Developing International Collaboration Through the Use of Modern Technology as a Means of Creating and Implementing an International

Model for Teacher Education in Multicultural Education

Rhonda Sofer, PhD TEMPUS Coordinator of DOIT and

Laura Sigad, PhDWorking Team Leader in DOIT

Gordon Academic College of EducationHaifa, Israel

Development of an International Model for Curriculum Reform in

Multicultural Education and Cultural Diversity Training

SELECTED TEMPUS PROGRAM: OCT 15, 2012-OCT 14, 2014

EXAMINE THE FOLLOWING DYNAMICS

• How do we successfully collaborate and manage a major international program of– 21 different institutions – 7 different countries and– over 60 different professionals?

• How does modern technology facilitate this international collaborative process.

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Field Monitoring Report from Brussels: July 10, 2013

There is a great sense of ownership by all partners who believe in the project's objectives ……

The coordinator is in contact with the working team leaders on a regular basis…..

The project's budget is managed in a transparent and efficient manner … Although the project is only in the middle of its first year, it shows great

potential to have a significant impact on multiple levels .. The senior administration of the Gordon Academic College strongly supports

the project and is involved in its implementation. This factor contributes to the success of the project and to the exposure of the project to additional stakeholders in Israel.

In addition, the coordinator has built relationships with the senior administration of the partner institutions, which will assist in sustainability.

Although the project is in the beginning of its eligibility period, the partners are already promoting the dissemination and sustainability aspects of the project.

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• Joint international projects and the exchange and sharing of knowledge among professionals.

• Aim: development of higher education between academic institutions of EU countries and their partners.

TEMPUS: Trans-European Mobility Scheme for University Studies

Curricular reform in multicultural education for teacher-training

through A program that is the result of the

sharing of knowledge relating to the dynamic processes of

Multicultural Education and Cultural Diversity Training among professionals involved in education.

Main Objective:

Develop innovative courses through international teams. Develop out of the classroom activities that promote

inter-cultural relations. Publish new learning materials Test the pilot program in partner countries. Run faculty workshops that train faculty implement the

courses. Run faculty workshops that enrich the faculty’s knowledge

and pedagogical tools on our topics Integrate curricular reform in the participating

institutions. Promote curricular reform on the National level.

PROGRAM

Established Working Teams that defined, delegated and scheduled tasks:• For Course Development—Syllabi almost completed and ready for pilots

Children and Human Rights through Education Identity and Culture Pedagogical Approaches in the Classroom that Promote Inter-cultural

Relations. Ethnic and Minority Groups in Georgia Ethnic and Minority Groups in Israel

• For Curriculum Assessment and Evaluation and Academic Quality• Quality Assurance of DOIT as a whole (logistics, communications,

collaboration, etc.).• NGO-Student teams

Main Results Achieved To Date (October 15-July 10)

The International DOIT Team

16 Academic Institutions: 6 in Israel, 5 in Georgia and 5 in the EU countries.

4 NGOs: 1 in Israel, 2 in Georgia and 1 in Estonia.

6 Student Unions: 3 in Israel and 3 in Georgia

Working with 26 Institutions: 21 Official Members of DOIT with 5 additional

Groups

Israeli HEIs:• Gordon Academic College of Education• Sachnin Academic College • Kaye Academic College of Education • Interdisciplinary Center of Hertzilya• Sapir Academic College • Ben Gurion University of the Negev– Israeli NGO: Interfaith Encounter Association– Student Unions of GCE, SAC, IDC.

Quality of Consortium:

1. Ilia State University2. Tbilisi State University3. Sokhumi State University4. Telavi State University5. Samtskhe-Javakheti State Teaching College ( unified

Akhaltsikhe State Teaching University and Akhalkalaki Higher Educational Institution College)

6. Civic Development Institute7. Center for Civil Integration and Inter-Ethnic Relations8. Student unions of ISU, TELAVI, SJSTU

Georgian Partners

• University of Koblenz-Landau, Germany• Birkbeck of the University of London, United Kingdom

• Institute of Education, University of London, United

Kingdom

• University of Education in Upper-Austria

• Hogeschool van Arnhem, The Netherlands

• Jaan Tonisson Institute, Estonia

European Partners

Challenges of Setting up International Collaboration Include

Budget planning and managementConsensus and collaborationAcademic development of programDevelopment of assessment toolsOverseeing academic quality assuranceWrite reports and follow through on tasks..Prepare schedules and topics for

international consortium meetingsDISSEMINATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

Research has shown that good practices for International Collaborative Projects

that are successful are related to several factors:

1.Moral Purpose (Fullen 2007)

2.Sharing of a Common Vision (Lavagnon el al 2010)

3.Good leadership (Rosado 2006)

