Values and Knowledge Education: Applied Theories

School has not only the responsibility to provide knowledge to the students, but also to educate the students to become responsible citizens. However, to achieve this goal is often seen as incompatible with knowledge education. VaKE (Values and Knowledge Education) is a teaching method that permits to combine both: It starts with a dilemma (values education), which soon triggers content questions; the students will search for responses to these questions in any knowledge source they can find, most prominently the internet (knowledge acquisition). With this newly gained knowledge they can return to the dilemma discussion (values education) on a higher level, which will trigger new questions, a new search, etc. At the end there are a synthesis of the results and a generalization. This teaching method is based on two constructivist theory traditions: Piaget for knowledge and Kohlberg for values education. The method has been piloted successfully in several studies. However, the experience shows that considerable improvements are possible by taking into account additional theories and the advantages of IT technology. The aims of the proposed project are the following: 1. To improve the theoretical base of the teaching method: The theories will include meta-theoretical frameworks as well as theories of knowledge and, particularly, theories of e-learning. 2. To improve its practical principles: Based on these theories, new tools (e-tools and others) will be included in VaKE to make it more effective. 3. To train the teachers: The application of VaKE requires a practical introduction. 4. To explore its implementation in different educational sectors and to evaluate the conditions of implementation and its effects: Teaching under regular conditions is different from teaching in exceptional conditions as in the pilot studies, and this requires to be tested 5. To disseminate and exploit VaKE and the developed tools: The aim is to make VaKE generally available in the schools, and for this we aim at implementing it in more and more schools; further, the new tools will be made available to the international public through an Online Portal. The project is a joint research by the University of Salzburg and Salzburg Research, a non-university research center, and includes the participation of five schools, two teacher-training Universities, and two extra-scholar institutions that offer services to the schools. The outcomes of the research will benefit, first of all, the students who will get a better education. Secondly, it will benefit the teachers who will gain in professionalization, and hence the schools. Thirdly, by this, there will be a benefit for the whole society. Finally, there will be a benefit for research through the development of improved applied theories and of new or improved tools to be used for research purposes.

The project aimed at the extension of the application of VaKE based on the prior research. As a main product the VaKE online platform was programmed by Salzburg Research. Its use in university college courses made the challenges, benefits and problems of virtual learning actions obvious: pro and cons for using this instrument as a didactical tool for cooperation could be found as a result of the evaluation.The theoretical base of the teaching method was enhanced through the mission statement that VaKE could meet the demands of double assignment (Patry 2012) meaning that one of the key obligations of all formal education is the promotion of knowledge about subject matters as well as the support of the learners development as democratic citizens. Several studies in teacher as well as in school education concentrated on related aspects and areas of practical education. A core investigation (done by Martina Nussbaumer) focused the different roles teachers take over when they are doing a VaKE lesson, and how they in comparison to students experience their own realization of core principles of constructivist teaching during a VaKE lesson. Another question was how University students in general assess the use of the VaKE platform in Semester courses. In VaKE lessons the scholars notice tendencies towards constructivist teaching through the reduction of guidance and of instructions. They report more cooperation among themselves, more freedom in the sense of autonomy but also problems in coping with this autonomy. Also the teachers assess their own activities similar to the students. Additionally they can cope quite well with students autonomy, they arent afraid to lose control, and they dont fall back into traditional teaching routines.In teacher education several studies on the development of competences in professional practice as well as in the judgement of practise related moral conflicts (Weinberger et al. 2015) showed that the pre-service teachers in the VaKE course could identify different types of moral conflicts, and they could apply discourse orientated actions for their discipline problems in their practicum; further, it was shown that VaKE fosters a moral learning climate. A more differentiated understanding of science teaching emphasizing the interrelationship between science and social issues and its potential for developing scientifically literate citizens could be fostered by VaKE (Keast and Marangio 2015).A study on the acceptance of critical thinking as an ethical behavior (Weyringer 2012) brought a pre-dominant agreement on the importance of this issue in school education. The implementation of VaKE and the online platform included courses in formal and in non-formal education: general as well as economic higher secondary school, pre-service and in-service teacher training, science education, intercultural education, education against racism, programs for European citizenship education (Platon Youth Forum), primary teaching, etc. To support implementation, the foundation of an association (Association for VaKE, AVaKE) is underway.An international network was established including universities, teacher colleges, and schools in Greece, Norway, Germany, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Australia, India, Israel, and France. The different studies presented at international conferences received a substantial positive reception. Their results were accepted in international peer reviewed journals.A further development of the VaKE concept has been created in the idea of linking it to moral action (Moral Action and Knowledge Education, MAKE). The core question is: Which personality aspects support the ability of conscious acting according to ethical principles in a specific situation? This idea needs further investigative initiatives.