by Juliana Raffaghelli

1. From Learning Design to effective
practices.
Developing Adults' educators professionalism in the
context of ALICE project
Juliana Raffaghelli
International Center for Educational
Research and Advanced Training (CISRE)
Ca’ Foscari University of Venice
International Conference
Transforming the Educational Relationship:
Intergenerational and Family Learning for Lifelong Learning
BUCHAREST, 24-25 October 2013

2. Adults Education, a new frontier of
practice



Adults education is a key for
our societies.
One of the less structured, illdefined in terms of practices
and competences of the
professional operating in the
field (Beleid & Plato, 2008a)
For the educator this means
that she has to feature the own
context of work in every
intervention (Przybylska, 2008)
Raising the overall level of skills of
the adult population by offering
more and better learning
opportunities throughout adult life
is important for both efficiency and
equity reasons (…) . Not only does
adult learning help make adults
more efficient workers and, betterinformed and more active citizens.
It also contributes to their personal
well-being (EC COM 2006 [614final] p.5)

3. Adults’ education to promote creative
intergenerational experiences



Intergenerational learning (IL) improves dialogue
between generations through civic participation in
common social and institutional spaces.
A developing field of adults’ education (Hatton Yeo, 2012)
Creating IL environments is still a challenge: a “crossingboundaries practice”


“Crossing Boundaries”: based on Activity
Theory (Engestrom, 1987)
Knowledge and expertisetransfer
between contexts—such as school and
work—through a process of
“developmental transfer” and “expansive
development” involving collaboration and
the active reconstruction of knowledge
between two or more activity systems
(Tuomi-Gröhn, Engeström, & Young,
2003)

4. An example…

5. Two activity systems in dialogue

6. ALICE main assumptions
Did you know?

Differences enrich

Creative Languages
can become a bridge
between generations
Intergenerational learning (IL) is
when adults and kids benefit from
sharing activities and learn important
Key competences.
Adults as educators play an
extremely important role in Society.
Adults benefit from being educators.
They create space for
intergenerational dialogue

7. ALICE main assumptions
Did you know?

Creative Languages
Play, invent, share.
They help to decrease the
stress of dealing with
«differences» through a
joint activity

Intergenerational
Learning, an opportunity
For adults to reflect on the own
role as educator.
For children’s agency
(expression and reinforcing of
the self)

10. Two activity systems in dialogue

11. Learning Design & Design thinking: the kernel for
adults’ educators professionalism


Design: from engeneering and architecture to education
(Laurillard, 2012)
Analysing the context, the available resources, the
educational problem and the participant’s motivations, in
order to orchestrate educational solutions based on the
theory of learning (Goodyear & Dimitriadis, 2012)
Learning Design, as conceptual and methodological
approach for educators to explore their educational
problems and make more grounded decisions to
plan/implement their pedagogical practices
(Conole, 2012)

12. Learning Design & Design thinking: the kernel for
adults’ educators professionalism




Design: from engeneering and architecture to education
(Laurillard, 2012)
Analysing the context, the available resources, the educational
problem and the participant’s motivations, in order to
orchestrate educational solutions based on the theory of
learning (Mor&Craft, 2012)
Learning Design, as conceptual and methodological approach
for educators to explore their educational problems and make
more grounded decisions to plan/implement their pedagogical
practices (Conole, 2012)
Designing for Adults learning is one of the key competences
for professionals operating in this area (Buiskol, Broek, van
Lakerveld, Zarifis, & Osborne, 2010)
It requires design thinking (Cross, 1982) as boundary crossing
professional competence.

13. Design Thinking


At the level of the single educator: The more the
educator improve their skills for design thinking, the
more she will be able of planning and intervening
in ill-structured problems, providing creative
educational solutions
At the level of the community of adults’ educators:
the more the educators are able of designing for
adults learning, the more they can adopt tools to
represent, share and discuss the own
practices, reinforcing a field of professional
practices, which is also part of the adults’ educators
professional identity.

14. ALICE case study





LLP-GRUNDTVIG project “Adults Learning for
Intergenerational Creative Experiences”;
Transnational and eLearning approach. 6 institutions from
IT, RO, UK, EL, CH built a course and an educational
environment (on moodle) provided the space to reflect about
practices and share ideas, during 6 months of implementation.
A professional learning community composed by 23 adults’
educators and a team of 6 adults’ education institutions
attempting to shape new approaches (Adults Learning Pilot
Programmes or ALPPs) to promote the idea of adults as
educators as well as the value of creative languages to
mediate intergenerational/family learning.
www.alice-llp.eu
www.alice-llp.eu/virtualspace

15. Research Methodology

Design Based Research (Brown, 1992; Pellerey
2005; Bielaczyc et al., 2004)
Adapting
ALPP
Reflection
/Evaluatio
n
Designing
for IL
Initial
Idea
The
trainer
Action

