MUTTRAC – Multimodal teacher training for refugee-aware classrooms

The module aims at delivering a toolkit for inclusive education that employs multimodal recourses for teaching and evaluation, primarily addressed to educators who work in primary and secondary education with students of refugee and migrant backgrounds. It will offer participants selected multimedia recourses (texts, images, videos), techniques and strategies to be able to understand the dynamics of cultural difference in schools and effectively, and creatively, tackle the problems that arise. The participants will gain basic theoretical background and hands-on strategies to effectively encourage intercultural dialogue and inclusive pedagogies in their practice, by enhancing the cognitive, emotional and cultural reservoir of their students

The detailed content is organized as follows :

• General information
• Week 1. Getting to know the key terms 

Description : This week encourages you to take a look at the material (readings, screenings, tasks) and get acquainted with the module contents. All included activities are task-based and inquiry-based, fostering participants’ involvement in investigative, narrative, and contemplative processes. The goal is to disrupt the notion that pedagogy solely entails acquiring effective teaching methods and instead establish links between theory and practice through reflective experiences in real-world settings and creative response to social inequalities in the classroom. After you have reviewed the material, please answer the reflexive question that you will find at the end of this week.

• Week 2. Inclusive pedagogies and cultural awareness

Description : Inclusive education seeks to ensure that all students, regardless of their abilities, backgrounds, or disabilities, have equal access to quality education. This approach is underpinned by the principles of equity, social justice, and the recognition of the unique strengths and challenges of every learner. In the case of working with refugee students, inclusive strategies entail the cultivation of cultural awareness on the part of the educator(s) so as to detect and address issues of cultural misunderstanding, required support, or exclusion from the framework of learning.

• Week 3. Multimodality in education

Description : This week demonstrates that multimodal education acknowledges that individuals learn in diverse ways, encompassing visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and even digital modes of learning. It emphasizes the importance of providing multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression to cater to these varied learning styles. By combining inclusive and multimodal strategies, educators can create inclusive learning environments that accommodate differences, celebrate diversity, and foster a sense of belonging among all students.

• Assessment

Description : The module assessment includes the creation of an original multimodal text (video, hypertext, podcast etc) that addresses the needs of an actual or imagined educational setting. It aims at the practical application of multimodality in refugee education and cultivating the creative literacies of participants.