Developing adaptive expertise to foster an effective learning environment

The project aims to develop adaptive expertise (AE) to foster an effective learning environment.

Context/background of the project:

Educating young people and children is a challenge in today’s society. Education is, like other challenges facing society, such as digitization, ecology, health, inclusive society …. unpredictable, complex and interconnected with other systems and areas.  In order to face these challenges and to prepare students to fully participate in society, educators need to adopt a different approach. On the one hand they need to stimulate intrinsic motivation and wellbeing of all learners, on the other hand they need to constantly increase learning outcomes. At the same time teachers are confronted with changes both within the school en in society.   

Dealing with complex challenges needs an approach that cannot be standardized or work  works with a one size fits all theory or the one perfect strategy. Working in a routine way is not enough. We need to transform our current body of knowledge and familiar methods of working. This implicates that we have to acquire a different kind of expertise that is adaptive to each different context.  

This project offers teachers a framework on adaptive expertise in the classroom and practical tools to adapt their practice to the needs of the learners and to realize a policy on adaptive expertise. The academic basic of this project is research done by the University of Auckland New Zealand and the OECD. This academic research tells us that adaptive expertise of teachers and a corresponding policy on adaptive expertise in schools is a promising way of coping with the challenges in education today.

If you want to learn more about adaptive expertise, inquiry learning and formative assessment as ways to cope with the current educational diversity, please check out our digital learning environment: https://adaptiveexpertise.net/

Or contact: Katrien Goossens (katrien.goossens@ucll.be) or Hilde Stroobants (hilde.stroobants@ucll.be)