Supporting a Personalized Learning Path

Summary

The project “Supporting a Personalized Learning Path” focused on developing learners’ self-management skills and life skills through international cooperation and personalised learning paths. Teacher training, job shadowing, and learner mobility in Germany, Finland, and Austria helped implement new teaching methods and increase learner autonomy. As a result of the project, a working group for flexible learning paths was established, subject curricula were enhanced, and learners’ self-management, cooperation, digital, and intercultural skills were strengthened. Experiences from mobility reached the whole school through blogs, seminars, and curriculum development.

“From mobility to autonomy: empowering students to shape their own learning journey.” 

Topic(s) addressed

• Self-management skills
• Autonomy
• Digital
• Mathematical
• Scientific and citizenship competences

Target group(s)  

• The project involved learners aged 16–19 from Viimsi Upper Secondary School. 

Methodologies used

The project included teacher training, job shadowing, and group (short-term and long-term) learner mobility in Germany, Finland, and Austria. Teachers participated in training courses focusing on innovative teaching methods, the use of digital tools, self-management, learner engagement, and support for personalised learning paths. During job shadowing, teachers became familiar with teaching practices in other European schools, learner-centred education, and approaches to mathematics and language learning. 

Learners participated in group mobility in Germany, where they became familiar with the MINT programme and the German school system. In addition, short- and long-term mobility took place in Finland and Austria, where learners were able to participate in lessons at local schools, design their own timetables, learn in a new linguistic and cultural environment, and develop their self-management skills. 

An important part of all activities was preparatory meetings, reflection, writing blogs, sharing experiences, and linking learning outcomes with the school curriculum. As a result of the project, new teaching methods were implemented, a working group for flexible learning paths was established, and changes were introduced into subject curricula to increase learners’ autonomy and responsibility for shaping their own learning. Learners’ interest in international mobility also increased, and the school’s international cooperation network expanded. 

Innovation environment

The aim of the project “Supporting a Personalized Learning Path” was to raise teachers’ and learners’ awareness of the possibilities offered by personalised learning paths and to support the development of learners’ self-management skills. We wanted to give learners more responsibility for shaping their own learning and offer them new international learning opportunities.  

The distinctive feature of the project was linking learner mobility with the school’s systematic development. Based on experiences gained through mobility, a working group for flexible learning paths was established, and subject curricula were amended to provide learners with greater autonomy. 

Teachers’ role

Teachers acquired new knowledge on digital tools and artificial intelligence to support learning and subsequently applied these skills in their lessons.  Mathematics teachers’ mathematical and scientific competences were supported by learning about the German MINT programme and through job shadowing. Learners and teachers saw how the integration of STEM subjects is used to solve problems and create links with real life.  

As a result, a working group for flexible learning paths was established at the school, and experiences gained through mobility were incorporated into the curriculum and everyday teaching, ensuring an impact across the entire school community.

Impact and output

The impact of the project extended beyond the learners and teachers who directly participated in mobility. Experiences gained through international mobility reached the whole school through blogs, experience-sharing seminars, mentoring lessons, articles, and curriculum development. As a result of the project, a working group for flexible learning paths was established, and subject curricula were expanded to provide learners with greater autonomy and responsibility for shaping their own learning. 

The project can easily be transferred to other schools because it focuses on universal themes: self-management, learner-centred education, digital competence, and personalised learning paths. Particularly valuable was the integration of long-term mobility with the curriculum. A learner who participated in long-term mobility in Austria later created a short film about the experience, which was shared with learners, teachers, partners, and the Erasmus+ community. The project results have been introduced to partner schools, guest schools, the local community, and the wider education network. 

Learn more about the project