Activities planned for 2018–2021

The sub-topics of the development area comprise the development of teacher education and lecturers, which consist of intra-university activities, and the creation and development of didactic development service packages aimed at the University's cooperation partners.

• Teacher education development activities aim to create opportunities for the development of flexible learning forms and competencies (their development and testing) for teachers and lecturers, to support lecturers' professional development and to integrate new ideas and approaches into teacher education and continuing education study programs.

For the development of didactics, the development and implementation of a changing approach to teaching and learning and of innovative methodologies is promoted with the aim of making teaching practices more supportive of learning, more meaningful for the learner and more problem-oriented at different levels of education. The objective is to test and explore various innovative solutions that help to shape students' holistic and meaningful worldviews, encourage collaborative learning and develop attitudes conducive to lifelong learning, and to use them to create service packages for educational institutions. The creation of innovative solutions is focused on the fostering of readiness and skills to develop, implement and explore the effectiveness of evidence-based innovative practices in a collaborative learning community.

As a result of the development of didactics, the following service packages have been developed and are being piloted:

• 1+1 is more than two: the joys of collaboration in interdisciplinary studies and foreign language learning.
• Time travel as a teaching method for integrating historical topics

The intended goal is to utilise meaningful technology at different levels of education and to develop analytical solutions for monitoring and evaluating various sub-activities of the project. The sub-activities can be divided into two categories: (a) service packages for educational institutions and (b) activities that go beyond the service package format and support activities in other areas of development.

Planned service packages:

• Development of innovative evidence-based teaching practices to support inquiry-based learning and STEM education with personal smart devices, sensors and robotic devices.
• Development of adaptive solutions to understand the links between cognitive load and learning strategies and to find ways to support students.
• Evidence-based support for learning institutions' innovation management capacity building using various data-based practices and analytical services.

The intended goal is to support the development of students' learning, social and self-identification skills in order to improve students' personal and academic performance and well-being, and to lay the foundation for their success in future labor market and an increasingly complex and uncertain world.

Planned service packages:

• Assessment of learning and social competences by computer-based tests. Trainings on constructs and the use of assessment tools in both Estonian- and Russian-speaking schools.
• An intervention program for the development of memorization strategies. The package includes trainings for teachers and other specialists on the assessment of learning competences and the development of learning skills. The package is offered in both Estonian- and Russian-speaking schools.
• An intervention program for the development of reading strategies. The package includes trainings for teachers in the assessment and development of reading skills. Offered in Estonian-speaking schools.
• An intervention program for the development of social competences. The package includes trainings for teachers in the assessment and development of social competences. The package is offered in both Estonian- and Russian-speaking schools.

The intended goal is to support the development of learning and social competencies of students with disabilities in the context of inclusive education in order to support their successful performance in learning and communication, both at school age and later in working and private life.

Planned service packages:

• An intervention program to develop memorization strategies for students with learning difficulties. The package includes training for teachers and support specialists in the assessment of learning competencies and the development of learning skills, as well as support for the implementation of an intervention program for memorization strategies developed for students with learning difficulties.
• An intervention program to develop reading strategies for students with learning difficulties. The package includes training for teachers and support specialists in the assessment and development of reading competencies, as well as support for the implementation of an intervention program for reading strategies developed for students with learning difficulties.
• An intervention program for the development of social competencies for students with social-emotional disorders. The package includes training for teachers and support specialists in the assessment and development of social competencies and support for the implementation of a social competence intervention program for students with social-emotional disorders.
   

The goal is organizational development with a focus on supporting learner development, including increasing the evidence-based innovation management capacity of an educational institution. The main focus lies on a process of change including the development of empowering and inclusive leadership by leaders, development of collaborative habits by teachers, and an evidence-led analysis of the process and impact of change. The activity will promote increasingly evidence-based and purposeful development activities in schools by supporting a changing approach to teaching and learning in schools. Schools' capacity for self-assessment will increase.

Planned service packages:

• The educational institution development program
• Training program for the heads of educational institutions
• Standalone use of elements of the development program (coaching, completion of certain specific stages, training, etc.) in educational institutions
• Educational institution monitoring tools.

See also the Future School Program.