ARYA SCAFFOLD training in Kazakhstan. EU empowers Kazakhstan educators with innovative learning tool
ASTANA – As the part of European Year of Skills in the frame of the ongoing European Union funded DARYA project, 150 educators of schools and vocational education and training schools from six regions of Kazakhstan learnt to embrace SCAFFOLD, a unique EU-designed tool. An international team of expert educators with facilitation of Kazakh trainers who have been trained previously introduced the participants with this tool and how it can used in their work, DKNews.kz reports.
In his opening speech the Director of the Department of Technical and Vocational Education, Ministry of Enlightenment of Kazakhstan, Asset Mukhanbetov, said: “We are proud to participate in the international project DARYA. SCAFFOLD is an innovative tool that will help educators effectively group learning outcomes according to learning objectives and available resources. Our goal is to make the educational system more effective and adapted to the needs of our time, providing quality education and preparing young people for successful careers and active civic lives” and expressed the readiness to keep spreading the use of the tool in all regions of Kazakhstan.
Head of Political, Press and Information Section of the EU Delegation in Kazakhstan, Mr. Maciej Madalinski, welcomed the participants: “With SCAFFOLD, educators gain a potent resource to ignite creativity, foster critical thinking, and encourage teamwork in their classrooms. We firmly believe that SCAFFOLD will not only enhance classroom practices but also empower educators to cultivate the next generation of leaders. This endeavor aligns seamlessly with the essence of the European Year of Skills which we are dedicating our event to, emphasizing the paramount importance of skill development in shaping a brighter future”.
SCAFFOLD is a tool developed by the European Training Foundation (ETF) and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC). This tool is a deck of 102 cards, created to support educators in designing learning activities and guiding them step-by-step – from planning to assessment and is suitable for any subject area and could be applied at any level of the education system or for any type of non-formal learning. It assists educators in exploring links between transversal competences common to all competence frameworks, helping teachers identify and cluster learning outcomes according to teaching objectives, available resources, learning spaces, and duration. The SCAFFOLD cards serve as ‘bricks’ helping educators in building learning experiences creatively, according to their goals and learner needs.
To ensure the wide and practical use of the cards in Kazakhstan these Scaffold Cards and the guidance were tailored and translated into Kazakh language. During the training, organised together with the Ministry of Enlightenment of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the participants gained the knowledge and competences to use Scaffold strategies in their learning designs, worked together to design innovative education activities and also learnt the ways of applying the work with the cards in their daily professional routine. Further activities will include training, pilot actions in schools and dissemination of SCAFFOLD with the aim to reach out to more than a thousand educators in Kazakhstan and across Central Asia. In Autumn 2024, a regional competition named “SCAFFOLD – competences for life” will motivate many more educators to integrate SCAFFOLD into their teaching methodologies.
A participant of the training and a national trainer Ms Kamshat Narbotaeva, National Training Center "Orleu" shared her thoughts about the project: “Scaffold cards allow the teacher to plan and conduct the lesson in an innovative way. In a word, the teacher leads children to be successful in real life through tasks, teaching methods, and assessment methods for the development of competencies. If secondary education teachers use this tool systematically, it is possible to achieve great success in PISA international assessment”.
DARYA (Dialogue and Action for Resourceful Youth in Central Asia) is the first EU-funded regional project focusing entirely on measures that support inclusive and labour market relevant skills development opportunities for young people in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. With a budget of €10 million, the project operates at two main levels: nationally, by stimulating the development of quality and inclusiveness in education, training, and the labour market in the five countries; regionally, by strengthening participation and mutual dialogue among Central Asian countries. The five-year project (2022-2027) is implemented by the European Training Foundation (ETF), a specialised agency of the European Union, based in Italy.
The European Year of Skills aims to address skills gaps in the European Union and boost the EU skills strategy, which will help reskill people with the focus on digital and green technology skills. This will require helping people get the right skills for quality jobs and helping companies, in particular small and medium enterprises by highlighting national efforts as well as -existing and new EU initiatives and EU funding possibilities. It will support skills-related activities and events across Europe. Throughout the year, various stakeholders, including the Commission, the European Parliament, Member States, social partners, public and private employment services, chambers of commerce and industry, education and training providers, as well as workers and businesses, will work together to promote skills development. The Year has started on 9 May 2023 and will run for 12 months, with many actions and initiatives to be launched and promoted. Follow us to receive the latest information.
