«The Challenge of Transforming Teacher Training»

Abstract

Teachers constitute the most important resource in schools. They are essential for the development and improvement of the quality of teaching. In an ever-changing, diverse and globalized world, administrations, through institutions and education and training systems, must ensure the development of key skills that students need to respond to an environment that demands always higher levels of aptitude.

In this scenario, to have high quality and well-trained teachers is one of the essential elements to lead students towards the objectives that are being proposed, which should enable them to face the new challenges that the society puts on them.

The “Rethinking Education” strategy, presented by the European Commission in November 2012, gives absolute priority to the development of competences of teachers, highlighting the importance of digital competences in the current and future society, the need for information technology and communication to be fully integrated into training centres, and that the unprecedented opportunities offered be also exploited for professional collaboration, problem solving, and the improvement of the quality, accessibility, and equity of education and training.

INTEF has been working on several projects for some time in relation to three big areas: technology, content, and teacher training, which are grouped in two big programmes: the Programme of Digital Culture at School, and the Teacher Professional Development Framework. They have allowed us to address the challenge of transforming teacher education by changing both the content and the methodology of online training courses and by exploring new avenues of teacher training with MOOCs.

Bio

High School teacher of Physics and Chemistry. During 6 years, he has been the Head of the ICT Dept. at the Regional Center for Innovation and Training “Las Acacias” of the Region of Madrid, where he was in charge of the development of the online training programme for teachers in the Region of Madrid. He is presently the Head of the Section of Online Training and Social Networks of INTEF, where he is responsible of the online training of teachers.