Through four innovative outputs, the Cradle methodology will be applied to cross-curricular projects that support the learning of entrepreneurial skills, such as problem-solving, personal responsibility, social responsibility, curiosity, communication and cooperation, among others.

1. CRADLE Teacher Training Course

A scalable, blended course to train ‘generalist’ primary school teachers to use the CRADLE methodology in their classrooms (target ages: 8-12), focused on the creation and implementation of cross-curricular projects with clear identification of foreign language and entrepreneurial learning outcomes.

The course will include:

Basic theory, methodology and didactics;

Self- reflection and assessment tools;

Downloadable ‘handbook’ of all course content;

Videos of examples of practice;

“Lesson-plan” for physical training sessions;

On-going on-line support, (pilot year only).

Innovation:

The TTC will teach “generalist” primary school teachers who are not foreign language (FL) teachers to use their FL knowledge in their teaching, thereby supporting the creation of an FL-learning environment;

It will teach teachers how to create and implement cross-curricular projects that support the learning of entrepreneurial skills in conjunction with the use of a foreign language;

It will be aimed at primary school students: ages 8-12.

Expected impact:

Strengthening of teacher profiles both in the acquisition of a new teaching methodology, and in learning how to put previously acquired FL skills to use in the classroom.

2. CRADLE Toolbox

A set of tools that support teachers in their implementation of the CRADLE methodology in the classroom, including:

Project-planning templates;

Checklists for strategies & resources;

Outcomes-observation checklist;

Innovation:

The CRADLE methodology rests on task-based, student-centred, exploratory learning, embedding also CLIL principles.

Students will :

acquire entrepreneurial skills and language skills and

increase their understanding of languages as a tool for communication in subject-specific settings.

Expected Impact:

The use of this tool will be empowering to teachers;

Students’ achievements, interest and attitudes with respect to the use of a FL will be increased (compared to a control group);

Participating students will demonstrate greater resilience, self-efficacy and entrepreneurial skills than their peers who will not have participated in the project;

Students will show greater interest for and involvement in the subject-matter they are discovering, and will show greater levels of awareness of, responsibility for and involvement in their own learning processes.

3. Practical Implementation Recommendations (PIR)

A summary of the experience gained on the ground during the implementation of the CRADLE project, highlighting:

Why school leaders should aspire to implementing the CRADLE methodology at the core of their teaching practice

A “how-to guide” addressing both strategic and organisational aspects of implementation in schools.

Innovation:

The introduction of the CRADLE methodology will likely require school directors to be as innovative organisationally as their teachers in the classroom

Expected impact:

The PIR will support school leaders and teachers in their adoption of the CRADLE methodology as a common practice in their schools, thereby strengthening school leadership and distributed leadership.

4. Mainstreaming Strategy

A strategy to guide organisations in the mainstreaming of successful, innovative teaching methodologies, based on the experience of the CRADLE project, including:

the overall strategic approach that should be adopted in order to transfer a successful educational methodology from pilot stage to mainstream practice;

key stakeholders that must be involved and interdependencies between these stakeholders;

for each key stakeholder: motivating factors, requirements, and key issues that they need to resolve, as well as messages and ‘ammunition’ that can help them overcome these issues;

The anticipated time frame until actual mainstreaming.

Innovation:

To our knowledge, no strategy has ever been published on how to mainstream innovative teaching methodologies in the primary school sector in multiple European countries.

Expected impact:

The Mainstreaming Strategy – and the evaluation of the pilots which supports it – will enable the partnership to work towards the up scaling of the CRADLE methodology in primary schools in the pilot countries and beyond.

Mainstreaming of this project will not only promote the acquisition of vital transversal skills, but will also feed into the priority of encouraging Member States to use evidence in designing reforms that deliver quality education more efficiently.