“Identification, Development and Evaluation of teaching skills in the implementation of training plans addressed to university teachers” (EA2010-0099):
EDU/1372/2010 Order Resolution of 20 May (Boletín Oficial del Estado, May 28, 2010), by granting subsidies for the implementation of actions under the Programa de Estudios y Análisis, aimed at improving the quality of higher education and university teaching activity:
Project Coordination: Inmaculada Torra Bitlloch, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
Researchers: Ignacio del Corral, Ma. José Pérez, Ma. Dolors Márquez, Núria Marzo, Sarai Sabaté, Josep Ma Tatjer, Dolors Quinquer, Xavier Triadó, Teresa Pagès, Josefina Patiño, Meritxell Estebanell, Angel-Pío González, Manuel Fandos, Ramona Ribes, Montse Casanovas, Oriol Amat, Pau Solà, Carme Hernández, Albert Sangrà, Montse Guitert, Lourdes Guàrdia, María Pérez Mateo, Núria Ruiz.
Organization: Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia, Programa de Estudios y Análisis.
Currently most universities, through its Training Unit (ICE, IDES, CQUID, ELC), develop training plans and activities aimed at improving teaching performance. However, such teacher training plans are not explained in terms of skills development, a fact that contrasts with the current model generalization of skills of undergraduate and graduate students. Therefore, despite the peculiarities of each university, it would be desirable to establish a common framework for teacher training plans based on competencies that fit the criteria for teacher evaluation of quality agencies and that entails an homogeneous academic recognition in order to facilitate mobility among teachers.
Thus, it is necessary to draw up plans for initial and ongoing training of university teachers that respond to this new framework, transform the practice of teaching in our universities and facilitate the planning, management and coordination. Such training plans should be designed following the model of current degree and postgraduate courses, in other words, they should be based on a definition of the professional skills, and specifying learning outcomes, the methodology used, assessment procedures and the load of work each activity behave.
This project comes up within the scope of the training units of the Catalan public universities that make up the ACUP (Asociación Catalana de Universidades Públicas), as a result of a long history of working together in areas related to teacher training, educational research and innovation. However, we think that the validated instruments in this project and the results obtained can be extrapolated to the rest of Spanish universities for different reasons: first because all universities share a common regulatory framework and also because the universities involved in the project have different characteristics in terms of orientation, size, age, etc.. and therefore allow to study different academic realities.
- To identify the teaching skills of university teachers and make a “catalog of teaching skills” according to the learning needs within the EHEA.
- To propose a model that brings together the design, development and evaluation of teaching skills in the university system, according to the evaluation criteria of academic evaluation agencies.
- To collect evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of competency-based training, and propose a protocol of “best teaching practices” for the transfer of skills in higher education.
- To promote meeting spaces (physical and virtual) among college teachers in order to analyze, discuss and improve training, implementation and evaluation of faculty teaching skills in the context of the EHEA.