Intellectual Outputs
O1: Current situation and needs analysis
The study and the report includes findings and results of the current situation and training needs of teachers and other professionals who work for individuals with intellectual disabilities and had no former special education training. The needs assessment study is based on the inventory of the weakness on the teaching, measuring and evaluation methodology which influences the behavior management and communication skills of individuals with ID during the interaction of above mentioned staff.
O2: Design of Curriculum
A new training program to be developed has been planned in order to train the professionals who work for individuals with IDs and had no former special education training in the past. Work package 2 will have 2 major components; the program and the manual.
O3: Digital Version of the Curriculum Content / Manual and Test-Question Sets
Designed training program/curricula includes 3 modules: behavior management, teaching communication skills, and evidence-based instructional methods. The modules consist of those components; introduction, main content, practical teaching examples. This curriculum could be used in class trainings. It has been planned that its digital version will take place in the e-learning portal to reach end-users.
O4: E-learning portal and a structured web site (Design and Functionalize)
Traditional teaching process is generally conducted and shared in face-to-face interactions. The Internet has changed the way we play, entertain, and learn. With the common and wide use of internet, new training process and techniques have been developed free of distance, time and related constraints. Practically transfer of explicit knowledge, wide-spread and sharing by means of communication technologies is easier and cheaper than other traditional training types.
Although there are two terms that involve the internet technologies and learning and they are all a part of distance education efforts, they refer different approaches to distance learning. Online learning is an umbrella term for delivering the content and facilitating the interaction amongst learners over the Internet with online technologies. Ultimate goal for online learners is to obtain a degree in studied field. Whereas, E-learning is the term to refer online learning systems that specifically designed and developed for utilizing professional development activities for working professionals. E-learning systems mainly focus on individual learner and his/her needs whereas online learning systems emphasize the guidance of an instructor and interaction amongst learners and instructor. . E-learning has developed in parallel with the knowledge management and it is seen that at the point that e-learning and knowledge management combine their powers, the educational structure also changes itself. A right e-learning environment, right staff, right time and right contents should be available so that an effective knowledge management tool is created.
The proposed system to be developed is a complete e-learning system for teacher professional development & will have 3 major components; 1) a learning management system, 2) digitizing the learning content, and 3) developing a question pool for testing and certification purposes.
O5: Training program and training materials for short-term joint staff training in Italy
Training program and the training materials for the short-term joint staff training in Italy cover best practices in Europe and in Italy on existent training programs designed and implemented for teachers and professionals to teach individuals with disabilities on managing behavior and improving language and communication skills of them. This output is under responsibility of UniTS- Università del Terzo Settore, the Europen partner from Italy.
O6: Training program and materials for short-term training in Germany
Training program and training materials for the short-term joint staff training cover designing and effective utilization of curricula, training management and technology based training techniques on behavior control and improvement of communication skills of individuals with intellectual disabilities. This output is under responsibility of Christliches Jugenddorfwerk Frechen im Verbund NRW Süd (CJD), the Europen partner from Germany.
