3.5. Apprentissage et évaluation

In order to prevent drop-out, the Godalen and Thor Heyerdahl Upper Secondary Schools in Norway have focused on improving and strengthening their school leadership strategies. The schools have established a range of measures to support teachers and young people alike.

Interactive Groups is one of the Successful Educational Actions (SEAs) identified in the research project INCLUD-ED. INCLUD-ED analysed educational strategies that contribute to overcoming inequalities and promote social cohesion, and those generating social exclusion, particularly focusing on vulnerable and marginalised groups. Interactive Groups are used to improve the education of children and youth in different contexts. They consist of grouping students in a class into small heterogeneous groups, each of them supported by an adult. Each of these groups is organised around four or five students, in a heterogeneous way regarding ability level, gender, culture, language and ethnicity. This example provides an understanding of IG and the results of their practice.

The learning hub was implemented at the TGM (an upper-level secondary technical college) as a school experiment in the school year 2016/17. It has been implemented in the school’s Information Technology (IT) Department in two of the four classes in the first year (i.e. grade 9).

In the learning hub students study self-regulated 20 hours per week. Of these 20 hours, 9 hours relate to general education subjects (German, English and Mathematics) and 11 hours involve vocational education subjects (Software Engineering, Systems Engineering, Media Technology, Network Technology). The other 6 school subjects (Geography, History and Political Education, Natural Sciences, Religion, Sports, Computer Workshop), which encompass 13 hours per week, are still taught by using traditional methods of teaching.

The aim of the report Nordic Projects to Combat School Dropout is to improve and inspire new initiatives for young people, and to create enriching contacts between actors and organisations in the Nordic region.
The Nordic Web Resource on Dropout from Upper Secondary Education was a project commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers and run by the Nordic Welfare Centre between 2012 and 2015. The aim of the project was to compile good examples of initiatives aimed at increasing the proportion of young people in the Nordic region who complete upper secondary education.
On the Nordic web portal, a large range of successful projects from the Nordic countries were presented. The initiatives had been evaluated externally, and showed positive results. Some activities were specifically chosen because of their innovative character or value as sources of inspiration.
Despite bureaucratic and cultural differences between the Nordic countries, the situation regarding young people at risk of dropping out of school is strikingly similar. The differences are sometimes greater between municipalities and schools than between countries. By learning about successful initiatives in the Nordic countries, it is possible to find inspiration and tools to improve the work on helping all young people to complete their upper secondary education.
In this publication, ten projects are described that were presented on the Nordic good practice web portal. Some of the projects have been completed, while others continue. Some activities have been incorporated in ordinary work.

The project PRINED concerns the inclusion of children and pupils of socially disadvantaged background. The main aim of this project is to enhance the successful implementation of compulsory education.

The school’s philosophy in relation to teaching and learning is focused students’ active understanding of and participation in the learning process. The school’s curriculum is based on the principles of progression and coherence.

‘The Bridge’ is one of the key innovative practices implemented at the school. It consists of a curriculum innovation established to provide a conducive and supportive learning environment for students entering secondary education at age 11. Learning is project-based and delivered by teams of teachers from different areas of the curriculum, which enables students to engage with a small number of teachers, and to work on clearly defined and cohesive learning objectives. The five principles underpinning the Bridge are: Achievement; Belonging; Celebration; Discipline; Enrichment. The students are empowered as independent learners – throughout their time at the school – and beyond. A rewards system enables students to earn points towards prizes at the end of the year.

Ce projet, lancé en Flandre (Belgique), dont l’objectif est de garantir la réussite de tous les enfants et de prévenir le décrochage scolaire, est spécifiquement axé sur l’introduction d’une culture scolaire et d’une série de mesures visant à éviter le redoublement.

Le programme «Salle phare» se concentre sur les difficultés d’apprentissage de chaque apprenant. Il offre aux apprenants une aide personnalisée au moyen d’un enseignement régulier en petits groupes dotés d’enseignants auxiliaires (supplémentaires). Les apprenants identifiés reçoivent un plan d’apprentissage individuel qui les aide à réaliser des objectifs d’apprentissage.