Transcript Diapositiva 1 - University of Ljubljana

Tuning Educational Structures in
Europe
The Tuning Project and
Modernization of Doctoral
studies
Ljubljana 17 May 2007
Robert Wagenaar (Joint project coordinator) in close
cooperation with Julia Gonzalez and Ann Katherine Isaacs
University of Groningen, the Netherlands
Tuning and the third cycle
1. Why Tuning?
2. TheTuning approach
3. Role of competences in third
cycle studies
4. Student workload
5. Quality enhancement
LONDON
BERGEN
BERLIN
PRAGUE
BOLOGNA
Bologna Process and
Tuning
TUNING INITIATIVE
A PROJECT BY AND FOR UNIVERSITIES
WHY TUNING?
Implementation of the Bologna Process at subject area level
• Develop best ways to introduce the two / three cycle system
• Promoting transparency in Higher Education
• Focus on employability and citizenship
• Focus on professional and academic profiles
• Europe wide introduction of Learning Outcomes and
Competences approach
• Change of paradigm: from staff centred to learner centred
teaching, learning and assessment (input to output based)
• Introduction of a common language
TUNING INITIATIVE
A PROJECT BY AND FOR UNIVERSITIES
WHY TUNING?
Distinction between generic and subject specific competences
•Transfer of ECTS from a transfer to a student workload based
credit accumulation and transfer system
•Raising awareness of the importance of quality in process and
delivery
•Responds to growing demands of a lifelong learning society
which requires more flexibility and differentiation
Tuning has identified key issues, has developed a
consistent approach on the basis of synthesizing theories
and methodologies for purpose
Tuning Europe
(2000-2008):
ITS SIZE AND STRENGTH
•2001 EU + EFTA countries (Socrates Erasmus)
2006
• 2003 New EU member states +
Candidate countries (Socrates – Erasmus)
• 2005 Ukraine + countries South-East
Europe (Tempus)
• 2006 Russia (Tempus) + Georgia
2007
• 2007 Turkey (Socrates-Erasmus)
Tuning America Latina
2003 - 2007
subjects
Argentina
Bolivia
Brasil
19
Chile
countries
Colombia
Costa Rica (ministries +
Cuba
Rectors’
Ecuador
Conferences)
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
+ 185
México
Universities
Nicaragua
Panamá
Paraguay
Other
Perú
regions?
Uruguay
Venezuela
Tuning focuses on competences:
Tuning definition of competences
• Competences represent a dynamic combination
of knowledge, understanding, skills and abilities.
• Fostering competences is the object of
educational programmes.
• Competences are formed in various course units
and assessed at different stages.
[competences are obtained by the student]
Level of competence is expressed in terms
of Learning outcomes:
• Statements of what a learner is expected to
know, understand and/or be able to demonstrate
after completion of learning.
• They can refer to a single course unit or module
or else to a period of studies, for example, a
first or a second cycle programme.
• Learning outcomes specify the requirements for
award of credit.
[learning outcomes are formulated by academic
staff]
Tuning and doctorate studies
What is a doctorate in a knowledge based society
today?
What should it be?
Is quality of research sufficient?
Looking for a new connection and synergy
between education, research and innovation !
Finding new approaches, identifying obstacles,
identifying examples of good practice.
Lately, much emphasis given to structures, funding,
career possibilities, recruitment, characteristics of
doctoral projects, supervision and inter-university
network.
Is this sufficient? Essence is how to prepare young
researchers well for their future roles in society
Change of paradigm: student centred
process: effects design and delivery of
programmes
Focus on abilities of learner:
• suitable for employment
• personal satisfaction and
• citizenship
Consequences of QF for EHEA (Dublin descriptors):
“Qualifications that signify completion of the third cycle are awarded to
students who:
1. have demonstrated a systematic understanding of a field of study and
mastery of the skills and methods of research associated with that field;
2. have demonstrated the ability to conceive, design, implement and adapt a
substantial piece of research with scholarly integrity;
3. have made a contribution through original research that extends the
frontier of knowledge by developing a substantial body of work, some of
which merits national or international refereed publication;
4. are capable of critical analysis, evaluation and synthesis of new and
complex ideas;
5. can communicate with their peers, the larger scholarly community and with
society in general about their areas of expertise;
6. can be expected to be able to promote, with academic and professional
contexts, technological, social or cultural advancement in a knowledge based
society.”
