Continuing Education for Trainers

Developing an International Peer-to-Peer Process

The project ‘Continuing Education for Trainers – Developing an International Peer-to-Peer Process’ is being carried out through a strategic partnership of 12 European member organizations of the International Training Circle, led by Anthropoi Bundesverband. It is supported through a European Union ERASMUS+ grant. In addition, a group of non-European member organizations of the International Training Circle is supporting the project as associated partners, contributing expertise and a global and intercultural dimension. The Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development, as the network’s transnational umbrella organization, serves as an additional associated partner and supports participation in the project’s transnational learning activities by faculty members from training organizations in the Council’s network that are not part of the ERASMUS+ strategic partnership.

Goals

The project aims to build on prior work within the context of the International Training Circle by prototyping a peer-to-peer continuing education model for instructors, teachers and mentors that is based on sharing good practice in methods, didactics and instructional design. Over the course of three years, we will be going through a structured process of joint reflection, evaluation and further development of educational practices against the backdrop of contemporary adult learning theories and approaches. The three key events in this process – our transnational conferences in Kassel, Germany, in 2021, 2022 and 2023 – will follow the format of ‘Methodical-Didactic Labs’, in which examples of innovative instructional practice and design will be shared, tested and evaluated by participants. In the time between these meetings, participants will be able to experiment with, evaluate and develop their own teaching practice within their own programs and organizations. This will result in a reflective and participatory action research process in three action-reflection cycles, which will be documented and evaluated.

Dissemination

The peer-to-peer professional development approach prototyped in this project will stimulate the creation of ongoing peer-to-peer learning processes within and between participating organizations, in regional networks within the wider network of anthroposophic organizations in the disabilities field and beyond. Project results will be made available on this website as they develop. As a result, over the course of the project, this will become an open source digital platform for the exchange of good practice, which will continue to be maintained by the Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development after the project’s conclusion.

Coordinating Partner

Anthropoi Bundesverband | Germany

Project Partners

Akademie AnthropoSozial | Germany

Akademie Tabor | Czech Republic

Alanus Hochschule, Institut für Waldorfpädagogik, Inklusion und Interkulturalität | Germany

ALTAHIA (Asociación San Juan) | Spain

Camphill Baltic Seminar (CNRA) | Norway

Fachschule Nord für anthroposophisch orientierte Heilerziehungspflege | Germany

Järna Akademi | Sweden

Rudolf Steiner Seminar für Heilpädagogik und Sozialtherapie | Austria

Scillz | Netherlands

Steinerhøyskolen | Norway

Associated Partners

Associated partners do not receive funding through the European Union ERASMUS+ grant but support the project with expertise and/or additional resources. The Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development supports the global dissemination of the project and provides financial support to enable faculty from non-partner organizations in its network to participate in transnational learning events. The following professional education and training organizations support the project with expertise and a transcultural perspective:

Ассоциация “Содружество лечебно-педагогических и социально-терапевтических организаций” (Association “Community of Curative Educational and Social-Therapeutic Organizations”) | Russia

Camphill Academy | USA

Seminario Cruz del Sur | Argentina

Being Touched and Being in Touch – Sich berühren lassen

Dates: April 28 – 30, 2021

Virtual conference via Zoom

Register here! (closed)

Please read the Letter of Invitation (below) before registering.

Prior to the conference, please also complete this pre-conference questionnaire! (closed)

Invitees:

  • Faculty, instructors, teachers and mentors from project partner organizations
  • Faculty, instructors, teachers and mentors from other professional education and training providers in the global network of the Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development

Conference Fee and Financial Assistance:

Participation in the conference is free of charge. All organizations in the international network of the Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development are invited to make a voluntary contribution to the Council’s Solidarity Fund for future trainers’ conferences.

