DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHER COMPETENCES IN CREATING POWERFUL LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS IN VOCATIONAL SECONDARY EDUCATION

Abstract

Background: At the end of Vocational Secondary Education students should be able to solve authentic problems individually and in group. Powerful learning environments could enforce these learning processes. Research question: “Which critical desirable design principles can we define to create a powerful learning environment in Secondary Vocational Education ? Method: We combine different perspectives of teachers, students and researchers to build a shared model of learning environments, which will be perceived as more powerful by all stakeholders. Based on literature we selected design principles followed by organizing focus groups with teacher educators and teachers to further adapt these principles. Preliminary results: We determined eight design principles: Authenticity learning environment, differentiation, adapted evaluation, self-directed learning, problem solving, teamwork, shared responsibility design learning environment and (labour) identity development. Each principle has been further clarified in indicators. This study is part of a larger research project in developing teacher competences in creating powerful learning environments in Vocational Secondary Education.

Keywords

• secondary vocational education, powerful learning environments, development teacher competences

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