4.Clearly defined tasks and work plan—conceptualization---planning---implementation---closure---impact –sustainability (Briere S and D Proulx 2013)

5.Good communication (Rosado 2006)

6.Involvement of Key Stakeholders (Aaltonen et al 2008 and Jepsen and Eskerod 2009)

7.Collaborative Approach (Rosado 2006)

8. Quality Assurance System of Support (Bowman 2009)

Diversity Management:1. COMMUNICATION:

• supportive,  • efficient, and  • open communication

2. Inclusion 3. Sharing and transparency of work4. Flexibility5. Sharing Responsibility

COMMUNICATION AND TRANSPARENCY IS FACILITATED THROUGH MODERN

TECHNOLOGY Quality Diversity Management

Transparency and good communication that is visible to all.Leaders who are accessible and who provide immediate answers to the members of their groupSkype meetings, Emails, Conference calls.

Portal==FOCAL POINT---

Main Results Achieved To Date (October 15, 2012-July 10, 2013)

PORTAL: MODEL FOR COLLABORATION AND CO-OPERATION

DOIT’s Portal is launched and running.• Home Page• Working areas• Financial Management area• Consortium news www.tempus-doit.sapir.ac.il

JULY 10, 2013 FIELD MONITORING REPORT

The project's portal assures good communication between the partners and is an excellent tool for project management.

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Other tools: SKYPE and DROPBOX reinforce collaborative processes

QUOTE OF A DOIT TEAM MEMBERS:

……….my cooperation on an international level, I really appreciate skype. I also really appreciate the dropbox, you can share documents immediately. I just appreciate and like the use of technology and I appreciate it in partnerships and specifically educational partnerships. This is the reason that I remain aware of technology and grade up my knowledge step by step……Technology makes the interaction with people you need more intensive, more frequent. A great advantage of technology is the visibility. We can make our work through technology more interactive, more up to date, more actual."

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Another Quote from a DOIT member:

There is a great relationship between trust and technology. This relates to frequency of interactions, if you interact with people more frequently of course the trust grows more and more. A sense of trust and cooperation grows and this is directly related to technology…

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Challenges:

Emails: dual edged sword:There are too many e mails. ... It is hard to distinguish between information that is really important, and pieces of information that is nice to know. …E mails make information faster, not necessarily better. We need fewer e mails, more concentrated information……

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Importance of Combining Technologies:

• When I write an e mail, I try to be very careful, English is not my first language, you don't always find the right words to be understood with our misunderstandings. Once there was a problem and I think my idea of wanting to talk to people and hear them and explain things rather than to write them was very helpful. When someone writes you something very hard it is difficult- to read it written it is very hard. So Hearing ones voice and intonation on skype is very appealing as it gives another dimension to what is understood. When you talk even if you don't find the right words there are other things that can make for it, the intonation, the feelings, the emphasis, so I really like skype it is better and easier than telephone it is as if you are chatting with someone naturally it is easier. I need personal contact for work, it is very important for me to hear people and talk to people. I think personal meetings are the best way to build trust.

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DOIT’s Culture of Collaboration has formed a working community committed to a common goal and willing to work together to achieve

its goals as well as to collaborate in other projects in the future

During the preparation process new ideas and approaches emerged from online meetings, emails ,etc. ...these processes have enriched not only the initial sketch of the project but the participants' attitudes towards the whole concept of multicultural education… I think that the most valuable outcome of this project is the partnership that (I believe) will last in spite of everything, even the PROJECT ITSELF.project itself. )

Selected Bibliography Aaltonen, K., Jaako, K. & Tuomas, O. 2008. Stakeholder salience in global projects. International

Journal of Project Management, 26, 509-516. Bowman, D. (2009). Project Quality Management Quality Assurance Plan. Retrieved (May 6,

2011) from, http://www.information-management-architect.com/project-quality-management.html

Briere S and D Proulx 2013 The Success of an International Development Project: Lessons Drawn from a Case Between Morocco and Canada. International Review of Administrative Sciences (79)1 165-186

Fullen, M. Leading in a Culture of Change (2007), Wiley Publishers, New York Jepsen, A.L. and Eskerod, P. 2009. Stakeholder Analysis in Projects: Challenges in Using Current

Challenges in the Real World. International Journal of Project Management 27 (4): 335-343. Lavagnon, I., Diallo, A. & Thuillier, D. 2010. Project management in the international development industry: the project coordinator's perspective., 3, 61-93. International Journal of Managing Projects in Business Rosado, C. (2006) What do we mean by Managing Diversity, EDChange and the Multicultural

Pavilion. Retrieved (January 2011), from http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/rosado_managing_diversity.pdf

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THANK YOU FOR COMINGANY QUESTIONS?