committee will receive nominative invitations to register.

Members will discuss the 2022 annual report and budget, the updated work plan for 2023, the member rotations, and will review the new membership applications. 

Interpretation in English and French will be provided.

On the 28-29 November, during the European Training Foundation (ETF) New Learning event in Torino, the winners of the 2022 ETF Innovative Teaching and Learning Award will be announced (streaming on the 29th at 16:00 CET here), and the most effective strategies to support teaching innovation will be discussed by and with innovators.

The results of this event will then be shared with the whole ETF Community of Innovative Educators through a webinar, where participants will also be able to discuss the 2023 plans of the community, expressing ideas and interests.

The event is open to anyone interested, it will take place online and will be delivered in English, Arabic and Russian. 

How to register? If you wish to participate in the online event, please click HERE to fill in the registration form for this event.

Join us for our thematic group's Final Global Meeting of the year! We hope to convene one last time to hear from our inspiring guest speakers, reflect on our journey together and chart the way forward for the coming year! 

🗓️30th November, Wednesday
⌛1PM GMT 
🔗https://bit.ly/SLNGlobalMeeting

This event is open to all. Feel free to share in your circles and invite fellow educators. Please note registration is essential for all. 

See you there! ✨

School violence and bullying including cyberbullying is widespread and affects a significant number of children and adolescents.

UNESCO Member States declared the first Thursday of November, the International Day against Violence and Bullying at School Including Cyberbullying, recognizing that school-related violence in all its forms is an infringement of children and adolescents’ rights to education and to health and well-being. It calls upon Member States, UN partners, other relevant international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations, individuals and other stakeholders to help promote, celebrate and facilitate the international day.

The 2022 International Day against Violence and Bullying at School including Cyberbullying highlights the important role teachers play in making school a safe space for all learners.  Teachers are at the heart of the solution and need to feel empowered, capable and ready to act. Yet more training and stronger support from the school and beyond is urgently needed.

School violence can be devastating. The children and young people affected can find it difficult to concentrate in class, miss classes, or drop out of school altogether. This has an adverse impact on academic achievement and future prospects. The atmosphere of anxiety, fear and insecurity is incompatible with learning and undermines the quality of learning for everyone.

At the global level, partners and schools will mobilize around this year’s theme, “Not on my watch: the role of teachers in preventing and addressing school violence”. An international seminar will be hosted by UNESCO on 3 November 2022, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, and online.

See more information here.

Register here to join the seminar.

In our digital societies made of big data, hidden algorithms and fake news, raising educators’ awareness regarding the complexity of using digital technologies and social media for learning is a key issue. Developing critical digital competences is in fact key to everyone, but even more to educators, so that they can empower students to engage not only effectively but also ethically with the current socio-technical ecosystem.  

For this shift to become mainstream, however, education systems need to be invested in approaching digital competences from a critical perspective, starting from the training of teachers themselves, and with the frameworks regulating both pedagogies and curricula. This involves reconceptualising the notion of digital literacies in order to look beyond functional digital skills and encompass instead a richer set of critical digital literacies, that are tailored specifically to educators’ personal and professional needs. 

This webinar will present examples of tools and approaches to develop an in-depth understanding of the dimensions of critical digital literacies within learning design and professional development. 

The webinar is organized by the ETF Community of Innovative Educators, and is mainly targeting trainers and teachers. The agenda and registration form are available here.

The meeting will be delivered in English, Russian and Arabic.