Empowering and changing the mindset of VET teachers by inspiring new ways of thinking

Contemporary life and labour markets require teaching and training to focus on achieving the goals of the New Skills Agenda for Europe and the Europe 2020 Strategy. To ensure that these goals will lead to the best possible outcomes the educational systems need to be demand driven, designed to improve the quality and relevance of training, and make skills more visible and competitive to enable students to be competitive. Educators are facing new challenges as they are now not only educators but also advisers and mentors. The need for effective actions for supporting students in their...  [+] Show more

Contemporary life and labour markets require teaching and training to focus on achieving the goals of the New Skills Agenda for Europe and the Europe 2020 Strategy. To ensure that these goals will lead to the best possible outcomes the educational systems need to be demand driven, designed to improve the quality and relevance of training, and make skills more visible and competitive to enable students to be competitive. Educators are facing new challenges as they are now not only educators but also advisers and mentors. The need for effective actions for supporting students in their choice of education, training and career is significant. Educators nowadays need innovative, attractive and easy to apply methods and tools to promote motivation and acquisition of knowledge and skills in their students. This article describes innovative tools and resources which will improve educators’ abilities to develop in their students XXI Century skills by using collaborative, critical-thinking practices. The tools and resources are part of the Abacus Methodology.

Published abstract.