Methods

The main objective is to live real life situations that happen at personal level in people’s everyday life. Classes were created to teach the  foreign language to the participants using the teaching framework defined I. the Discussion Groups. The target group of the project was formed by adult students, part of U3A Italy, Lithuania, France, Finland.

It is a method that tends to form working groups of people with different opinions or with different professionalisms, who come together and work together in a coordinated manner to face and solve a problem that could not be solved individually by the individual components. The lifespan of a working group can last between a few months and several years.

It is a training method based on learning- by- doing and active participation in a new created environment for training to discover new directions to continue the study outside the traditional academic entities. It is a method for knowledge transfer from- science and Business and NGO sectors and vice versa.  In our case it is a knowledge transfer from science to business and NGO sector. It gives skills to collaborate with professionals outside academic community and to be a member of a complex multidisciplinary team.

Presentation in a Real Situation is a participatory-oriented method for informing, persuading and motivating the audience about something. It trains people to debate.  As an educational method the presentation is widely used by the trainers and by the participants - to present new learning material or when reporting learning outcomes (individual or in a group). In the project the method is used to help PhD students to train themselves with the help of a lecturer to learn to communicate with different social groups in a real situation, to debate on the scientific topics and to use the knowledge and skills what they have learned during training courses. It gives them skills to present specific scientific topics in different ways.

Mixed method for teaching  and giving new information and knowledge with elements of participation.  It has two phases: lecturing and training to do presentation imitating different audiences. Presentations are prepared with the help and directions of the lecturer. The group members debate the presentation and evaluate the achieving the aim of it.

Project-based learning is based on the idea that students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Students learn about a subject by working for an extend period of time in a project (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project-based_learning).

Just showing some concepts and explain how to do something is not enough. Seniors were asked, for example, to create a Google account by themselves or to adapt the existing code and colour an existing background from blue to yellow.

A short Interview was conducted before the research really took place. Objectives were defined for gaining as much as possible data about buildings, urban places, way of life in the town. Objectives were defined. What the interviewers wanted to achieve was to obtain stories about the town. The type of interview was chosen and who would be the interviewees. Decisions were taken on the type of respondents needed and their characteristics (older people who have lived in the town for decades, who are analytical enough, etc.). It was decided how the interviews would be conducted. Face-to-face, and if the interviews would be recorded or not. It was decided how the sample would be constituted.

Descriptive ethnographic method is a research method observing and investigating human behaviour, objects, people, relationships in a local cultural setting. It can conclude collecting personal stories, memories, life histories, etc. It is a qualitative research method. It was used in the Project Personal Town tours. In this project personal itineraries titled Between Lettuce and Plečnik (the architect), Living at the edge of Barje Marches, Between culture and friends were set up and illustrated with the stories contributed by older interviewed townspeople. Ethnographic interviewing is a type of qualitative research that combines immersive observation and directed one-on-one interviews. ... The idea is to interview users in their natural setting, while they are performing their tasks, asking them questions about what they are doing and why.

  Exploratory learning means learning through exploring environments, reality, and lived and virtual experiences with tutorial and peer-based support. Exploratory learning was the basic method in the project Personal town tours. All partners applied the same method based on setting up research answers and interviewing inhabitants as well as in some cases the intellectual outputs and further small scale projects as well scientific articles were added though not planned initially. The project and its contents became an integrated part of the more permanent U3A’s educational programme Squares, streets and buildings around us.

The course was in fact a blended course most of it was online. Face-to-face consultations were organised and the audience was introduced to the use of Moodle. The participants were issued certificates following their successful completion of the course.

It is valuable to be submitted basic structure of the course to develop, if the structure has been validated in practice, in real life. The partnership had an expertise in different reference areas, which enriched the material considerably.

Generally speaking the concept of generations and the pertaining categorisations are frequently misunderstood. A generation is a social group of people who are more or less of the same age and live in similar social and historic conditions, who have similar feelings about their times, who have been gaining similar experience and knowledge, who have been developing similar attitudes, values and have adopted similar life styles (Ule 2008: 20). Multigenerational relationships are rather well preserved within families. There are differences between generations in their attitudes and standpoints towards a number of individual and social topics. Understanding generations’ means understanding the phenomenon of social change.

item III Basic andragogical methods of learning* applied Classification of training methods (Valentina Vassileva) The main idea of the Individual learning is a particular type of activity, which could be done in different ways, with a variety of methods and means. It is a major component of all other forms of training, but it also includes self-training, homework, self-employment in leisure time, and more. Students work independently in study rooms, libraries, outdoors, etc.

item 7 Methods used in vocational training* applied Classification of training methods (Valentina Vassileva) The method reflects the pursuit of learning in close proximity and direct connection with practice. It is a particular form of practice-oriented learning, providing both professional knowledge and skills and key competencies. It is based on a mix of single methods combined in a certain way. The workshop combines: individual work, group work, discussion, document analysis, moderation, etc.

item 7 Methods used in vocational training* applied Classification of training methods (Valentina Vassileva) The main idea of the project method is to set up a task related to solving a real problem that needs to be performed by a group of people within a certain period of time. Learning through a project method involves practical work in the form of a purposeful, time-limited work. During the different phases of the project, participants are encouraged to accumulate various knowledge, skills and abilities. Linking learning to action in fulfilling a specific task aims at mastering professional competence, including a social one.

Presentation is a participatory-oriented method for informing, persuading and motivating. In the learning process, the presentation is widely used by the trainer and the participants - when presenting new learning material or when reporting learning outcomes (individual or group). In this specific case it helped the participants from different countries to convey content with artistic means. [Applied Classification of training methods (Valentina Vassileva)]

Icebreaker is an information-oriented method that helps to "break the ice" in various ways. It helps group members/ participants to get acquainted, relieve inhibitions or tension between people, allowing those involved to build trust with and feel more open to one another. Icebreakers encourage participation by all, helping a sense of connection and shared focus to develop. [Applied Classification of training methods (Valentina Vassileva)]

These are role-plays, in which a certain scenario is produced in the form of a monologue, dialogue, pantomime. It is possible to play dramas on a specific text or on a scenario designed by students. The goal is to experience a particular problem or situation where emotional involvement raises real issues. After the play of dramatization, comment is made and a lesson related to reality is summed up. [applied Classification of training methods (Valentina Vassileva)]