Journey through Graafschap College and IVV Sint-Vincentius

IPVET (Inclusive Pedagogy in VET) project had splendid start during workshops and benchmarking at Graafschap College Netherlands and at IVV Sint-Vincentius Belgium in the beginning of February. The project group got to spend 4 days together sharing best practices and exchanging experiences. Our two-year project is all about student and staff well-being, so our four-day benchmarking and workshops concentrated on these topics as well. Below are the highlights of our journey through Graafschap College and IVV Sint-Vincentius!

• Leer Centrums are learning environments with various spaces and one-to-one or/and group coaching. There are several of them in Graafschap College and they are open to all students. The environment with its staff is learning-oriented, easy to access and get help, and student-centered

• Mijnschool (“My school”) with its integrated approach and holistic thinking regarding the student´s need for help is one solution to “drop-out” challenge. At the moment there are approximately 180 students at Mijnshcool

• The students of YouLab are 16–24 years old. YouLab year is all about orientation, self-knowledge, career guidance, experiences and group support. The students are involved in different kinds of activities like voluntary work, camps, sports, going abroad.

• Immersive Room (escape room) was a highly impactful experience with different kind of tasks and a story that students can relate to. All kind of simulations are possible in immersive room, at the moment there was a simulation about (shame) sexting. The purpose is to discuss and reflect the experiences the students make in immersive room / escape room regarding sexting (shame).

• Learning Lab boosts students to acquire effective learning strategies. Learning Labs are organised after school or during lunch breaks. The Labs are optional for students of IVV. Teachers of IVV are also trained to use the learning strategies boosted in Learning Labs (spaced learning, active learning, concentration tips, planning tools).

• 3-year coaching trajectory. The principle of coaching in IVV is that each student´s coach remains the same throughout the three years of nursing education. There are coaches in every campus. Every teacher works as a coach after one year of teaching experience. The teachers who have worked as coaches feel that their resilience and personal skills have strengthened.
• Learning support program for students of IVV´s nursing education is intended for students who have great potential of becoming a nurse but need support because of language or other reasons e.g. family situation; learning disabilities. “Learning support program” provide more intensive pedagogical support and offer tailored coaching.

• The project team got to experience silent meditation led by Zuster Sushila in the nearby chapel. Silent meditation is available to all members of IVV personnel.

During breaks we took care of our project group´s well-being by bicycling, eating healthy snacks, celebrating birthday and off course enjoying each other’s company!

We will continue our journey by organising workshops and benchmarking at WinNova, Finland on May 2025.
Please check also our website https://www.winnova.fi/ipvet