16. Promoting design thinking along an educational
intervention as creative process: phases and elements
Phase
Understanding the
context of practice
Description
Representing the
educational process
Objective: Plan the intervention beyond the procedures, reflecting on the pedagogy.
Tools to represent/think about the design approach : The Four Leaves taxonomy and its 4 steps (information, laboratory,
assessment/evaluation, personalization).
Design thinking to provide solutions for...: a clear and concise representation as part of the process of Learning Design to
allow discussion and peer-reviewing on the quality of approaches before putting them into practice.
Implementing
practices and
networking to
improve the
educational
sustainability
Objective: A process of implementation that is continuously monitored from peers, participants and external stakeholders
(institutions engaged in the practice
Tools to represent/think about the design approach : Check-lists, mental maps, blog and private trainers’ log.
Design thinking to provide solutions for...: abiliytelling a story that makes the whole approach accountable and shareable.
Evaluating practices
Objective: A participatory approach to understand learning achievements and the educational impact
Tools to represent/think about the design approach : the learning/key competences map.
Design thinking to provide solutions for...: understanding effectiveness as part of the educational process.
Making the approach
transparent: opening
practices
Objective: To understand the importance of Open Educational Resources in strenghtening the pedagogical and design
thinking.
Tools to represent/think about the design approach: templates and a virtual platform to shape/upload the own educational
work.
Design thinking to provide solutions for...: sharing educational practices in search for quality within the educational process.
Objective: to collect information and reflect about the driving forces in the context of educational practice.
Tools to represent/think about the design approach: Design Narratives and Force Map.
Design thinking to provide solutions for...: The context as changing, fluid space of learning. The enlarged context of learning
in the intergenerational case: adults’ goals of learning and children/teen goals of learning differ, but can dialogue in an
enlarged context of learning.
[1]
http://www.ld-grid.org/resources/representations-and-languages/
http://www.slideshare.net/JulianaElisaRaffaghelli/alpp-strategylu6lu7
[3] http://www.slideshare.net/JulianaElisaRaffaghelli/alpp-strategylu6lu7
[4] http://www.slideshare.net/JulianaElisaRaffaghelli/alpp-strategylu6lu7
[2]

17. The creative process of educational
intervention

18. ALICE’s Phases of Development
Train adults'
trainers
• Understanding and
implementing ALICE’s
approach.
Learning
Design
• Designing for adults intergenerational creative
experiences. Different adults could be the target:
partners, senior citizen, teachers, volunteers.
Adults’
Learning Pilot
Programmes
• Testing phase where adults will
use creative languages with
children. Participatory
evaluation with impact on
intergenerational dialogue.
Engaging
Local
institutions
• Better understanding and
practices on IL as part of
adults education. The
adult as educator

19. Connections between the phases as part of
an approach to professional development

20. Analysis




Trainers’ Competences Map as counterpart of the
adults Key Competences/Learning Map
Trainers’ Log
Social media as collectors of evidence on the
ongoing practices
The crystallized practice: an Open Educational
Resource within the field of adults education

21. Analysis




Trainers’ Competences Map as counterpart of the
adults Key Competences/Learning Map
Trainers’ Log
Social media as collectors of evidence on the
ongoing practices
The crystallized practice: Open Educational
Resources produced.

22. Excerpt of Trainers’ Learning Map
Initial
Threasholds threashold
Standard
threashold
Advanced
threashold
Expert
Competenc
Descriptors
Descriptors
Descriptors
e Indicators
Descriptors
Learning Unit 6: Learning Design – Implementing Adults Creative Intergenerational
Activities
I am eager to
I am able of
I am able of
I am able of
Networkin
creating some
creating specific
creating specific
g for project participate in
informal
activities both with activities negotiating
implementat local projects
regarding adult
educational
other or by my
them in local
ion
education
activities in
own.
networks. I am open
(Nr of
collaboration
also to work with
respondents
with other
national European
22)
expert trainers
networks.
(22%)
(0%)
(26%)
(52%)

23. Initial
Threasholds threashold
Standard
threashold
Advanced
threashold
Expert
Excerpt of Trainers’ Learning Map
Competenc
Descriptors
Descriptors
Descriptors
e Indicators
Descriptors
Learning Unit 6: Learning Design – Implementing Adults Creative Intergenerational
Activities
I’m informed
I can
I can recognize
Not only I can
Evaluatin
recognize the
the importance of
recognize the
g
Adults generally about
the strategies of
importance of
the strategies of
strategies of
Learning
participatory
the strategies
participatory
participatory
Pilot
evaluation (like
of
evaluation (like the evaluation (like the
Programmes the Key
participatory
Key Competence
Key Competence
(Nr of
respondents
22)
Competence
Map).
10%
evaluation
(like the Key
Competence
Map).
16%
Map); I’m also
able of adopting
some of these
strategies.
Everything is
perfectly clear to
me.
34%
Map), as well as
adopting some of
these strategies; I’m
also able of
identifiying new
strategies to keep
improving my skills
on participatory
evaluation.
50%

24. A picture of first achievements
(Source:
Creative
Language
Nr of
ALPPs
Nr. Of
Sessions
Nr of
Adults
Nr. Of
Children
Nr. of
institutions
KC
addressed
Documents
/Products
collected
ALPPs Learning Design – PW)
Art/Cooking
4
14
80
126
6
Mainly 5 and 8,
but also 6,7.
5 LD-ALPP
6 blog post (CISRE)
4 Presentations (CISRE)
3 newsletter articles (CISRE)
Children
Narrative
9
40
75
127
11
Mainly 8, but
also 5,6.
3 blog posts
3 Newsletter articles
Digital
Storytelling
9
35
89
264
5
Mainly 4,5, but
also 6,7.
2 blog post
1 video
1 newsletter article
Games &
Social Media
6
8
70
56
6
Mainly 5, but
also 1, 8.
1 international presentation
1 Newsletter article
Music
3
3
56
50
3
Mainly 5 and 8,
but also 1,4,6.
1 blog post
1 newsletter article
1 video
Total
33
86
290
497
31
National Participation
Countries
CH
EL
IT
RO
UK
TOTAL
Nr of ALPPs
5
6
6
14
2
33

25. Conclusions




The complexities of acquiring a cross boundary
vision; frustrating experiences during the
implementation
The need of not only collecting evidence, but sharing
it with adults as a mean to keep the focus on the
value of the intervention
A sense of ethical committement reinforcing the
conversational and transformative framework (on the
basis of Knowles, Mezirow, Freire)
The overloading process of data collecting in DBR

26. An open research process…
Thank you for your comments and suggestions!