NETTLE
is a European Union funded Socrates Thematic Network. In its first phase
(as a project), NETTLE is looking at approaches to the development of
educational skills in tertiary level education teaching staff, across
Europe. Especially, it is exploring the scope of Initial Entry and Continuing
Professional Development for tertiary level (higher education / university)
educators. The project aims to produce guidelines and a reference
framework for skills development. This means to develop evidence-based
European-wide academic frameworks within which to equip tertiary level
educators with the competencies and skills necessary to provide effective
and validated support for learners. It is hoped this will promote mobility
through mutual understanding and recognition of educational skills, and
act as a catalyst for building educational skills development. NETTLE
grew out of the challenges presented by the Bologna Declaration and associated
developments, and will contribute towards the development of a European
Higher Education Area by 2010. It aims to promote mobility, European cooperation
in QA, the European Dimension in HE, and Lifelong Learning.
Nettle, in it´s
first year, has a three year work plan covering the collection and synthesis
of information from across Europe, culminating in the evolution and dissemination
of frameworks and guiding principles. The continuation plan for NETTLE
is to link with established organisations working with professional educator
skills, to produce an accreditation / mapping framework which will allow
educators and institutions around Europe to have common reference points.
These could be used to facilitate movement of established and new teaching
staff between institutions and countries. Major outputs from the project
will include a review across Europe of the provision and needs, and associated
Reference Frameworks to give guidance in Initial Entry Professional Development.
In its second phase
it will be a network of those interested in the development of tertiary
(higher) level educator professional skills. NETTLE was established with
a core of funded partners from a mixture of backgrounds. Non-funded partners
are welcomed to contribute to all aspects of NETTLE, and if contributing
to data-collection activities will be given access to the growing information
resources and related on the web site.
The work of the project is organised into four main themes, as indicated
by the Thematic Groups (TG, see below).
Thematic Group
1 (TG 1): The Policy Context of Educational Development
The activities of this group will be directed at enhancing understanding
of the various influences that shape tertiary level educational development,
nationally, regionally and locally, and of current pressures and issues.
These are of critical importance in seeking to scope the competencies
and skills required of tertiary level educators. Although some of the
information can be sourced from public documents and web sites it will
also be necessary to access key individuals within institutions in order
to obtain a richer picture. A robust structure for reporting will be developed
to facilitate the making of comparisons and the identification of similarities
and differences.
Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Aniko Kalman, University of Debrecen,
Hungary
TG 2: Policy
and Provision for Initial Entry Training of Tertiary Level Educators.
This group will establish the nature and extent of national, regional
and institutional policies. Some of the information may be available at
national level but it will also be necessary to tap more local sources.
Particular attention will be given to the extent to which curricula are
competency based, as well as approaches to entry level educational development;
modes of assessments; current trends; major influences; any drivers for
change; and current issues and concerns. The content and coverage of competency-based
schemes will be of considerable interest since these will serve as a precursor
for establishing the generic and subject-specific competencies for the
academic frameworks.
Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Arild Raaheim, University of Bergen, Norway
TG 3: Policy
and Provision for Continuing Professional Development in Higher Education.
In some respects continuing professional development (CPD) presents a
greater challenge, since there are almost certainly greater national variations
in policy and practice between institutions and subject areas. It is unlikely
that this kind of information has been collated before, especially in
such a comprehensive way and achieving this goal will be a particular
challenge. We anticipate that the group will highlight various trends
and issues that can then be pursued through some kind of progressive focusing.
As in the case of TG2, the ultimate goal will be the identification of
generic and subject-specific competencies.
Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Wolff-Dietrich Webler, Bielefeld Institute
for Research on Science and Education, Germany
TG 4: Accreditation
and Quality Assurance/Enhancement.
This group will gather data on which to base a synopsis of the various
accreditation agencies, procedures and policies for tertiary level education
that currently exist in member countries and the hurdles to be overcome
to facilitate moves towards mutual recognition of qualifications and professional
membership arrangements for tertiary level educators. It will also investigate
quality assurance arrangements for initial and continuing professional
development, with account being taken of current issues and drivers.
Coordinator: Vicente L. Francés Francés, University
of València, Spain
A major objective
for NETTLE is to evolve Reference Frameworks
which can support initial entry training and on going educational skills
development, of those working within Higher Education. The frameworks
alone could provide direction at an institutional level, but if the aspirations
of the Bologna Declaration are to be achieved, there also needs to be
wider understanding and recognition of the educational development processes
and standards. There is such cultural and academic diversity across Europe
that this is no small task. For NETTLE to make a really useful contribution
we believe that in evolving the frameworks we also need to consider how
we might inform and attract the interest of national bodies.
These frameworks
should include:
- guiding
principles - e.g. reflective practice, action learning,
research led teaching, European perspective, lifelong learning;
- content and learning outcomes
- e.g. general and subject specific competencies relating to theories
of student learning and motivation, small group teaching, approaches
to assessment, facilitating skill development and level
descriptors e.g. for Cycles 1 to 3 educators;
- learning resources
- technical and human;
- delivery methods - e.g.
workshops, viedeoconferencing, mentorship, peer observation, cross-national
projects, open and distance learning, e-learning;
- quality assurance processes
- e.g. external review, internal audit.
Primary aim
of NETTLE is to develop European-wide academic frameworks within
which to equip tertiary level educators with the competencies and skills
necessary to provide effective and validated support for learners.
Its objectives, over a three-year period, will be to:
- draw on
work undertaken by the working groups of the Tuning Project to establish
the pedagogic traditions and trends and associated approaches to learning,
teaching and assessment at the tertiary level in each of the participating
countries;
- carry out
a needs analysis of the competencies and skills required of tertiary
level educators;
- research
and compare existing provision to meet these needs, both on entry to
the profession and subsequently, and to identify any significant gaps;
- establish
academic frameworks within which to meet these requirements, taking
account of the current ability of European technical and human resources
to support the frameworks and to make recommendations for future developments;
- develop
an online community to foster communication and collaboration, and to
aid data gathering and the formulation of frameworks; and
- devise a
strategy for building on the achievements beyond the end of the project.
The major outputs
of the project over a three year period (2005-2008) will be made available
in a minimum of four languages (English, German, French, Spanish).
Steering Commitee:
Dr. David Baume, Consultant in HE, Great Britain
Vicente L. Francés Francés, University of València,
Spain (Coordinator Thematic Group 4)
Prof. Dr. Anikó Kálmán, University of Debrecen, Hungary
(Coordinator Thematic Group 1)
Prof. em. Dr. Victor de Kosinsky, Brussels, Belgium
Prof. Dr. Arild Raaheim, University of Bergen, Norway (Coordinator Thematic
Group 2)
Dr. Paul Riddy, University of Southampton, Centre for Learning and Teaching,
Great Britain, (Chair)
Prof. Dr. Wolff-Dietrich Webler, Bielefeld Institute for Research on Science
and Education, Germany (Coordinator Thematic Group 3)
The NETTLE project
was initiated by Paul Riddy, head of the Centre for Learning and Teaching
at the University of Southampton, UK, and is co-ordinated by the Centre.
It involves around 40 partners from most European countries. For more
information please look at the NETTLE web site: http://www.nettle.soton.ac.uk:8082
Contact:
Rebekah Musuku: R.C.Musuku [@] soton.ac.uk, tel +44 (0)23 80595331, fax:
+44 (0)2380592651, Centre for Learning and Teaching, Building 2, Highfield
Campus, University of Southampton, SO17 1BJ, U. K., http://www.nettle.soton.ac.uk:8082/GenDoc
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