Pilot Phase 1
The partners of the BuildIT project are working on the finalisation of the Strategic Activity Manual of the project based on the innovative methodology of Building Based Upskilling (BBU).
The manual contains an innovative and interactive educational methodology based on the use of blocks and puzzles to support adult educators in creating more attractive upskilling pathways to engage their learners, especially adults with low skills or NEET.
The BuildIT partners designed 12 strategic activities, each of which aimed to develop one of the 12 transversal competences according to the Transversal Competence Catalogue. In order to test the validity of the produced contents, a first testing phase with educators was planned.
Pilot phase 1 "Training of educators" was implemented during summer 2021. Each partner involved 10 educators (50 in total) who received knowledge and know-how about the BBU methodology and its activities.
These 50 educators then participated in pilot phase 2 to test the acquired skills and activities with their students. In pilot phase 1 each partner tested with the chosen educators 2 or 3 strategic activities developed by other partners in order to have a more effective validation. The scheme with which the partners implemented the strategic activities is as follows:
- EUROCREA MERCHANT tested the following activities prepared by WESBINOZ:
- 1. Strategical and innovative thinking
- 2. Teamwork
- 3. Problem solving
WSBINOZ tested the following activities prepared by DAFO:
1. Empathy / ability to build a relationship
2. Negotiation skills
DAFO tested the following activities prepared by TOPCOACH:
1. Decision making
2. Learning orientation
TOPCOACH tested the following activities prepared by LENA:
1. Intercultural skills and global awareness
2. Flexibility and adaptability
3. Collecting and processing information
LENA tested the following activities prepared by EUROCREA MERCHANT:
1. Organization and time management
2. Leadership
Most of the educators who participated in pilot phase 1 were women (62% vs. 38% men). 31% of them have been teaching adult learners for less than 5 years, while 18% of the educators have had experience with adults for more than 10 years.
In general, the feedback collected from the participants in this first phase was very positive. On a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 is the lowest score and 5 the highest: 65% of the participants gave 4 to the innovativeness of the proposed methodology. 56% gave 4 to the question whether this methodology can help to make adult education more attractive for adults. 49% gave 5, the highest score, to the following question: "Did you feel that puzzles and bricks were useful for understanding concepts?" 64% gave 4 to the use of this methodology with adult learners.