LATE LIFE LEARNING –
Discovering the Pathways for
Cooperative Learning
2014, June – 2015, May
THE AIM
The aim of the project is to improve
project partner institutions’ potential in the older adults training
through strengthening inter-institutional partnerships, sharing
experiences, and exchanging ideas.
RATIONALE
Elderly people often lack main competences:
•
They often have fewer qualifications, especially in the technology sector.
Knowledge and skills in technology field gained at the older age may help to
keep the current job or provide opportunities for finding a better one.
•
They are often less financially literate. Such knowledge may reduce the risk of
the elderly taking up decisions disadvantageous for their financial well-being.
•
They are very open in need of communication. After retiring they often lose
connections with their work colleagues. They luck opportunities to communicate
with people sharing similar interests and establishing new social connections.
•
The knowledge elderly have in health issues are not adequate to their needs and
desires – they cannot solve problems effectively or seek for behaviour changes
related to their health (quit smoking, start exercising, etc.).
PARTNERS & PARTICIPANTS
This project will unite trainers from 4 Nordic/Baltic countries around a common idea
of late life learning.
7 institutions from Lithuania, Latvia, Sweden and Estonia joined the project aiming
to strengthen their educational functions trough experience exchange and
cooperation.
The participants of mobility visits will be 36 adults’ trainers and trainings organizers 1-2 people from each partner institution.
Institutions involved
More and more often not only specialized institutions serve as
venues for the late life learning (adults training centres, third
age universities, etc.), but also libraries, NGOs or community
organizations take up the same role.
PARTNERS & PARTICIPANTS
7 different institutions from Lithuania, Sweden, Estonia and Latvia will work together
on project implementation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Utena Third Age University (UTAU)
Utena A. and M. Miskiniai Public library (UVB)
The Library of Lidköping
Senior Center at Lidköping Municipality‘s Community Care Services Department
Campus Lidköping
Riga Central Library (RCL)
Pärnu Central Library
The partnership will be managed by Utena Third Age University.
A group of representatives, one from each partner organization will be responsible
for the project coordination in each country and institution.
Objectives
To improve the competencies of trainers through learning from each other.
To provide training staff with a possibility to improve their foreign language and
communication skills.
To encourage partnership among the providers of the elderly training in local
communities and at the international level, to reduce institutional reticence.
To generate new ideas for seniors‘ training.
To adopt good experience.
To collect, analyse and share information about the needs of older adult learners,
educational programs, methods and means offered in partner institutions. To identify
examples of good and innovative experience.
To highlight the importance of public libraries for the elderly learning.
Outcomes
In order to fulfil project‘s goal, partner institutions will offer exchange opportunities
for groups of people who work in the field of older adults training.
These specialists will have an opportunity to get acquainted with different
approaches applied in partner countries.
Such possibility will allow understanding peculiarities, similarities and differences of
training the elderly in various national and cultural contexts. Also, give a chance to
generate ideas during discussion sessions and later on adapt and apply the
advanced practice gained through the meetings locally.
ACTIVITIES
4 mobility visits to all 4 partner countries – Estonia, Sweden, Latvia and
Lithuania are planned throughout project‘s implementation period.
Each mobility visit will be related to a specific topic of seniors’ training/learning.
Due to that, 4 visit programs have been prepared / will be specified.
TIMETABLE
Project‘s website and/or profile in Facebook
September 1-7, 2014. First mobility visit. 10 trainers and training
organizers from Latvia, Sweden and Lithuania come to Estonia, Pärnu.
Participants will analyze elderly‘s training/learning challenges that various
institutions face, discuss similarities and differences, find out about the
tendencies in partner countries, get to know about Pärnu library‘s and other
non-formal adults training institutions’ practical experiences.
Results evaluation and summary (report) of the first mobility experience
TIMETABLE
November, 2014. Second mobility visit. 8 trainers and training organizers from
Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania come to Sweden, Linköping.
Participants will analyze the content and methods of elderly’s training, discuss
training programs and projects, look for ways to adapt various experiences to
particular contexts. Participants will get to know the tendencies of elderly’s training
in Sweden as well as Lidköping adults training institutions’ practical experiences.
They will generate new ideas for improving trainings content and methods.
Results evaluation and summary of the second mobility visit.
Publication of success stories and examples of good experiences of seniors’ training
on the project’s website.
TIMETABLE
January, 2015. Third mobility visit. 10 trainers and training organizers from
Lithuania, Estonia and Sweden come to Latvia, Riga.
The participants will analyze opportunities, benefits and perspectives of the elderly’s
training in inter-institutional and international partnerships level. They will define
examples of good practices, generate ideas for possible collaborations, start interinstitutional relations, and get to know about the experiences of Riga central library
and its branches in this field.
Results evaluation and summary of the third mobility visit.
Publication of success stories and good experiences of seniors’ training on the
project’s website.
TIMETABLE
May, 2015. Fourth mobility visit. 8 trainers and training organizers from Latvia,
Estonia and Sweden come to Lithuania, Utena.
The participants will analyze elderly’s motivational learning problems and ways to
solve them, discuss means to evaluate training/learning results, get familiar with the
experience of Utena Third Age University’s and its partners in this field, generate
new ideas.
Results evaluation and summary of the third mobility visit.
Publication of success stories and good experiences of increasing learning
motivation and evaluating training/learning results.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Responsibilities of the participating institutions:
• To inform their communities and target groups.
• To host one mobility visit to their institution, to establish the agenda for it.
• To take over the documentation of the meetings and activities (Meeting report).
• To organize activities planned in the project.
• To collect the examples of good experiences and success stories and share them
with project coordinator and other partners.
• To activate target groups to participate.
• To provide new ideas, suggestions.
• To communicate the results.
• To support project evaluation.