“Change in Classroom: Promoting Innovative Teaching & Learning to Enhance Student Learning Experience in Eastern Partnership Countries” (PRINTeL)

The main goals of the project are:

• Enhancing student learning experience in Armenia, Georgia and Belarus by promoting development and innovation in teaching and learning (T&L), supporting integration of technology and research, as well as disseminating good practice. 
• Modernising higher education in Armenia, Georgia and Belarus in line with the Bologna agenda and establishing cooperation in education and training between partner and EU countries by promoting virtual mobility of teachers and students, and enhancing lifelong learning capabilities.

Project objectives:

The abovementioned goals will be achieved through fulfilment of the following specific objectives:

1. To strengthen Teaching Staff Development Centres (TSDC) in the PC universities by enhancing capacities of staff and trainers, modernizing infrastructure and introducing innovative teacher training and academic leadership programmes. 
2. To build up capacities of the partner universities’ teaching staff by developing their innovative and technology-enhanced teaching and learning (T&L) skills and abilities of competency- and research-based teaching.
3. To establish a Virtual Academy of Teaching and Learning (VATL) as an international community of teachers, staff and students interested in using and sharing Open Educational Resources (OER) for the improvement of technology-enhanced T&L.
4. To promote greater awareness on the types and methods of innovative and technology-enhanced T&L and to disseminate best practices within and between universities in the partner and EU countries.

Expected results

The following outcomes and outputs are expected by the end of the project: 

• 30 staff and 100 trainers trained on innovative T&L methods and technology-enhanced instruction.
• 28 technology-enhanced teacher training classrooms, 9 multimedia OER content building studios and 5 new teacher training courses.
• Over 500 trained university teachers who are no more just “lecturers” but “designers of the learning methods and environments”.
• Virtual Academy of Teaching & Learning (VATL) – an interactive professional development, mutual learning and virtual mobility platform of teachers to promote innovative T&L practices.
• 6 virtual communities of teaching practice, an annual Virtual Forum and institutional award programmes promoting awareness on innovative pedagogy and excellence in T&L.
• Disseminated electronic newsletters, booklets, VATL Manual, Good Practice Teacher Handbook and training kits on innovative T&L.