Primary Conference Languages: English, German, Spanish

Letter of Invitation:

Program:

Preparatory Materials and Resources:

Charter on Professional Education

CESTE-NET Final Report (2005-2007 EU Leonardo da Vinci Project on Training for Trainers)

Thematic overview – International Training Circle 2010-2019

Programs and materials – International Training Circle 2010-2019

Preparation and Process (see Letter of Invitation for details):

Participants select an aspect of their current teaching practice (e.g. a course, unit, module, practice environment or mentoring process) for which they are responsible, either individually or as part of an instructional team. Participants are asked to chose one or several of the methodical-didactic principles covered in the material to integrate into their instructional practices the term leading up to the conference, track their experience, experiment and adjust throughout the year and evaluate it together with peers and students. The results from participants’ action-inquiry processes will be brought together, shared and reviewed as part of the ‘Methodical-Didactic Lab’. This will provide the basis for joint reflection, identification of key principles and practices, and the conditions for their successful implementation. Activities and outcomes will be captured to be evaluated and documented for inclusion in the project’s platform for exchange of good practice. Key questions and ideas for the further development of instructional practice will be identified and will inform each participant’s individual goals for the following academic year, as well as the directions and focus areas for the preparation of the second Lab.

Objectives:

As a result of Methodical-Didactic Lab I: Integrating Study, Practice and Contemplative Inquiry, participants will

  • Recognize and deliberately access their own educational practice as an opportunity for action-based reflection, inquiry and research;
  • (Re-)connect with key principles for VET instruction that have been identified, discussed and developed within the context of the International Training Circle over the past 12+ years;
  • Engage peers and students as partners in reflection on and evaluation of their own practice;
  • Identify new questions and goals for the further evolution of their own educational practice;
  • Discover new educational perspectives, instructional design ideas and methodical-didactic possibilities through collegial exchange;
  • Build confidence in their own ability to develop creative approaches and share these with colleagues;
  • Appreciate and become comfortable with participating in open collegial dialogue and giving and receiving peer evaluation and peer-feedback.

Holding the Void – Acting in Radical Uncertainty

Dates: May 4 – 7, 2022

Location: Anthroposophisches Zentrum, Kassel, Germany & online via Zoom

Complete the Registration Form Here! (closed)

Please read the Letter of Invitation (below) before registering.

Invitees:

  • Faculty, instructors, teachers and mentors from project partner organizations
  • Faculty, instructors, teachers and mentors from other professional education and training providers in the global network of the Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development

Conference Fee and Financial Assistance:

Participation in the conference is free of charge for eligible faculty members, instructors and mentors in the network. Members of partner organizations will receive a grant towards travel expenses from ERASMUS+ project funds. Members of other associated organizations in the Council’s network may apply for support from the Council’s Solidarity Fund as needed. All organizations in the international network of the Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development are invited to make a voluntary contribution to the Council’s Solidarity Fund for future trainers’ conferences.

Primary Conference Languages: English, German; additional interpretation in Spanish, Russian

Letter of Invitation: Deutsch | English | Русский | Español

Program: Deutsch | English | Русский | Español

Preparatory Materials and Resources:

Lectures and results from Methodical-Didactic Lab I (see ‘Results’)

Summary of Pre-conference Questionnaire: English | Deutsch

Objectives

As a result of Methodical-Didactic Lab II: Building Communities for Emergent Learning, participants will:

  • Refine their ability to use their own educational practice as an opportunity for action-based reflection, inquiry and research;
  • Discover how the principles of individual emergent, biographically anchored learning and the building of learning communities complement and support each other;
  • Find ways of including these principles in their instructional design process in a way that enhances their educational practice;
  • Engage peers and students as partners in developing their educational practice;
  • Identify new questions and goals for the further evolution of their own educational practice;
  • Discover new educational perspectives, instructional design ideas and methodical-didactic possibilities through collegial exchange;
  • Develop ways and methods of working with peer feedback and collaborative peer-based processes that can be implemented with colleagues in their own organization.

Gegenwärtig sein in Zeiten der Vernichtung – Cocreating local and global ecosystems of social learning

Being present in times of annihilation – Lokale und globale Räume für soziales Lernen gemeinsam gestalten

Dates: April 26 – 29, 2023

Location: Anthroposophisches Zentrum, Kassel, Germany

Complete the Registration Form Here! (closed)

Please read the Letter of Invitation (below) before registering.

Invitees:

  • Faculty, instructors, teachers and mentors from project partner organizations
  • Faculty, instructors, teachers and mentors from other professional education and training providers in the global network of the Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development

Conference Fee and Financial Assistance:

Participation in the conference is free of charge for eligible faculty members, instructors and mentors in the network. Members of partner organizations will receive a grant towards travel expenses from ERASMUS+ project funds. Members of other associated organizations in the Council’s network may apply for support from the Council’s Solidarity Fund as needed. All organizations in the international network of the Anthroposophic Council for Inclusive Social Development are invited to make a voluntary contribution to the Council’s Solidarity Fund for future trainers’ conferences.

