Etwinning

Evaluation Criteria for National Quality Labels

The present article updates the information on the evaluation criteria for National Quality Labels which you can apply for in the last stages of an eTwinning project or when it is completed.

We would like to take advantage of this opportunity to remind you that the National Quality Label is recognition of the work carried out in eTwinning projects. It is awarded individually, to the participating teachers who apply for it, not to the group of teachers working in the project. This means that each participant has to apply for the quality label to obtain recognition of their personal contribution to the project. 

The following image shows how to apply from your eTwinning desktop using the Project tab:

Below are the six evaluation criteria and their descriptions. Although these criteria are common for all countries that participate in eTwinning, each National Service can define and interpret them in accordance with the context or national priorities.

You can access the complete evaluation scale, with the different levels corresponding to each criterion in the following link.

Possessing the National Quality Label is an indispensible requisite for being able to participate in the call for national and European prizes. 

 Pedagogical innovation and creativity. (link to article)

The teachers have proposed a great variety of activities in the project with the active participation of the students: they used the format of directed questions which have fomented research, analysis, organization of the work in teams to guarantee collaboration, offering the students different alternatives to find and present the information, etc. 

Depending on the context and the age of the students, the situation has encouraged them to be the true protagonists of the project and its creative development with responsibility and autonomy.

Integration in the study programme. (link to article)

The work in the project is based on the curriculum and the programming. Most of the work done by the students has been carried out during school time, the project is not solely based on the work the students have done at home.

Clear strategic efforts can be observed to develop the competencies of the students in different areas/subjects.

The project work is clearly integrated into the school work in an area/ subject. The teacher develops the curriculum using this eTwinning project.

Communication and interaction among the partner schools. (link to article)

Most of the eTwinning projects develop processes of communication and exchange of information among teachers and students. The quality of the communication activities designed for/with the students to be able to share the work done on the project topics is evaluated.

This communication can be at the individual level or in small groups and can include voting, competitions, etc., designed to encourage the students to read and/or look at the work of their companions.

Collaboration among associated schools. (link to article)

The collaborative activities go beyond communication: the partners are not mere recipients of the information; they are team members, co-authors and collaborators. Collaboration implies that the participating schools need the contribution of their companions to complete the activity.

Examples of collaborative end products: a newspaper, a report, a common summary of all the topics worked on during the project, a collection of letters written on a given topic, a recipe book, a collection of poems, a work of fiction (mystery novel, fairy story, cartoon, film, etc.). These are just some examples. 

International groups are very effective for collaborative work (a small group from one class + a small group from another class = an international group).

Use of technology. (link to article)

What level of use of ICTs can be seen in the communication and information exchange activities on the part of the students and teachers? In what way have they used technology to facilitate the work in the project, the creation of end products, etc?

These criteria focus on the evaluation of the adaptation of the tools both from the TwinSpace and others used by the teacher and students when carrying out the collaborative activities and sharing information in order to make the interaction and communication as real as possible. The tools are used to guarantee the achievement of the didactic objectives pursued in the project.

Results, impact and documentation.

 Visible part. The results of the project should be visible:

 . Results of the project and/or its presentation online.

 . Activity/involvement of the students (TwinSpace)

. Documentation on the project (planning, evaluation, and reflection, proposals for improvements, etc.)

 Non visible part. Impact of the project:

 . On the teachers’ skills.

 . On the students’ skills and the enhancement of knowledge.

 . On social and personal aspects (teachers and students )

 . On the whole school.

 Source of the images: eTwinning National Support Service. Photocomposition using free use images from Freepik.com