Competences. (Unit 7)

 This topic is about the different competences that are in the curriculum. The differente competences that teachers have to keep in mind when they do an activity or any project such as a teaching unit (Unidad Didáctica). 
I think that it could be not much interesting but is necessary to know this because is essential to any teaching. The teacher have to know what students are learning, and an effective way to know that is through the competences. 

At the end there are some questions about this topic.

 Given the new challenges that globalization continues to confront the European Union, each citizen will need a wide range of competences to adapt flexibly to a world that is rapidly changing and highly interconnected.

In this sense, the framework has the following objectives:

1. Identify and define the key competences necessary for personal fulfillment, active citizenship, social cohesion and employability in the knowledge society;
2. Ensuring that young people develop key competences to prepares them for adult life, and build the foundation for further learning and working life and that adults are able to develop and actualize their key competences throughout their lives;
3. Providing a reference tool at the European level aimed at those responsible for policy formulation, education providers, employers and learners to facilitate national and European initiatives towards the commonly agreed objectives;
4. provide a framework for later actions at a community level.

 In this document, competences are defined as a combination of knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the context. Key competences are those which all individuals need for personal fulfillment and development, and for active citizenship, social inclusion and employment.

The framework sets out eight key competences:

1. Communication in the mother language;

2. Foreign language communication

3. Mathematical competence and basic competences in science and technology

4. Digital Competence.

5.Learn to learn.

6.Social and civic competences.

7.Sense of initiative and entrepreneurship.

8. Cultural and expression awareness.

 The key competences are all considered equally important. Many of the competences are overlapped and interlocked: aspects essential to one domain will support competence in another. Competence in the fundamental basic skills of language, reading and writing, numeracy and information and communications technology (ICT) is an essential foundation for learning, while all learning activities are based on the learning to learn.
There are a number of issues involved in the eight key competences: critical thinking, creativity, the ability of initiative, problem solving, risk assessment, decision-making and constructive management of feelings.

Communication in the mother language is the ability to express and interpret concepts, thoughts, feelings, facts and opinions in both oral and written form (listening, speaking, reading and writing), and to interact linguistically in an appropriate and creative way in all societal and cultural contexts, such as education and training, private and professional life, and leisure.

 The Student should understand and express the different concepts, feelings, ideas and opinions in an oral and write way in some social and cultural contexts according to the needs of each. The grade of domain it will be different on each person. It is necessary to know the vocabulary, the grammar and the main types of verbal interactions.

  Is the ability to apply and develop the mathematical reasoning to solve different problems in ordinary situations.

According to science competence, it is necessary to use the different knowledge and the methodology that explain the environment to make questions and obtain conclusions. This knowledge and methodology will be applied to answer to the human needs according to the competence in technology.

 It referencing to a secure and critical use of TICs to the work, the leisure and the communication. To make it possible it’s necessary the use of computers to obtain, assess, stock, produce, present and exchange information and to communicate and participate collaborating through the Internet.

It demands a good comprehension and wide knowledge about Nature, the main applications such as data bases, and about the Internet risk.

 It is the ability to start the learning, to organize the own learning and to manage effectively  the time and the information. The student should determines his own capabilities and needs to overcome the different obstacles.

The pupils keep into account their life experiences to apply the new knowledge in different contexts. It´s quite important to the student be motivated and confident.

 These competences include personal, interpersonal and intercultural competences and stock  the behaviours that prepare people to participate in social life in an effective way. It prepares people to participate in the civic life due to the knowledge about social and political concepts and structures, the active and democratic participation.

 It is related to creativity, innovation… to achieve goals. It is understand the ability of the person to transform the ideas in actions. People support this competence in their life but also in their job, home and society to develop specific capacities to contribute with the social and commercial activity.

 Appraisement of the importance of the creative expression of ideas, experiences and feelings through different ways, included the music, the scenic arts, the literature and the plastic arts.

 Now talking about the article published in the journal Société Pédagogique Romande, L’ Èducateur, in 1997. In which they talks about the many facets of a teacher and the 10 new skills to teach, the author divided them into 2 levels.

