TOY - Trainers Online for Youth
This is a reference for Justina Garbauskaite-Jakimovska
The aim of
the project is to create a platform where formal and non-formal educators meet and discuss possible cooperation, create common grounds. The objectives of the project are the following:
• To analyze formal and non-formal education settings and the possibilities (as well as pros and cons) for cooperation;
• Develop understanding of non-formal education methodological principles and cross-sectorial cooperation principles;
• To encourage participants to use non-formal education methods and tools in the formal education setting;
• To improve participants’ competencies to plan, run and evaluate non-formal education workshops;
• Develop understanding of importance of reflection in educational activities and provide participants with the competence of guiding reflection process of
youngsters: designing reflection questions and running the process.
• To improve participants’ competencies to adjust, adapt and create new methods based on non-formal education methodology;
• To create space for future Erasmus + projects development and ensuring the quality of the projects through developing common understanding of Youth project quality criteria: non-formal education;
• To encourage integrated and holistic approach to education;
• Create a manual on how to use non-formal education methods in formal settings.
During the TC we were working with 28 participants from Lithuania, Croatia, Macedonia, Poland, Italy, Romania, Latvia. The participants were youth workers, members of NGOs, teachers and educators from the non-formal education field.
The methods to work on the main topics were the following: interactive presentations (paper based, powerpoint, prezi, video, drawing, questions-answers, etc.), group discussions, simulations, individual creative tasks, presentations by the
participants, open space, work in small international groups, theatre plays, reflection and meta-reflection, real action (preparing and running workshops for the
group). In designing and implementing the programme, main principles of non-formal education were applied that ensured maximum inclusion of the participants, learning from group, experiential learning, etc.
Main learning points indicated by the participants:
- non-formal learning principles
- theoretical knowledge about formal, non-formal, informal education
- non-formal education methods
- value education (methods, reflection)
- education realities in Europe, education system in different countries;
- stages of organizing workshop;
- designing workshop; how to prepare good workshop;
- preparation of the workshops;
- how to conduct reflection;
- evaluation and reflection forms;
- many practical activities;
- methods;
- cross-sectorial cooperation;
- in order to learn we have to always cooperate and use various techniques and I have to constantly improve my skills by using good examples from others and much more;
- people that not collaborate in groups are like dead foic of the tree;
- Erasmus+ (organizing)
- youth exchange, training course, EVS
- project management basics and knowledge about opportunities to participate;
- managing work with groups of people comming from different backgrounds;
- work in groups, cooperation between participants;
- improved my skills in public speaking, reflection and work in group;
- values system in my life;
- crisis management.
Co-developing the idea and the logic of the project, co-preparing the application. Co-designing, co-implementing and co-evaluating the programme. Co-preparing the report.