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Virtual Innovation and Support Networks for Teachers (VALIANT)

The VALIANT project aims to design Virtual Exchange modules which will bring school teachers and classes of student teachers into collaboration together.

Photo illustration of group of students discussing and working together.

Research project VALIANT will facilitate cooperation between school teachers and classes of student teachers (photo illustration by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash).

About the project

The innovative policy measure evaluated in VALIANT are Virtual Exchange programs which bring together teachers, student teachers and experts in facilitated online collaboration around real-world educational issues. Thus, the project involve responsible public authorities (in Norway, the Ministry of Education and Research and the University of Oslo), the researchers and the target groups.

The VALIANT Project - Virtual Innovation and Support Networks–is a European policy
experimentation. Work Package 1 is led by the Department of Teacher Education and School Research (ILS). In this sub-project, ILS is responsible for developing and finalizing the content and tasks of the Virtual Exchanges through collaboration between the research team and the participating institutions. The Virtual Exchanges take into account the needs and curricula of the participating Initial Teacher Education institutions and the needs and training interests of the participating in-service teachers. ILS is also responsible for creating the virtual platform where the different formats of Virtual Innovation and Support Networks will be located, and where teachers and teacher educators can register.

Objectives

The expected results from VALIANT will provide public authorities with clear evidence whether Virtual Exchange can contribute to solving various challenges:

The project’s first objective is to test the efficiency of Virtual Innovation and Support Networks as an approach that will contribute to overcoming teachers’ sense of isolation and low motivation in rural areas and isolated contexts, and also to developing teachers’ ability to operate effectively in online international networks of professional collaboration.

The second objective of the project is to test the efficiency of this form of Virtual Exchange for providing students of Initial Teacher Education with access to the realities of the teaching profession through regular interaction with in-service teachers.

List of objectives:

VALIANT aims to establish whether participation in Virtual Exchange programmes will

overcome teachers’ sense of isolation and improve levels of motivation
develop teachers’ intercultural collaboration skills and their ability to participate in online collaborative projects and networks
develop teachers’ ability to use digital technologies for elements of digital professional collaboration
raise awareness of students of Initial Teacher Education of the realities of the teaching profession.

Background

The VALIANT project started in February 2021 and will be completed in March 2024.

The experimentation will use a before-after comparison method with experimental and control groups. Quantitative and qualitative data will be triangulated to provide a comprehensive insight into the impact of these Virtual Exchange programmes on

teachers’ motivation
their feelings of professional isolation
their career paths
their ability to activate digital and intercultural competences for international professional engagement

Cooperation

The VALIANT consortium is an international cooperation and comprised of public authorities and universities.

Public Authorities contributing in VALIANT:

Consejería de Educación, La Junta De Castilla Y León, Spain
Directorate-General for School Administration of the Ministry of Education, Portugal
Ministry of Science, Research and Arts Baden-Württemberg
Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, Slovenia
Consellería de Educación, Universidade e FP, Galicia, Spain
Ministry of Education and Research, Norway