The first level is formed by the reference skills, these are considered a priority in the continuing training of primary teachers. These skills are:

1. Organizing student learning
2. Manage the progression of learning
3. Develop and make evolve the differentiation devices
4. Involve students in their learning and their work
5. Teamwork
6. Participate in the management of the school
7. Inform and involve the parents of the pupils
8. Use new technologies
9. Facing the duties and ethical dilemmas of this profession
10. Organize their own training

 The second level is formed by the inventory and the explanation of the 44 specific skills. These are formulated by the author to explain the 10 skills that I said before. The intent to this work is to describe the ideal teacher skills of the future, which should be the basic axes on which the training programs have to be formed. Making a summary of all the skills that are mention in the article we can divided it into:

- The learning situations: this is about knowing to put in act all the open learning situations that come from the interest of the students that involve them in all the search processes and problem solving. This skill come from the interest of the students that is complete with the fundamental ability of knowing how to communicate enthusiasm for learning by involving students in research activities.

- The progression of learning: this is about to manage the progression of learning but practicing a pedagogy of problem situations, the teacher must have the ability to know to regulate this situations, adjusting to the possibilities of the group, for this is necessary to control all the mechanisms of  the teaching disciplines and all the stages of intellectual development.

 - Differentiation: It's about taking the heterogeneity of the group by put in performance all the complementary devices of the differentiated pedagogy, taking into account the method of mutual teaching. This skill means therefore to know the necessary conditions for necessary for cooperation that use certain values and attitudes such as tolerance and respect.

- Motivation: Consist in to encourage and maintain the desire to know and learn. The author of the article propose in this skill to involve students in their own learning, developing their capacity of self-evaluation and always listened to this pupils.

If you want to ask me something you can do it through the comments or you can send me and email: albialbita@outlook.es

Book IEE Educational Innovation in Spain. Historical Perspective (Unit 6)

 This topic was quite difficult to divide between us because it is a part of a book and all its contents are related between them. The idea is to read the parts that we considered more important and select the main ideas, because the objective is to reduce seventy pages in only one page. 

Is an interesting topic because is about teachers and the different things that  they have to do, for example to improve the dialogue between teachers. However, in some cases, they tend to work in isolation and they have to keep into account the opinion of the other teachers. This is so important because most of times, there are different teachers that teach to the same pupils and they have to work together to improve the teaching-learning process. 

In this topic you can find other things about teachers and teaching, and some information about Education History. 

At the end there are some questions related to the topic. 

Legislative management produced in 1970, which is the General Law of Education (LGE) -even from his technocratic orientation and ideological continuity of the Franco’s dictatorship regime- responds to a desire for evolution and a transition to important features of modernization and pedagogical rationality; It corresponds with the aim of creating a new structure of the educational system in order to improve the performance and quality of education, and defines for it a necessary innovative process in terms of guidance, methods and techniques.

In the transition to democratic Spain, the basic constitutional consensus set the basic lines of our school law such as recognition of the right to education and freedom of education, affirmation of free and compulsory basic education and training objectives linked to the values of democracy and freedom.

 Thus, the LODE of 1985 aims to promote equality for access to culture through a mixed network of public and private centers supported with public funds (entered schools), an "integrated school system" to ensure freedom, equity, participation and pluralism.

Since the first proposals of the Ministry, the objective to be achieved is to implement solutions that address some major shortcomings such as the presence of very overloaded content’s programs in the EGB and its high rates of failure and abandonment, problems about the lack of teachers, early and irreversible choice between baccalaureate and vocational training, etc.

In 1988, the new minister, Javier Solana, presenting the” White Book to the reform of the educational system” , proposed deal from the educational field (" A longer, more comprehensive, more quality and more homogeneously distributed 'education “) - with the possibilities of our own "social and productive “modernization”.

Those considerations are clearly identified in the Organic Law on General Education System (LOGSE) that was promulgated in 1990.

In 1995 it was approved and promulgated the Organic Law of Participation, Evaluation and Government of the Centers. In it is promoted a greater degree of autonomy of schools.

Beginning in 1996, some central points of the LOGSE are criticized, being considered a source of problems and malfunctions, most as a result of the alleged egalitarianism.

In 1997 a "Joint Declaration for Education" is generated to promote the educational reform.

