The main aim behind DROP’IN project is to test the effectiveness of non-formal methods in learning about school subjects and transferring knowledge. DROP IN is in line with the recommendations of the EU working group on early school leaving, which states for example that “research shows that a caring relationship between teacher and student is the strongest factor in school attendance and success” while at the same time enhancing traditional teaching methods. But teachers today are facing new challenges and are seeing their role expanded to include supporting students. In order to help students to stay motivated, and therefore hooked, DROP IN proposes to support teachers in this mission by introducing and training them to the methods and techniques of non-formal education.
Once the teachers returned to their respective countries after the international training in Dax (France) in November 2019, each of the partners was responsible for carrying out the follow-up peer training. Following the training experience in France, the teachers, accompanied by the national expert, had the task of organizing similar training times in their countries in order to share their acquired knowledge with their colleagues and to transfer the skills and techniques necessary for the implementation of non-formal teaching techniques.
While the format of the peer training may vary, the content of the training is similar to all of them. Beyond equipping teachers with techniques, this training aims to make them aware of what non-formal education is and the skills/attitudes they need to adopt in order to implement such activities. The training includes a working time around their skills to measure their capacity to enter into a phase of action and implementation following the training.
In each of the countries, the two days of training were dedicated to the training of new teachers. The main challenge was to facilitate the appropriation of the concept of non-formal education as a complement to teaching, through the acquisition of collaborative methods. Thus, groups for the exchange and analysis of practices were set up to capitalize on experiences and share them at national and then European level. The teachers involved in the project thus feel supported in their approach and form between them an educational community convinced of the complementarity between the two types of education.
You can also download full version of the Teachers’ Training Programme and Annexes or you can visit the project website: https://drop-in.eu/results/
