What are the goals of a training about reading aloud practices? What kind of competences should early childhood educations, social workers and other professionals who work with small children acquire with a training about reading aloud practices? And how can professionals reflect upon their own reading practices in order to improve?
During the second transnational meeting in Palermo on the 7th and 8th of March 2019, the partners of the 3MR project reunited to discuss the progress of the project, with in particular to go though the curriculum of the training, the first output of the project.
In two days, the partners mainly focused on going through the curriculum, discussing the major parts and even shared some stories and picture books. The curriculum, drafted by the university of Liege, is the blue print for the training for teachers, professionals and volunteers working with small children, that will be developed during the upcoming year. It contains several sections, from the rational for a curriculum and the definitions of reading aloud, to the competences that will be acquired with such a training. After the feedback that has been given during the meeting, the curriculum is currently being adjusted and translated in each partner language.
The curriculum will be used in the upcoming phases of the project, which foresee the following activities:
- A train the trainer event in Liege this June, in which 4 participants of each country will receive a training for 5 days about reading aloud practices and how to implement the training;
- The implementation of local trainings in the Belgium, Romania, Italy and Estonia;
- The evaluation of the curriculum through the implementation of activities with small children.
The curriculum will not be available online until the first version has been tested and adapted to each local context. However, you can get more info and stay informed about upcoming results through the project websites: www.readingmagic.eu or stay up to date with the project’s developments through Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/3mrproject/
3MR, standing for Making the Most of the Magic of Reading, is a project funded by the Erasmus+ programme, Key Action 2: Strategic partnerships |School. The project aims to increase the early literacy skills of children, especially those from culturally less advantaged backgrounds, by preparing professionals involved in early childhood education and parents to engage in reading aloud to children and in book-sharing practices in order to reduce the literacy gap among children from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
The partnership is composed by 4 institutions, 1 university and 3 associations:
- University of Liege (Coordinator), Belgium;
- Asociatia LASGC Romania, Romania;
- Estonian Reading Association, Estonia;
- Centro per lo Sviluppo Danio Dolci, Italiy.
For further information, please contact vidjaya.thelen@danilodolci.org.