The Organic Law on Quality of Education (LOCE) was enacted in 2002, being as a minister Pilar del Castillo, and with the objective of reform and improve education in Spain. It was not implemented.

 In 2006, though again isn’t reached a full social and political pact, the Organic Law of Education (LOE) gets a consistent parliamentary and social support. This law is based on the pursuit of an education based on quality, equity and involvement of the entire school community. The LOE establishes its position in terms of economic resources. Increasing of the  public spending on education for the fulfillment of the set objectives, resources for improving learning and support for teachers.

 Even before the General Education Law of 1970, the Ministry of Education and Science (MEC) had  already created the instrument of technical support regarding the adequacy of the professional qualifications of teachers to the new requirements that the law poses. This adjustments and the promoting of the permanent teacher training in the search of innovation has  remained until nowadays.

 The government of Adolfo Suarez suppresses this institution as many other institutions and services. Under this theme, according to the INCIE it’s about to reorient the structure in relation to the training of superior professors and with the improvement of primary and middle, while in relation to his ministry is more action-oriented to increase performance and quality of educational levels and responsible administration. So, finally the structure and functional staff will be divided between the Ministries of Education and Universities and Research.

 For his part the Minister of Education of the Socialist government was highly critical with the situation, since according to him, the ICE are quite dysfunctional structure the education system cannot take advantage of theories and research unrelated to the practical demands of education, and so in his view it was necessary to face a renewal of pedagogy. Also he criticized the update of teachers not performed adequately ranking among the enlightened paternalism and dirigisme with poor planning.
In this context, the education minister understands that it’s necessary teachers who star in an effort to achieve better quality education.

 The Order of the Ministry of Education and Science offers a change of great importance to teachers' centers, we proceed to the return of the CEP and resource centers, and with these we considered appropriate the suspension of school support services, this standard comes into force in 1994. The next year with the introduction of the LOGSE the teacher’s centers and the resource centers and support services was merge.
These centers are defined as agencies for the training of teachers of general education and special regime practicing in pre-university education levels of education. Other features are: support curriculum development, promote innovation and educational research, information and advice centers, etc.

In 2000 they created the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports and proceed to the elimination of the General Department of Teacher Education.

When the institute was announced it comes as born with a vocation of permanent high-level training.

In 2000 the CIDED was created, and going to work with the concern and interest in ICT, the functions performed are among others: the incorporation of education to society, the development of other forms of education, etc.

 In the early nineties, autonomous communities develop a set of initiatives for teacher training, as necessary to support the introduction and generalization of educational innovations.
These essentially conform to the model designed by the CEP.

 Most of teachers consider that they haven´t received a good education.

A research observed that pupils obtain better results in performance testing when they were teacher training plans in their centres, so it is deduced that the problem is not the quantity of contents, but in the quality of the programs and projects about teacher training.

At lunch a new law of education it is so important to keep in mind the resources that are available, because when there were lunching the LOGSE, it wasn’t support by a correct teacher training policy, and that’s not positive. 

 The presence of educative investigaton has been very low during the 90s.
Then, into the cientific-technological area,, appears the educational system such as one of the policy areas of the so-called Knowledge Society, that has as main objective improve the investigation and lunch projects and experiencies in which the new technologies and the education develop projects to know how, when and why should made more flexible the common curriculum to improve the relations to help pupils. Is necessary to substitute the individual work system of the teachers by planification systems, improving the dialogue between teachers.

 The achievement of a quality teaching is considered as one of the most important challenges in the education of the future.
The evaluation of the educational system will be oriented to the adequacy to the social demands and to the educational needs, and it will be applied in the pupils, teachers, centres, the educative processes and the administration.

 The first official initiatives wasn’t able to satisfy the educational change needs, and for that reason is unavoidable a true pedagogical renewal.
At the end of the Franco Regime, the schools will have a political and social important presence, especially to achieve a democratic educational system in a society that was so. 

If you want to ask me something about this topic you can do it through a comment or you can send me an email: albialbita@outlook.es

Orientation and Care Plan for Diversity PAD (PTI, ACI, ACNEAE, ACNEE, EAEHD) (Unit 5)

This topic is about the different characteristics and principal functions that these organs have, for example ACNEE or PTI. It's important to know what is each organ to know how to use them or how to work with them. Is necessary to keep in mind that is not the same to work with an ACNEE and an ACNEAE, so for that reason is so important to know the differences between them.

