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Section 7. Pedagogy
Abramova Yana Konstantinovna, PhD, the National University of Science and Technology "MISIS", Adjunct professor, the Department of Modern Languages and Communication E-mail: [email protected]
THE DEVELOPMENT OF INDICATORS OF QUALITY ASSURANCE IN TERMS OF NEW EDUCATIONAL MODEL INTRODUCTION
Abstract: QA members of the Department of Modern Languages and Communication have created a quality assurance scheme in terms of new Blended Learning model introduction. This scheme based both on the experience gained during visits to international academic bodies and knowledge in international teacher training programs (CELTA, Bell Teacher Campus Cambridge, etc.)
Quality Assurance team by consensus has created a toolkit that allows them to monitor teachers' work and offer them individual paths of further professional development. The group's work includes multistep observations and methodological training-sessions addressing difficulties discovered thorough observations. In addition, the team has compiled a methodological reference guide for the staff which puts the QA team and teachers on the same page.
This is an attempt to introduce international standards and approaches to the professional development of our colleagues which is necessary since NUST "MISIS" is one of several universities participating in 5-100-2020 program. Entrants choose it, relying on the fact, inter alia, that the foreign language teaching here is conducted according to the international standards.
Keywords: Blended Learning, Professional development, Quality Assurance.
In order to meet the high demands stated by 5-100- - Teachers unreasonably often relied on L1 (Rus-
2020 program, The Department of Modern Languages sian) during the lesson;
and Communication (NUST "MISIS") has developed - Teachers neglected pair and group work, having
and implemented a system of quality control of the educational process organization.
The need for a systematic approach to the quality control of the educational process organization was dictated not only by the standards of modern high education framework but also by the results of diagnostic observations of the faculty in 2014. The outcome showed that:
- Teachers did not always manage to prioritize the lesson stages and demonstrate competent planning in the given time frame;
groups of 23 people on average, or faced difficulties in these forms of work organization;
- Teachers provided little initiative to students, which greatly limited the opportunities for students to self-realization and language practice;
- Teachers paid no attention to their students' feedback;
- Teachers did not motivate and encourage students enough.
Section 7. Pedagogy
To solve these problems, a Quality Assurance (QA) working group was established. This group consists of five QA experts - the department faculty who passed the Teacher Trainer program at the Bell, Cambridge Advanced Training Center in 2013-14.
In the beginning of their work (spring 2015), QA members have performed the following activities:
- Analytical work with the data of the point-rating system (BRS);
- Created tools for monitoring the teacher's work during the lesson, summarizing the results from the lesson to lesson;
- Monitored the teacher's performance during the lessons and tests;
- Identified and analyzed the typical difficulties and methodological errors that arose throughout the lessons;
- Prepared and conducted the trainings aimed at methodological errors correction and the improvement of teaching organization quality;
At the end of the implementation phase, the collected feedback was analyzed and the quality control approbation experience was assessed. Taking into account all the data gained, QA experts set themselves the following tasks for the forthcoming stage 2:
- Unify the approaches to filling out the documentation and observing the timing of information collection;
- Develop a series of practical trainings, based on the cases of real teachers' practice;
- Create a resource methodological base for professional competencies, which are verifiable while observations;
- Analyze the BRS results in the spring semester of 2015;
- Develop some additional tools for focal control of the specific professional competencies of each teacher.
In the fall semester 2015, an introductory training and several in-term seminars were held at the Department of Modern Languages and Communication. According to a feedback survey:
- 100% of teachers were positive about the trainings;
- 96% of teachers believed that the trainers managed to reveal the key points of the declared topics;
- 82% of teachers said that the training gave them information and knowledge that they could apply in the classroom.
Moreover, Quality Assurance has arranged the system of peer observations that was beneficial, according to faculty' feedback.
On the same stage, some new tools were created. One of them was an online calendar of observations, which helped the QA team to plan expeditiously the time for observations of colleagues' classes, as well as the time for trainings and seminars. It also allowed monitoring the timely tasks completion in a particular week.
Another instrument, that is Methodical booklet QA Guide to Classroom Management, has become favourable among the teachers. It represented an electronic booklet with a selection of methodological links and videos explaining the requirements for teachers within the competencies checked in the observer tool. Methodical links met the following criteria: they are specific instructions and practical advice, not contradicting each other, being clearly formulated and placed in open and trustworthy online sources. Teachers expressed gratitude for the creation of a methodical resource with clear instructions for working in the classroom. At the moment, the booklet is actively used by the QA team during the feedback sessions. The plans of the QA team include a daily review and update of the references.
Finally, Quality Assurance group has created a database of teachers that classified them according to their professional competence that was recognized as a key to the organization of an effective educational process. In order to create this database, a faculty questionnaire was launched. Based on the replies received, a table was created. This chart allows one to track the presence or absence of certain competences from a particular teacher by filtering, which in turn allows specifying individual trajectories of the professional development of each employee. The database also allows you to assign the teacher one of the following statuses:
1) Beginner Teacher; 2) Competent Teacher;
3) Advanced Teacher; 4) Expert.
According to the data gathered in 2016-2017 years, the implemented quality control system has contributed both to the growth of the quality of teaching and the growth of the students' performance indicators. Thus, we hope to continue working on the systematic approach to the quality control of the educational process organization at the Department of Modern Languages and Communication (NUST "MISIS").
References:
1. Ensuring Quality in English Language Teacher Education. Edited by George Pickering and Professor Paul Gunashekar. Selected papers from the fifth international Teacher Educator Conference Hyderabad, India 27 February - 1 March - 2015. URL: https://www.britishcouncil.in/sites/default/files/tec15_papers_final_for_ web_new.pdf
2. Guidelines for Quality in Language Teaching URL: http://files.adulteducation.at/uploads/Guidlines.pdf
3. Russian Academic Excellence Project URL: http://5top100.com/