Primary Conference Languages: English, German

Letter of Invitation: Deutsch | English

Program: Deutsch | English

Preparatory Materials and Resources:

Lectures and results from Methodical-Didactic Lab I and II (see ‘Results’)

Christine Gruwez: Nach oben fallen (DE) | Falling Upwards (EN)

Project: Inner Development Goals

Further development of networking activities:

Revised drafts of the International Training Circle’s basic documents (“Basic Principles and Ways of Working” and “Guideline Recognition Process”) are being submitted to the member organizations for approval: Beschlussvorlagen Deutsch | Final Drafts English

Preparation and Process:

Following the conclusion of ‘Methodical-Didactic Lab II’ and its review by the Coordinating Group, participants will receive another set of study materials. These materials will focus on synthesizing the learning processes engaged throughout the project and harvesting their fruits for dissemination, continuation and replication of the peer-to-peer professional development processes prototyped in the project. The emphasis will be on building learning communities – not only for VET students, but also for VET instructors as lifelong learners. How can we work with each other, collegially and in peer processes at all levels – as pairs of colleagues, in small teams, as organizations and as regional and transnational networks, to support ongoing collaborative peer-to-peer processes of action-based inquiry that allow us to discover, jointly develop and evolve instructional design principles that meet the needs of the 21st century? The assumption is that these are not fixed. Rather, the question will be how to remain mobile, creative and responsive to ever changing needs in a rapidly evolving environment. How do we set ourselves up as a nested educational ecosystem, so that we are able to do this? The specific form in which these questions will be approached will be identified by the Coordinating Group after the conclusion of Lab II. This time, participants will be asked to focus on the ‘ecosystem’ dimension of the learning context in which they practice. Participants will be asked to chose one or several of the aspects of this to work with, in partnership with peers, students and other stakeholders, throughout the year. The focus of each participant’s work should be based on the questions and goals they identified for their own practice and their learning community throughout the previous year’s process and in Lab II. The results from participants’ action-inquiry processes will be brought together, shared and reviewed as part of the ‘Methodical-Didactic Lab’. A number of participants or teams of participants will be invited to demonstrate example activities as ‘lab sessions’, with other participants joining as learners. These activities will provide the basis for joint reflection, identification of key principles and practices, and the conditions for their successful implementation. Activities and outcomes will be captured to be evaluated and documented for inclusion in the project’s platform for exchange of good practice. Key questions and ideas for the further development of learning communities and ecosystems for learning will be identified and will inform the goals that each participant takes from the project into the future.

Objectives

As a result of Methodical-Didactic Lab III: Instructional Design Principles for the 21st Century, participants will:

  • Co-create opportunities for action-based reflection, inquiry and research within team, organizational and network contexts;
  • Identify the needs of a 21st century learning environment as they relate to their specific practice context;
  • Individually and collaboratively develop methodical-didactic approaches and instructional design principles that meet these needs;
  • Review, evaluate, question and evolve these approaches and principles on an ongoing basis;
  • Establish organizational and network practices that involve peers, students and other stakeholders as partners in co-creating learning ecosystems.

Charter on Professional Education

CESTE-NET Final Report (2005-2007 EU Leonardo da Vinci Project on Training for Trainers)

Thematic Overview – International Training Circle 2010-2019

Programs and Materials – International Training Circle 2010-2019


Methodical-Didactic Lab I: Integrating Study, Art, Practice and Contemplative Inquiry

Being Touched and Being in Touch – Sich berühren lassen (Online, April 28-30, 2021)

Presentations

Note: Due to technical difficulties, recordings of the English simultaneous interpretation are not available for Wednesday and Friday. English-speakers, please watch the ‘Original’. You will be able to follow Stefanie Kuznik’s movement exercises (presented in German) through her demonstration. The presentations by Jan Göschel and Göran Krantz are in English in the original.