The work group is not difficult because this topic is divided in different parts that are easier to divided between us. But to explain this topic better, it could be a good idea to show different examples to compare them, so in this topic there is an example of an Attention Plan for Diversity.

At the end there are some questions about the topic. 

This Decree is to regulate the specialized attention and educational and vocational orientation in schools supported with public funds that provide non-university education in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha.

The attention and management of student diversity will be based on a number of key principles for each of the educational stages and in general, such as: the pursuit of quality and excellence, equity and equality of opportunities, inclusion , standardization, gender equality, educational compensation and the participation and cooperation of all agents and sectors of the educational community.

The school will be the framework of the educational intervention, taking as a starting point the educational project, the teaching programs and annual reports, and advisory services and specialized support, as well as plans that have been included. The center, with the assessment made by the specialist educational guidance, decide how to organize the best educational response to the student, with the help of parents or legal tutors.

1º Identification, monitoring, planning of preventive measures and actions according to the needs of students.

At school, it is the tutor who will coordinate the assessment process to determine the level of competence achieved by the student. The rest of the team of teachers collaborate in the identification, bringing its valuation from the area, subject or module taught. It will be the counselor of the center who makes the psychology evaluation and will collect the contributions from the wider community and other agents outside the center

The educational project reflects the form of attention to student diversity and the tutorial action as well as the plan of coexistence and must respect the principle of non-discrimination and educational inclusion as fundamental values.

It is understood as psychology evaluation, a process of collection, analysis and assessment of relevant information on the different elements involved in the process of teaching and learning, in order to:

-Identify educational needs.

-Concrete decisions regarding the proposed curriculum and the type of aid.

-Being a starting point for tutors, equipment and teacher evaluation boards.

2º Specialized attention measures.

-General measures: All decisions which emanate from State or regional institutions, thereby offering a common quality education to all students and to ensure equal opportunities in education. And those decisions agreed at school, which can respond to different curricular levels of competition, rhythms and learning styles and motivations that are commonly applied to all students of the center. For example: The possibility of the student to remain another year in a level, cycle or stage to improve the acquisition of basic skills.

-Ordinary measures of educational support: Those provisions or educational responses to diversity that enable individual attention in the teaching-learning processes, without modification of objectives and evaluation criteria, formalized in an Individualized Work Plan (PTI). For example: Organizational measures such as flexible grouping.

-Extraordinary measures: Those that respond to individual differences of students, especially those with special educational needs and involving significant changes to the mainstream curriculum and / or involve fundamental changes to the organizational level or, where appropriate , the access elements in the curriculum or in the form of schooling. Extraordinary measures will be applied to the profile of the needs presented by the students, by decision making of the teaching team, after psychoeducational assessment. All these measures, extraordinary or not, shall be reviewed quarterly by the teachers involved.

    *Individualized Work Plans with curricular adaptations for students with special educational needs.

    *Curricular flexibility or acceleration measures for gifted students.

    *Programs to help achieve the objectives of stage and reduce the rate of early abandonment..

    *Introduction to Professional Training.

 -Schooling of students with special educational needs: The schooling of students with special educational needs,will be guided by the principles of normalization and inclusion and non-discrimination and will ensure their effective equality in access and permanence in the educational system,being possible to introduce measures in different educational stages when it’s necessary.

-Schooling of students with high intellectual abilities: Schools should take measures to identify students with high intellectual abilities and assess early their needs.The schooling of these students will take place in ordinary schools for which will be necessary the development of specific support measures, tailored to the capabilities and intellectual development of students as well as group programs or custom work projects that expand, enrich and enhance learning.

The Ministry with responsibility for education will promote the development of specific programs to stimulate the talent of students in certain fields, whether related to areas, subjects or modules in all the set of teachings.

-Schooling of students with late integration in the Spanish educational system: The Ministry with responsibility for education promotes the incorporation into the education system of students, because they come from other countries or for any other reason, belatedly join the Spanish educational system. Such integration will be ensured in any case, at the age of compulsory schooling.

