SWORD Project Meeting 25 th and 26 th April 2017 – Hamburg FVG REGION PILOTING EXPERIENCE School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

Experimentation of the Italian version of the Portfolio for the soft skills self assessment School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

THE AIM testing and evaluating the application of dual learning practices in the Italian non dual school system School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

TOOLS a specifically reduced section of the German Lernpass has been selected School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

THE TOOLS We have chosen the section about the soft skills self assessment. The choice is related to the possibility of the portfolio to be used by all kinds of schools (technical, liceo or VET) School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

The original idea was to find out whether this part of the Portfolio could actually prove to be a positive instrument in the hands of teachers dealing with the obligation of having their students in companies for a total amount of 200/400 hours (200 hours for the Liceo, 400 for VET and Technical Schools) during their last three years of secondary school, introduced by law in July 2015 (L107 13/07/2015). School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

The chosen target sample were students of a standard Italian Technical Institute, Business and Technology sections, in our area Friuli Venezia Giulia, called ISIS Brignoli-Einaudi-Marconi, based in Gradisca d’Isonzo (GO) THE TARGET: students now attending their 4th year who started their internship experience last year and a restricted selection of 5th year students who have Erasmus+ experience in international mobility (BEM received a KA1 project 2 years ago). School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

THE INTERNSHIPS Each of them has had a different kind of internship, both in public and private companies, for periods of time varying from one to 3 (rarely 4) weeks on a row In the business and accountancy section, continuity has been provided by means of using the system of simulated enterprises, according to a model called Simulimpresa. This generates a project lasting for the whole school year, in which the students follow the creation and growth of a company up to its first balance sheet School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

PEOPLE INVOLVED - 46 Business and Accountancy students (3 specializations: International Relations, Informative Systems, Marketing and Finance) - 46 Technology Students (3 specializations: Informatics, Logistics, Electronics, Automation); among these six 5th-year students have been included under the request of a teacher who wanted to try the use of the Portfolio to motivate them, being their results very poor. - 26 teachers were chosen among those involved in the internships organization to work with the Portfolio. School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

STEPS OF THE EXPERIMENTATION Step1: The students have been given their Portfolio copy and some explanations were provided (not too many); Step 2: They have been left alone in reading and filling it in; Step 3: After some time they have been required to bring it back to school and focus on some elements with their teachers. A first, non documented, feedback has been collected orally. Step 4: The students have been then required to fill in an online feedback questionnaire; Step 5: The selected teachers have been required to do the same; Step 6: The results have been used to produce the following SWOT analysis. School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

- The Portfolio is easy to fill in STRENGTHS - The Portfolio is easy to fill in - It is useful for the trainee/student - It allows to create awareness of soft skills - It helps self assessment of soft skills - It can be used both before and after the internship experience - It meets the students’ need of talking about themselves with some professional adult School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

- The section for the company tutor had to be left blank WEAKNESSES - The section for the company tutor had to be left blank - Some parts do not work with the kind of internship the students have gone through, being their experience too short and lacking continuity or responsibility (i.e. the part about leadership) - It is one more task to perform both for teachers and tutors who are already overloaded with paperwork - It is not an online or in digital form (from here the idea to develop an app) School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

- It can be used in all schools OPPORTUNITIES - It can be used in all schools - It can be used to help different activities, and not only soft skills self assessment. For example: motivation, governance, guidance - It could be adapted to the requirements of the new state exam, which is at the moment being planned by a government commission and will be focused on the so called “Alternanza Scuola Lavoro” - It paves the way for further experimentation/development (why not turning it into an APP?) School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

- Company scouting remains an outstanding problem THREATS - Given a wider range of users, a certain number out of them may not be favorably impressed - Some of the students using the Portfolio, even if supported, could not be able to get its usefulness - The teachers and company tutors may not be devoted to the task of properly dealing with this extra activity, being it not compulsory and not paid - Company scouting remains an outstanding problem School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

How did we find out this information We submitted 2 questionnaires: One for students One for teachers School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD STUDENT QUESTIONNAIRE  1. Was the Portfolio you received easy to fill in? YES/NO   2. Did it help you recognize some soft skills you had not considered before? 3. Did it help you assess some of your soft skills? 4. Did it help you implement some soft skills you had not considered before? 5. Do you think it could be of help in creating a connection between the idea you have of yourself in everyday life and the idea you have of yourself in a working environment? 6. Do you think the portfolio could be improved? 7. Could you suggest how? 8. Were the questions suitable to your internship experience? 9. If not, why? 10. Were there any questions you could not answer? 11. If yes, what were they about? School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD TEACHER QUESTIONNAIRE, English Version   Do you think the Portfolio is easy to explain to students? YES/NO 2. If not, what were the critical points? 3. Do you think it has helped/could help students recognize some soft skills they had not considered before? 4. Do you think it has helped/could help students assess some soft skills they have used during their internship experience? 5. Do you think it has helped/could help students implement some of their soft skills? YES/NO 6. Do you think it could be of help in creating a connection between the idea the students have of themselves in everyday life and the idea they have of themselves in a working environment? 7. Do you think the portfolio could be improved? 8. Could you suggest how? 9. Did the students have a positive approach to the Portfolio? 10. Could you point out how this assessment tool could possibly find further usage or application? School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017

THANKS FOR YOUR ATTENTION School and WOrk-Related Dual learning – SWORD 2014-1-IT01-KA200-002432 CUP: C65C14000280009 Hamburg, 25th april 2017