Method of pedagogical engineering strengthened by accompanying teachers in the development of their pedagogical practice and the design of change

Responsible of the State Member: Dr. Alfredo CORELL ALMUZARA / Responsible of the Beneficiary State: …

Information

INFORMATION PLAN OF THE UNIVERSITIES TEACHING ORGANISM

University teacher training is conceived as a continuous, flexible and contextualised educational process, adaptable to paradigmatic changes and society demands. It is therefore essential in the design of teacher training strategies to conceive different actions adapted to the possibilities and needs of teaching staff.

Continuing education is structured in different training actions, of varying duration and according to the content to be taught, as well as according to the level of deepening foreseen in each case. It is necessary to increase the level of immersion in specific areas, depending on the starting points of the participants.

The format of the education offer can be variable, depending on the available time of the teaching staff or the possibility of combining it with the academic life (teaching, research and management) of the teachers: in the format of short “courses”, which can be better adapted to the available time of the teaching staff; or in the format of long and regulated courses.

Following this vision, the typologies of training courses (always according to their content) will allow us to offer these courses on site, in virtual format or through a combination of these teaching didactics. The virtual method would be preferable – provided that the subject matter allows and encourages it – since it will allow teachers to use it at times and places that best suit the other academic tasks of teachers.

As for the establishment of strategic axes around which the training programme could be organised, we must take into account the triple work of the teacher: his or her teaching tasks, his or her research tasks, and his or her management tasks.

Although, depending on the needs of the different universities, they may give more importance to one of the areas, a strategic plan should not neglect any of these facets.
On the one hand, a parallel plan can be defined for new teachers, who join the universities every year. This plan would be mandatory for the first 2-3 years of their teaching activity. On the other hand, for “historical” teachers, a general training plan is proposed, to which they will be invited every year. Ideally, each teacher will do at least two courses per year (one per semester).

In addition, if the university’s strategy requires that, a specific itinerary can be established for the training of teachers who will be carrying out online teaching tasks. The need to lower the costs of teaching to reach potentially larger numbers of students highlights the need to transform formal university teaching on campus itself, as far as possible, into online formats. However, teachers are often not trained to cope with this task.

ORGANISATION OF THE STRATEGIC EDUCATION PLAN:

The involvement of teaching staff in the transformation process of higher education is relevant. The strategic training plan is structured quarterly into annual objectives. It is structured around eight strategic axes: New information and communication technologies; Planning, management and quality of teaching; Personal and social development; Training on demand; Internationalisation; Research; Specific plan for initial teacher training; Specific plan for online teaching.

EVALUATION OF THE EDUCATION PLAN:

It is essential that the education plan is evaluated by the different actors involved: trainers and teaching assistants. A prototype survey will therefore be established to measure the satisfaction of the participants and will be composed of quantitative and qualitative indicators providing information on the achievement of the proposed objectives in the different training actions. It will cover different aspects: motivation and prior knowledge of the participant, satisfaction with organisational aspects, satisfaction with the teacher and the methodology used in the activity.

DESIGN PLAN:

• For the annual (and in its case quarterly) definition of the education plan in each university, different databases will be taken:
• The need required by the centres, departments, degrees of the university (education axis on demand);
• Satisfaction surveys of the users of the education programme;
• Opinion leaders from the country or neighbouring countries, on new trends in education;
•  Each year, all university teachers will be asked to fill in a simple digital survey in which they will indicate what their basic shortcomings are in the various tasks of a university teacher.

MANAGEMENT OF TRAINING PLANS:

Using the tools of the university institutions or by means of free software (e.g. Moodle), a system of registration in the different training activities can be organised. In order to manage this information, it will be necessary to register teachers and certify their participation (a very relevant aspect, not only to encourage teachers to give courses, but also to be recognised by national or international bodies at the time of merit competitions). It is necessary to provide each university with a minimum number of staff to lead the teacher education process. This requirement can go hand in hand with teaching initiatives for successful innovation, as happening in many American and European universities.

OBJECTIVES:

1. Provide the Algerian higher education system with incentives for the diversification of teaching methods in all fields of study, with a view to reducing the number of face-to-face courses.
2. Show the possibilities of online training.
3. Strengthen the preparation of courses as well as the tutoring and evaluation system.
4. Develop training tools in the field of legal and social sciences.
5. Prepare for the development of training tools in the field of biomedical sciences and for the adaptation of disabled students.
6. Acquire knowledge on the design of tools in different fields of knowledge.
7. Prepare for scientific writing of abstracts in English.
8. Stimulate creativity and metacognitive strategies. To prepare for international dissemination of research.
9. Provide content for the pedagogical plan for teacher training, while ensuring the dynamisation of interculturality and the design of learning tools.