Erasmus+ 2020 KA3 Nerdvet

The Erasmus+ 2020 KA3 NERDVET (Enhancing Critical Thinking Skills and Media Literacy in VET) project aims to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the vocational education and training (VET) sector through the integration of critical thinking skills and media literacy into curricula. The project is being implemented by a consortium of five VET providers from Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Greece, and Spain, with scientific support from the Department of Human Sciences at the University of Verona and the involvement of EVTA to ensure dissemination of the model at the European level.

NERDVET intends to develop an educational toolkit that will be tested through a pilot action, conducted by teachers together with their students for one school year. The proposed model will then be shared with policy makers at the regional, national and European levels, with the aim of defining and disseminating policy guidelines to consolidate and integrate the toolkit into vocational education curricula. The project addresses the need to provide VET teachers with innovative teaching methods and resources for using critical thinking as a teaching strategy, applied to both disciplinary subjects and media literacy.

Among the expected outcomes, the project aims to improve the quality of teaching and learning by providing students with critical thinking skills to deal with future innovations and changes in their professional and social lives, and media literacy skills for more informed use of digital media. NERDVET also aims to provide students with cultural awareness that fosters inclusion and proactive participation in social and civic life.

The project also addresses the important issue of misinformation and dangerous use of social media, aiming to equip both teachers and students with the necessary tools to recognize and reduce the effects of cognitive biases and heuristics. In addition, NERDVET aims to promote social inclusion by developing specific methodologies to integrate both social inclusion and media literacy into educational activities.

The consortium of partners will ensure that the results of the project will have a long-term impact, not only at the local and national level, but also at the European level, thanks to the extensive networks to which the project partners belong. In summary, NERDVET represents an important initiative to improve critical thinking and media literacy skills in the VET sector, promoting inclusive education and common values within the European Union.