The Tuning approach:
1. Generic competences or ‘transferable skills’
2. Subject specific competences
3. Student workload expressed in time (ECTS
credits, related to learning outcomes)
4. Approaches to teaching, learning and
assessment
5. Quality enhancement
1. Key generic competence for doctorate studies:
• capacity for analyses and synthesis
• critical and self-critical abilities
• research skills
• capacity to apply knowledge in practice
• creativity
• capacity for generating new ideas
• ability to work autonomously
• communication skills
• problem solving
Plus vital competences for society:
•
•
•
•
project design and management
teamwork
leadership
transmitting knowledge and competences
(‘teaching’)
2. Subject specific competences
Tuning methodology based on Subject Areas
• Doctoral programmes must ensure high level of
relevant subject specific competences:
– key knowledge + key techniques
– overview of developments, theoretical and technical
– broad and high-level knowledge essential for critical
analyses, evaluation and synthesis of new ideas
3. Use of ECTS in the third cycle
Third cycle system must be feasible !
This requires more structure !
ECTS is a tool for measuring workload to achieve
learning outcomes
ECTS is also a planning tool for design and
delivery:
- for taught courses
- for organizing and preparing the dissertation:
use the concept of milestones or signposts
Phase
Sem. 1
Sem. 2
Sem. 3
Credits or
equivalen
t in time
‘taught’ or
credited
components
Individual
research project
or dissertation
Signposts
4. Approaches to Learning, Teaching and
Assessment
Need for more structures programmes has resulted in creation of
research institutes and doctoral schools:
• doctoral seminars
• workshops or tutorials on specific specialized techniques
• interdisciplinary seminars
(all competence based)
Objective: further development of knowledge and skills
Develop active learning strategies !
Guarantee regular meetings of candidate and mentors / supervisory
committees !
Use the concept of intermediate deadlines or signposts !
Dissertation is:
Tasked based learning: learning research by doing
Define a good structure for organizing learning
process: doctoral school model
- faculty or department level
- multi-institutional level
- international level: network cooperation
Be transparent: make clear which competences are
formed. How this to be done and how the
assessment is organized.
5. Quality enhancement: Steps in design and delivery
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Is there a need?
Define the profile and key competences
Define the learning outcomes indicating the most important
competences
Decide on the structural elements of the degree programme (ECTS
/ time research – taught part)
Define the learning outcomes and the key competences to be
achieved
Look at how competences can be best formed and assessed
(variety of formats)
Check that all the key generic and subject competences have been
taken into account
Describe the programme and the course units, indicating the
learning outcomes in terms of competences
Check of balance
Implement, monitor and evaluate results, change as needed
THE TUNING DYNAMIC QUALITY DEVELOPMENT CIRCLE
Definition of
academic and
professional profiles
Identification
of resources
Programme design: definition of
learning outcomes /
competences
Evaluation
and
improvement
(on the basis of
feed back and
feed forward)
Selection of types of
assessement
Construction
of curricula:
content and
structure
Selection of teaching and
learning approaches
Conclusion: three points of view
• Universities:
Set up doctoral programmes and run them responsibly
• Society:
Needs doctoral graduates highly trained in the complex and
specialized fields of knowledge
– preserve and transmit knowledge
– extend and develop that knowledge
– take responsibility towards society
• Doctoral candidates:
Require
– clearly and rationally organized programmes
– recognition of society of their accomplishment
WEB ADDRESSES
http://tuning.unideusto.org/tuningeu
or
www.rug.nl/let/tuningeu