The education of these students is made according to their circumstances, knowledge, age and academic background, so they can incorporate the most appropriate way, according to their characteristics and previous knowledge and with the appropriate support.

 -Disadvantaged social environment :In schools, the management teams and teachers will employ those methodological and organizational measures that are necessary and effective to respond to the specific needs of educational support for disadvantaged socio cultural provenance.
They could carry out flexible groups on a temporary basis, support systems in small groups within the regular classroom or outside, depending on the case and no significant adjustments to curriculum, adjusted to the conditions and circumstances of students. Teaching teams, advised by guidance counselors,will make those adjustments where necessary in the curriculum.

 http://www.colegiovaldemembra.es/documentos/Plan_de_atencion_a_la_diversidad_CEIP_Valdmembra.pdf

This is the link to access to the Attention Plan for Diversity of Valdemebra's School. You can see the different adaptations and the organization of this document. 

 The Educational System establish that both general and special teachings will be appropriate to the characteristics of students with special educational needs, offering the necessary resources to they can achieve the objectives through normalization and school integration. The different teachings and organizations will be adapted to their specific needs.

The school population with special educational needs are those people who require specific supports and specific educational attentions during the schooling because of motor, psychics or sensory disabilities, behavior problems, high capabilities or disadvantaged situations.

The Care for Diversity plan wants to answer, into the educational area, to the different capabilities, rhythms and learning ways, motivations and interests, social situations, ethnics, immigration and health of every student of the centre. This plan will be reviewed quarterly.    

So, the “Dirección General de Coordinación y Política Educativa de la Consejería de Educación y Cultura” has solved:

-To develop the attention plan for diversity are necessary therapeutic pedagogy teachers (PT), hearing and language teachers (AL), teacher support for intercultural and social cohesion, educational assistant (ATE), Physiotherapists and other professionals to support students with sensory disabilities.

-Is necessary, when is organized the educational response, to keep in mind: the development of ordinary support measures and educational support to students with disabilities, the head of studies that has to organize a timeline in which teachers and the tutor have an space to talk with the educational support teacher.

 The Specialized intervention is used when the most normalized teachings are not useful to the child, doing a previous Counselling evaluation. It could be take in small groups or in specific situations and it will be global. The distribution of time of the centre depends on the special needs of students.

The main objective of EAEHD is to prevent and avoid the exclusion of the hospitalized or convalescent students, guaranteeing an individualized attention during this period and the continuity of the teaching-learning process.

It’s very important the collaboration of families because these children don’t receive educative attention everyday so parents will be teachers some days. It’s important also to avoid the isolation of these children because they don’t have any relation with other children and is so probable that isolation occurs.

These children can receive instructions through video-conference with the tutor or with other convalescent children.

 It involves the concretion of the set of educational activities aimed to students and their environment in order to promote personal attention and the achievement of basic skills and educational objectives.

It becomes, therefore, the referent for planning and action of those actions that take place in the center and pursuing adjusting the educational response to students.

The individualized work plan is a dynamic document and therefore living, which must, on the one hand, ensure coherence for the actions through teamwork, support and specialized advice and collaboration with families, and secondly avoid the risk of it becoming a document whose purpose is to have to cover the administrative file.

Therefore centers that use it, will be a tool for individual monitoring of each and every student.

In this sense, this work plan is similar to the rest, however, it is necessary to differentiate and target different types of individualized work plans:

• For students who:

o   When the child stay another year in the same course

o   When it promoted to the next grade with negative assessment in any subject.

o  Doesn’t reach the sufficient level in any area or areas in any stage of the course.

This is done in the continuous evaluation process, when the progress of a student is not adequate educational support measures are established, these will be made at any time of course, as soon as difficulties are detected and will be aimed at ensuring the acquisition the essential learning.

• For pupils with special educational needs: these shouldn’t be different from the other students, even if it requires more individualized curriculum, devoting more time and counting when necessary with expert advice.

This will take place once identified and analyzed the needs and school and family background of the student.

The objective of this work plan are: to ensure the gradual process of student evaluation criteria according to the degree of learning

If you want to ask me something about the topic, you can do it through comments in this blog, or you can send me an email: albialbita@outlook.es.