Digital tools to support the development of transversal skills in primary school students

Abstract

Transversal skills are cross-disciplinary skills that people need to lead successful, fulfilling lives. These skills are not limited to a specific field or industry, but can be applied across the board, whether in the workplace, in personal relationships or in dealing with a wide variety of life situations. In order for students to be able to use their transversal skills as adults, they need to develop them while still at school. In an Erasmus+ project, we sought answers to the question of which transversal skills can be meaningfully developed in children from primary school onwards. Based on the results of our questionnaire survey of teachers in seven partner countries (N=322), we selected ten skills that the teachers surveyed considered important but did not focus on developing. To develop the ten transversal skills selected, we created a digital game-based learning toolbox, an online teaching and learning support toolbox, and a communication toolbox. In each of these toolboxes, a skill is associated with a tool that can be used to develop the skill with lower-school students. In developing the toolkits, we used the research evidence for the specific tool that demonstrated the impact of using the tool on the development of the specific skill. Using the results of the research and the toolkits developed, the ultimate goal of the project is to compile and develop teacher training materials to help students develop transversal skills.