Change strategies

Why change?

New skills and competencies • updating -life long learning• searching for new knowledge • interdisciplinary and creative problemsolving• co-operation

Profile for the university

Decrease drop out rates

Motivation for the single teacher

Phases in change• Motivation phase

– Creating ideas, concrete, inspiration, change agents

• Decision– Bottom up and top down

• Planning– General overview of all elements (objectives, content, methods,

assessment, organisation, etc.)– Specific details

• Implementation– Supervision– Process skills – PBL-skills

• Evaluation and improvement

Difficulties

• Reluctant staff– First group the enthusiastic staff – the third group of

teachers are the opposition of the reform

• Understanding of differentiated objectives• Collaboration among staff• Insecurity among staff (office, position)• Loss of authority, change in the role of being an

expert • Support from the middle level of leaders

Institutional change

• Bottom up as well as a top down process

• a need for change agents

• create motivation among staff

• credit - and status of teaching activities

• physical facilities must be considered

• institutional support - time, ressources, recognition

strategies

• Faculty development strategy

• Curriculum development strategy – single courses

• System change

Faculty development – improvement?

• UK-research: without training staff getting more teacher centred – with training staff getting more student oriented

• Australian research: students will copy teachers approach to the content (deep – surface)

• Scandinavian research: more activity

Training

• UK: voluntary. Each institution its own programme – however it is accreditated

• DK: compulsory. Each institution its own programme

• Sweden: compulsory. Each institution its own programme. 6 weeks.

• Norway: compulsory. Each institution its own programme. 64 hours.

• Baden Württemberg: voluntary. Ministery (top-down) program with establishment of fac. Development centres

Single coursesBottom up strategies

Faculty development

unit

In realtion to PBL, the Bottom up strategy supports the “small steps”. Half models – loose the overall objectives, especially -Change of top management-Satisfaction with the small steps

teachers

Lund University, Sweden

• Breakthrough project – large scale faculty development

• The Pedagogical Academy, Titel: ETP (Excellent Teaching Practice) + raise in salary

• 200 hours

Outcome

• ¼ - 1/3 of the teachers have participated• Heads of departments are involved• Increased interdisciplinarity and curriculum

development projects• Participants: development of language• Lund university is getting a leading role in future

development

Aalborg University, Denmark

General: Requirement that the assistant professor receive supervision and coaching

• Compulsory training for assistant professors (175 hours - 1½ year)– 4 modules – practice-theory-practice-– Portfolio method– Supervisor from department and from faculty

development centre

Outcome of training

• 300 assistant professors

• Evaluation of the form: – Satisfaction with the form/methods of the

course– Basically a difficult model to run, because it is

based so much on decentralised strategy

Learning outcomes

• Reflection on learning outcomes– Mental Model for analysing new situation– Language– Tools– Diverse competencies– Breaking the tacit knowledge: Don’t do as I do

– do as I say…..

IPN Pedagogical network for Engineering

• 3 universities and 6 engineering colleges

• Courses, seminars, etc

• No formal requirement at college level, but..

• Each institution has a position

• After 7 years, pedagogic is on the agenda and nearly all institutions have formulated pedagogical models

Faculty development strategies (Colet, 2003)

Up-front model Interactive

model

Distributed model

Training courses and comprehensive certified programmes

Counselling and curriculum development projects

R&D in the field of teaching and learning

Non academic teacher training centres

Non academic teacher training centres

Academic centre for university teaching and learning

Individual teacher Groups of teachers

Groups of teachers

Top down strategies

Systemic changes create resistance and top-down strategies are needed:- basic change - management task together with change agents, fac. Development units and the teachers

Faculty development

unit

System change

• Twente, Rijkswiik, Maastricht, the Netherlands,

• UCL, Belgium

• University of Aveiro, Portugal

• Queens university, Canada

• NTNU, Norway

Premises for change to PBL

• Use both top-down og bottom up

• Faculty development units involved

• Action research integrated

• Motivation for development and experiments

• Subject based pedagocial knowledge is needed

A caseA case total institutional changetotal institutional change unique changeunique change

from an independent small institution to from an independent small institution to become a part of a much bigger institutionbecome a part of a much bigger institution

change of both new pedagogic and change of both new pedagogic and organisationorganisation

physical distancephysical distance establishing researchestablishing research

condition: support from the leaderscondition: support from the leaders

Main activities in the Main activities in the change processchange process

3 teachers from Esbjerg following the 3 teachers from Esbjerg following the system in Aalborg before the actual system in Aalborg before the actual changechange

training courses for all stafftraining courses for all staff consultants with teachers from consultants with teachers from

Aalborg going to Esbjerg during the Aalborg going to Esbjerg during the actual changeactual change

Project

Classroom teachingClassroom teachingwith no project work and individuel assessment

85%

lecturing

15%

project

The Esbjerg Model

Individual assessment

Project

Project courses lectures seminar

Study courses and lecturesExamination - oral or written: passed/ failed

Examination - marked by the scale of 0 - 13

50%

lecturing

50%

project

The Aalborg Model

supervision

Results Results

Physical conditions, group space Physical conditions, group space teamwork among colleague- teamwork among colleague-

experiencing each other in new rolesexperiencing each other in new roles from a fixed schedule that dictates a from a fixed schedule that dictates a

teaching schedule to calendar planningteaching schedule to calendar planning secretarial group needed to create new secretarial group needed to create new

organisational framework for organisational framework for channelling information through the channelling information through the system. system.

Teachers approachTeachers approach

Teacher-centred approach

Student-centred approach

Selection of course content

compression strategy laissez-faire strategy

selection strategy

Teaching methods in the Course

course time is used for theoretical reading

course time is used for both theoretical reading and assignments

Teachers approach Teachers approach

Teacher-centred approach

Student-centred approach

Project work Application of knowledge

Search for new knowledge

Project supervision

strategy that helps out with short courses during the project supervision session

strategy that focuses on the methodical elements and support of the process