Context When the pandemic hit the world, teachers were forced to change their education from onsite to virtual overnight Understandably, teaching quality decreased in the beginning, as there was little experience in how to adapt the educational design Zuyd University of Applied Sciences ( recognized the problem that teachers were on different didactic and pedagogical levels when it comes to online education Unfortunately, the pandemic made it hard for teachers to connect with each other In the Domain of Health and Welfare, this led to the idea of establishing a professional learning community A professional learning community ( can be seen as an informal group of people who share knowledge and experiences among each other on a common topic they are all highly interested in Zuyd’s vision “passion for development” sets a good basis for the start of such a community. Steps we took In order to find out how a professional learning community can look like in Zuyd, the following steps were taken Firstly, we collected and evaluated literature and best practices around the topic Based on our findings we developed an interview guideline and conducted interviews with eight teachers from the Domain of Health and Welfare Throughout the whole report a SWOT analysis was performed with the literature and best practices filling opportunities and threats and the interviews providing content for strengths and weaknesses Main findings From these sources, we derived enablers for a successful learning community, which led to recommendations for Zuyd on how to strategically position, implement and organize a PLC One of our major recommendations is to make didactic and pedagogical skills an important topic within Zuyd in order to strategically implement the learning community into Zuyd’s strategy Furthermore, we recommend giving the lead in organizing and facilitating the PLC to the blended learning task force To collect a diverse set of interested employees to the core group, the educational managers should personally approach teachers that might be interested The sense of urgency around the topic needs to be addressed regularly through the directors of the Domain, the task force of blended learning, as well as the PLC itself In this way, interest in the topic of didactic and pedagogical skills and blended learning can be enhanced In the report we go into greater detail on how to organize and apply these recommendations. We are convinced that implementing these steps will pay off in the future and will successfully enhance competencies on blended learning and didactic and pedagogical skills through knowledge exchange.
This report was produced within the framework of the RAAK PRP project ‘Veiligheid op de werkvloer’. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is used on a daily basis by millions of people all over the EU, voluntarily or as a result of EU legislation. In this report we deal specifically with the textile/garment aspects of PPE. In this context we must consider the fact that PPE encompasses a huge area with hundreds of different applications of materials and systems tuned to specific needs;from a materials point of view it represents a complex area due to the large diversity of labour conditions. Textiles and clothing represent an area where PPE is an important area of attention. On a global scale it is an area of much research. Safety and comfort are becoming more and more important and these aspects must be in balance. Uncomfortable systems will not be used and put safe working at risk. Thus there is a continuous need for technological innovation to improve the effectiveness of PPE systems. Specialization and specific combinations aimed at use under well-defined conditions contributes to finding a good balance between comfort and safety. The design of products, taking into account the individual needs represent an area of intensive research: Safety directed ‘fashion design’.The ultimate goal is the development of proactive systems by which workers (but capital goods as well) are optimally protected. There is also a lot of attention for maintenance and cleaning since protective functions may deteriorate as a result of cleaning processes. Another important point is standardization because producers need directions for product development and supply of goods. In our overview we make a distinction between static and dynamic systems. Static systems provide passive protection, simply by being a part of an equipment that separates the worker from the danger zone. Dynamic systems are more ‘intelligent’ because these can react to stimuli and subsequently can take action. These dynamic systems use sensors, communication technology and actuators. From this research the following may be concluded: 1. Safety is obtained by choice of materials for a textile construction, including the use of coatings with special properties, application of specific additives and he use of special designed fibre shapes. 2. The architecture and ultimate construction and the combinations with other materials result in products that respond adequately. This is of great importance because of the balance comfort – safety. But a lot can be improved in this respect. 3. Insight in human behaviour, ambient intelligence and systems technology will lead to new routes for product development and a more active approach and higher levels of safety on the work floor. Consequently there is a lot of research going on that is aimed at improved materials and systems. Also due to the enormous research area of smart textiles a lot of development is aimed at the integration of new technology for application in PPE. This results in complex products that enhance both passive and active safety. Especially the commissioners, government and industry, must pay a lot of attention to specifying the required properties that a product should meet under the specific conditions. This has a cost aspect as well because production volumes are usually not that large if for small groups of products specific demands are defined. We expect that through the technology that is being developed in the scope of mass customization production technologies will be developed that allows production at acceptable cost, but still aimed at products that have specific properties for unique application areas. Purchasing is now being practiced through large procurements. We must than consider the fact that specification takes place on the basis of functionality. In that case we should move away from the current cost focus but the attention should shift towards the life cycle
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