Network of Teacher Trainers

Katarzyna Pelc

I have been an in-service English teacher for more than 22 years at secondary level. I consider myself a life-long learner in the field of English teaching pedagogies. As a teacher I try to follow  the challenges of the modern world and adapt my teaching and assessment methods accordingly to help my students acquire necessary knowledge and competences, with particular stress on transversal ones. I strongly believe IPM can provide secondary school students with the possibility to develop as global, intercultural learners. As a teacher trainer, I try to implement new methodologies and educational solutions at schools, expanding my experience and expertise by taking part in international projects myself and being an active member of AFS Intercultural Programs. I publish articles and I participate in conferences on project work, critical thinking, deep-learning techniques, interdisciplinary activities and different forms of assessment. I also organise and co-write courses for teachers on formative assessment and student-based approaches.

Małgorzata Florczyk

I’m an English teacher who, for the last 15 years, has been dealing with short-term student and teacher mobilities within Erasmus+. I’ve taken part in student placements in hotels in Malta and Cyprus and organised student exchanges involving host families’ stays. I’ve also organised teacher mobilities e.g. training, job shadowing and teaching assignments. However, I’ve never been involved in IPM or its recognition.

Anna Młynarczuk-Sokołowska

I am doctor of social sciences in the field of pedagogy, assistant professor in the Faculty of Education, University of Bialystok (Poland). As a theoretician and practitioner, I am interested in intercultural education. My main research area is the school situation of children with a migrant background. I have been working in a culturally diverse environment for 17 years. I conduct training for principals and teachers. I worked as an intercultural advisor at the Dialog Foundation (2015–2012) and served as vice-president of the University of Bialystok Foundation (2010–2019). I am the author of research and publications which have located the voice of students with a migration background at the center of the analysis, and relates to developing intercultural competences of teachers and methods of working in a culturally diverse environment. I am the (co)creator of two educational innovations (the multicultural portfolio method, the intercultural tails method). I am researcher and trainer in the Empowering Teachers for Automatic Recognition (ETAR) project.

Paulo Ribeiro

As an IT teacher I have devoted 14 years to coordinating school vocational courses and advancing international education. My expertise encompasses all aspects of the Erasmus+ program. I have served as a project coordinator for numerous Erasmus+ initiatives, focusing on individual mobility, strategic partnerships, and policy reforms. These projects have been instrumental in providing students and educators with valuable global learning experiences. Also, I have been the Coordinator for all vocational courses at my school. Through my roles as Vice Director, Course Director for IT and Head Class Teacher I have gained insights into the broader educational landscape and my positions have allowed me to implement international best practices. These roles have enabled me to design enriching curricula, provide mentorship to students, and ensure the smooth operation of classes. I remain steadfast in my dedication to fostering global education opportunities, making a lasting impact on the lives of students and the broader educational community.

Jan de Heer

I have a master’s degree in social sciences and I work as a secondary school teacher. Besides teaching at school, I am also actively involved in citizenship education and internationalization as internationalization coordinator. I have had the opportunity to participate in several Comenius and Erasmus+ projects on behalf of the school where I work, and see pupils work on projects together with pupils from other countries. Learning with each other and from each other, its an experience that contributes to pupils’ identity development. Students participating in IPM can learn about school culture and the culture of other countries.  Getting to know an other’s culture and customs, its an experience they won’t soon forget. Schools that include IPM in their curriculum and/or include it in their citizenship policy will quickly experience the added value. As a trainer, I can help schools implement IPM in the school organization and implementing IPM so that it adds value to the school, teachers, students and parents.

Bartosz Gołąbek

Dr. Bartosz Gołąbek is the Organizational Development Coordinator at AFS Polska, responsible for school relations and volunteer management. Since 2008, he has served as a passionate and engaged academic lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Philology at Jagiellonian University in Krakow. He is the author and co-author of books on Russian culture and philosophy. From 2016 to 2022, he was the Head of the Institute for the Humanities at Carpathian State College, where, among other responsibilities, he assisted in supervising and developing educational curricula for future teachers. Dr. Gołąbek is also a facilitator of intercultural communication and is capable of delivering training in Polish, English, and Russian.