Training programmes

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The assistance provided to schools consists of TWO MANDATORY PREPARATORY STAGES for those who will deliver the educational programs in the upcoming school year: the teachers of the enrolled classes and the volunteer architects who will support them. The first part of the preparation, the online stage, is conducted INDIVIDUALLY through the completion of an online training module. The second part, the face-to-face stage, involves participation in a practical application workshop, where facilitators come TOGETHER to strengthen collaboration in lesson preparation and delivery, practice interactive teaching methods, and benefit from the transfer of experiences from one school year to another.

The preparatory activities are developed and led by specialists in the field of the built environment and education, facilitators and trainers with experience directly involved in the development or implementation of De-a Arhitectura educational programs.

For the “De-a Arhitectura Mini” program:

• The online stage takes place from May to July, involves approximately 30 hours of study, guides future facilitators in the individual study of methodological and didactic materials to familiarize them with the structure and content, and clarifies the organizational aspects that need to be undertaken by the school institution for program implementation.
• The face-to-face stage facilitates a local meeting for clarification, practical application, and exchange of experiences (approximately 3 hours in a day announced by the regional coordinator, in August-September).

For the “De-a Arhitectura in My City” program:

• The online stage takes place from May to July, involves approximately 40 hours of study, guides future facilitators in the individual study of methodological and didactic materials to familiarize them with the structure and content, and clarifies the organizational aspects that need to be undertaken by the school institution for program implementation.
• The face-to-face stage, a one-day regional training workshop (September), focuses on the optimal planning of non-formal educational activities, practical applications, and simulations of the use of experiential learning methods and techniques, building the teacher-volunteer team. Physical participation in workshops requires travel to one of the cities: Bucharest, Timișoara, Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Brașov, Iași, depending on registrations (accommodation may be provided through the assistance program, based on available resources, the choice of venues being made for cost efficiency). For those who cannot attend physically, an online meeting will be held at a later date.

After completing both preparatory stages, facilitators receive our certification to be able to deliver the courses and add them to their professional portfolio. Non-participation or incomplete participation in one of the preparatory stages will result in the withdrawal of our assistance.

The teaching of educational programs is preferable to start with the support of architects, as long as there are volunteers in all areas where the Association conducts courses. After completing such a training program (online and face-to-face stages) and one year of practice, the teacher can then teach the course in subsequent years without the assistance of the volunteer architect. Of course, there are successful experiences where teachers teach on their own from the beginning, with remote assistance from us.

If in the following years teacher-architect teams are formed who do not know each other, the participation of both in the training workshop (face-to-face stage) is necessary, even if one of them participated previously with a different partner. On one hand, the workshop’s objective is to consolidate the newly formed teacher-architect team, and on the other hand, based on the course’s development and the collaboration between teachers and volunteers in the completed year, the workshop is continually adapted to better meet needs, so the experience is not repetitive.

The training program is useful for primary school teachers in their teaching activities of De-a Arhitectura programs. This teaching is not classical formal teaching but rather facilitation of students’ learning experiences. It is also useful for applying certain methods from the course to common core subjects.

For volunteer architects, this training is beneficial in knowing how they can support teachers’ teaching activities, but also in their ongoing communication and interaction with clients and the public.

< Programmes