LOOP- Scaffolding in Teachers’ Development: Mentoring and Mentors in Induction Programmes
LOOP is an Erasmus+ project that provides access to training programmes for mentors, mentoring for teachers and its implementation in Germany, Greece, Italy and Portugal.
Nowadays European challenges – namely, the promotion of the common values of equality, democracy and citizenship – bring very demanding tasks to education, requiring a permanent questioning of the role of schools and teachers throughout Europe. This is a real problem that requires a common approach at the European level. The main educational performers need urgent support to address some of the main challenges facing them:
- School drop-out;
- School failure;
- Socio-economic and educational inequalities;
- The inclusion of refugees and ethnic minorities.
These problems call for new methodological proposals, which value the important work of teachers and support them, not only at an early stage of their career, but also at different stages of their professional life.
While it is true that there is an academic curriculum that prepares teachers scientifically, it is no less true that it does not prepare them to face many difficulties which they will face from the first year of activity. This reality shows the urgent need to support them, by motivating them in terms of professional development and creating conditions to improve their effectiveness, and consequently their satisfaction.
The LOOP project aims at:
- Supporting teachers in the early stages of their professional life and during their career through a comprehensive mentoring and induction programme;
- Improving the development of the teaching profession, using shared experiences among the participating countries;
- Promoting online community learning networks and innovative pedagogical practices among teachers, school leaders and other stakeholders;
- Contributing to the valorisation of teaching careers by offering on-going support, feedback and guidance;
- Increasing the access and success rate of different mentoring programmes.
LOOP also aims at contributing to the provision of early career opportunities for teachers in training and in new school contexts of support based on the acquisition of pedagogical practices articulated in these contexts, in a perspective of intergenerationality, reinforcing the skills of teachers, trainers and teacher mentors, through resources and the promotion of community learning networks.
These objectives can be achieved with a clear focus on induction programmes and, in particular, on mentoring.
Basic information
IO1: LOOP Landscape – The main objective of LOOP Landscape is to outline the landscape by providing a common vision on induction programmes and in particular on mentoring, with a specific focus on their regional variations. Knowing the role and opinion of school leaders and knowing and portraying the role of mentors to characterise the implementation strategies and knowing the needs of the target group.
IO2: LOOP Toolkit for Mentoring – This is a set of tools for leaders, mentors and teachers at different stages of their careers, available in the learning community and based on an online and interactive training platform, of which the LOOP Coalitions are a part of, and which also integrates the mentoring and Match the Mentor Programmes. This application also aggregates the remaining intellectual outputs and enables the restricted sharing of project documents among team members. This product also enables users to access a personalised ecosystem of national and European resources to develop their skills according to their needs and/or interests, following a learning pathway supported by a community.
IO3: LOOP Provider for Better Outcomes – The community of mentors, formed in LOOP Coalitions, is responsible for the European Training Benchmark, which results from the codesign of the mentoring programme for mentors at an early stage and for teachers in early career and mobility at a second stage. This benchmark will be developed by the community established among mentors with the support of Match the Mentor.
The International Conference is one of the focal points of the LOOP project, giving a broad projection of its activities, intellectual outputs and results to a very wide audience, be it at national, European or international level.
Given its potential for impact at European level, the conference will promote the exploitation of the results of LOOP, with a view to reflecting/debating on the challenges inherent in the teacher training system; the sharing of knowledge on good practices; and the promotion of teachers' professional development, specifically with regard to induction programmes in Europe and, in particular, mentoring activities. This event is also an excellent opportunity to continue promoting the networking of the LOOP community with different stakeholders, to share the conclusions of the LOOP Landscape – reported in LOOP Improving our Understanding of Teacher Education – and to call for the participation of stakeholders in LOOP Courses and Pilots - Teacher's Training.
The target groups of the event are contractual participants and several stakeholders: i) teachers from various scientific areas, teaching levels and career stages (beginners/experts); ii) schools from all levels of education, the countries involved and others; iii) school leaders; iv) initial and continuing teacher training entities (higher education institutions/training centres); v) national and international experts; vi) entities and professionals working in the areas of education and teacher training; vii) policy makers.
The aims of the conference will be:
- Collaborating to improve policies, practices and professional frameworks in education in Europe;
- Modernising European teacher training systems to meet the many challenges of today;
- Promoting a democratic and inclusive school as an area of citizenship and equality;
- Sharing experiences and practices that promote teachers' professional development;
- Reflecting on teacher training policies and practices in the light of the paradigm of lifelong education;
- Disseminating and giving sustainability to the results of the LOOP project;
- Increasing knowledge about induction programmes in Europe and, in particular, mentoring activities;
- Promoting participation in LOOP Courses and Pilots - Teacher's Training
- Sharing the conclusions of the LOOP Landscape, reported in LOOP Improving our Understanding of Teacher Education
- Expanding the networking of the LOOP community with different stakeholders;
An evaluation questionnaire, quantitative and qualitative, will be provided to participants. Their feedback will contribute to making an improvement.