Verse by Rudolf Steiner (shared by Stefanie Kuznik)

Wednesday, April 28

  • Stefanie Kuznik (in German): Point & Circle – Movements in the space between I and you (I)
  • Jan Göschel (in English): Overview of methodical-didactic approaches and their relation to the Curative Education Course

Recordings: Original | Deutsch | Español

Powerpoint Presentation (Jan Goeschel)

Thursday, April 29

  • Stefanie Kuznik (in German): Point & Circle – Movements in the space between I and you (II)
  • Burga Liddiard (in English): Situated learning and communities of practice

Recordings: Original | English | Deutsch | Español

Powerpoint Presentation (Burga Liddiard)

Friday, April 30

  • Stefanie Kuznik (in German): Point & Circle – Movements in the space between I and you (III)
  • Göran Krantz (in English): The transformation of self – between being moved and being in performative, creative movement

Recordings: Original | Deutsch | Español

Powerpoint Presentation (Göran Krantz)

Pre-Conference Questionnaire

The responses to the Pre-Conference Questionnaire give a rich and detailed picture of the methodical-didactic practices and research questions living in the international network. The summary of these results is recommended reading in preparation for Methodical-Didactic Lab II (2022).

Summary of results: English | Deutsch


Methodical-Didactic Lab II: Building Communities for Emergent Learning

Holding the Void – Acting in Radical Uncertainty (in Kassel and online, May 4-7, 2022)

Presentations

Annette Pichler: Holding the Void – Acting in Radical Uncertainty (Wednesday)

Irina Vinogradova: The Feeling of Being Understood (Thursday)

Note: Due to technical difficulties, recordings of the simultaneous interpretations are not available.

Christine Gruwez: Becoming Human – Vulnerability as Creative Potential (Friday)

Workshops

Ulrike Barth, Christiane Drechsler, Angelika Wiehl: Affected by Case Stories – Resonance in Educational Processes: Artistically Re-living Processes of Teaching and Learning (DE)

Burga Liddiard: Inclusive Practices and Poetry (EN)

Szilvia Budai: Rebuilding certainty through sensing, encounter and creativity – a co-creative exploration through eurythmy (EN)

Gleice da Silva: Curative Stories (EN)

Kislima Rivas – Encuentros que gestan vacío y luz (ES)

Myriam Orrillo – Imágenes que calman – Irradiando esperanza desde la incertidumbre (ES)

Tamara Isaeva & Irina Mesheryakova: Неопределенность встречи как рефлексия действия (черно-белое рисование) (RU)

Christoph Rosenkranz & Reem Mouawad: Experiential learning (EN)

World Café (Wednesday)

Exchange of Methodical-Didactic Experiences (Friday)

Network Development – Ideas for the Future (Saturday)

Post-Conference Questionnaire


Methodical-Didactic Lab III: Instructional Design Principles for the 21st Century

Gegenwärtig sein in Zeiten der Vernichtung – Cocreating local and global ecosystems of social learning

Being present in times of annihilation – Lokale und globale Räume für soziales Lernen gemeinsam gestalten

(Kassel, 26-29 April 2023)

Recordings of Keynote Presentations

Other Reports and Presentations

The following Powerpoint presentations and videos were shared in the context of reports from initiatives and organizations in the network, as well as short thematic inputs from conference workshops.

  • Alanus University (Mannheim, DE)Powerpoint
  • Christiane Drechsler (Alanus University) & LebensOrt Wulfsdorf (DE): Research Project ‘Musical Communication’ – Powerpoint
  • Ulrike Barth (Alanus University) & Rim Mouawad (LB): International Course ‘Embracing Inclusion’ – Powerpoint
  • Inclusive Center ‘Berdem’ (Kazan, RU)Powerpoint
  • Kamah (IL) – Videos: Beit ElishaBeit Elisha WorkshopTuvia
  • Blagoe Delo (Verkh-Neivinsk, RU)Powerpoint
  • Step Together (LB): Sustainability – Video

Final Report

The final report summarizes the key findings from the processes in Lab III that will inform the further development of transnational collaboration in the International Training Circle beyond the conclusion of the project.


Publications from the Project

Coordinating Partner: Anthropoi Bundesverband

Bundesverband anthroposophisches Sozialwesen e.V.
Schloßstraße 9
61209 Echzell-Bingenheim

Germany

Project Manager: Dr. Jan Göschel

Note: The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0