From templates to class­room – Plan, Do, Check, Act of Curricu­lum Devel­op­ment in Inter­na­tional Teams

10 joint Bach­e­lor programmes (Special­i­sa­tion years), four Master Programmes and a PhD programme. All devel­oped in just three years’ time in an inter­na­tional network that had just been estab­lished under Euro­pean Univer­sity Alliance programme. An immense effort that has required – but also awarded – a lot. At the end of the first project round, it is useful to take a look back: what did we learn in doing this? This article discusses the best prac­tices and lessons learnt in an inter­na­tional curricu­lum devel­op­ment process as expe­ri­enced by the persons that were respon­si­ble for leading the INVEST (INno­Va­tions of REgional Sustain­abil­ity) Euro­pean Univer­sity Alliance curricu­lum devel­op­ment teams.

The quality assur­ance in INVEST network is based on Deming’s well-known prin­ci­ple of contin­u­ous devel­op­ment. This cycle has been utilized also in the INVEST curricu­lum devel­op­ment process and the organ­i­sa­tion of peda­gog­i­cal support.

During the first curricu­lum devel­op­ment phase in 2021-2022, five Bach­e­lor programmes were devel­oped. In the autumn of 2022, we started to develop the next five Bach­e­lor programmes. In order to find out what worked well in the first devel­op­ment round, we asked for feed­back from all the partic­i­pants by using an on-line ques­tion­naire and carried out five inter­views with curricu­lum devel­op­ment (CD) team leaders. In addi­tion, we took a look at the first pilot degree, Sustain­able Energy Solu­tions, and how these plans were trans­ferred to prac­tice. The results of the ques­tion­naire and the inter­views were used to develop the process for the second curricu­lum devel­op­ment phase.

This article focuses on the best prac­tices and lessons to learn from two differ­ent perspec­tives:  curricu­lum devel­op­ment process and pilot­ing the programmes. The quotes are derived from the inter­views with the CD team leaders.

Best prac­tices

Based on the inter­views with the CD team leaders we iden­ti­fied the follow­ing best prac­tices in the organ­i­sa­tion of the peda­gog­i­cal support:

• Joint work­shops and support create effi­cient co-oper­a­tion and speed up the process
• Inter­na­tional curricu­lum devel­op­ment creates numer­ous oppor­tu­ni­ties for learning
• Work-based learn­ing enhances student moti­va­tion and learning

Joint work­shops and support

During the curricu­lum devel­op­ment process, several joint work­shops were orga­nized to support the joint devel­op­ment process. Joint work­shops were regarded as a key factor in ensur­ing effi­cient co-oper­a­tion and progress in the curricu­lum devel­op­ment process. They were also a way to ensure active partic­i­pa­tion from all partners.

I3: “I would like to have more of these kinds of work­shops in between because that gets the process going.”

The first devel­op­ment round showed that there is no work­shop mode that suits all purposes: differ­ent work­shops are needed for differ­ent purposes. During the pilot­ing process, work­shops were orga­nized both on-line and on-site. In all face-to-face work­shops, also on-line partic­i­pa­tion was made possi­ble.  Hybrid work­shops were regarded neces­sary but expe­ri­enced more diffi­cult to orga­nize and partic­i­pate. Face-to-face work­shops were favoured in the begin­ning of the curricu­lum devel­op­ment process, whereas later on, when the team members learnt to know one another better, on-line meet­ings were also found useful as they allowed more flexibility.

During the pilot­ing process, two ways of orga­niz­ing work­shops were tested: during the first devel­op­ment phase there were three joint work­shops for all curricu­lum teams. In the second devel­op­ment phase, most of the work was orga­nized in indi­vid­ual CD team meet­ings where there was also an educa­tion­al­ist present facil­i­tat­ing the process.

I2: “With this small group, we were able to really develop the contents, get all the mate­ri­als, get all the assign­ments and exams and everything.”

Combin­ing these two methods seems to suit the process best: bigger events allowed an oppor­tu­nity to network, compare the programmes, share ideas and best prac­tices, whereas smaller work­shops allowed more time to concen­trate on plan­ning the indi­vid­ual programme.

I4: “[We need] co-oper­a­tion between all CD teams: present­ing the work and the case studies. To give some example of CD units and special­i­sa­tions. How we are plan­ning to co-operate with the living labs. How they are going to use the living lab also during the first semes­ter, how case studies will be imple­mented, how they are linked to compe­ten­cies and learn­ing outcomes.”

Oppor­tu­ni­ties for Learning 

Joint curricu­lum devel­op­ment and pilot­ing process allowed various oppor­tu­ni­ties for learn­ing. The prin­ci­ples of INVEST peda­gogy were expe­ri­enced new at some partner univer­si­ties and offered a chance to develop teach­ing also on other home univer­sity courses.

I4: “It was completely new, I think and it still is for the colleagues, this compe­tence-based learn­ing and the way of assess­ment. […] I think a completely new philos­o­phy which we are also trying to… maybe somehow imple­ment in our education. […]

Learn­ing was also linked to other aspects than the curricu­lum devel­op­ment process and the peda­gogy. Two of the inter­vie­wees described their personal learn­ing expe­ri­ences on working in inter­na­tional teams.

I3: “I did learn how much fun and energy I get out of these kinds of inter­na­tional co-oper­a­tions, working with people that actu­ally want to do this. […] I learnt how much I’ve missed working together in these inter­na­tional teams. […] all the differ­ent cultures, all the differ­ent back­grounds… people… they are not that different.”

I1: “You learn that collab­o­ra­tion is most impor­tant. First of all, you learn to listen. That is very impor­tant. Because most of the time we don’t listen. We think we know every­thing and forget about listening.”

Work-based learn­ing enhances student moti­va­tion and compe­tence development

Work-based learn­ing was regarded as an impor­tant factor in both plan­ning and imple­ment­ing the curric­ula. Active co-oper­a­tion with the stake­hold­ers was seen as a way to carry out a needs analy­sis on curricu­lum content to ensure its rele­vance. In plan­ning the INVEST special­i­sa­tion years, all teams carried out at least five inter­views with stake­hold­ers in order to find out what kind of skills and compe­tences are needed in these fields.

I2: “When you have compa­nies involved, you will get fresh content and really good ques­tions. So basi­cally, the courses will be relevant.”

For students, work-based learn­ing and projects in the Living Labs provided them with authen­tic tasks and inter­ac­tion with the stake­hold­ers. This supported compe­tence devel­op­ment and motivation.

I2: “Every­thing has been done in collab­o­ra­tion with Working Life part­ners and students have been creat­ing new busi­ness models… creat­ing a really valu­able outcomes for the for the businesses.”

Lessons to learn and recommendations

Joint curricu­lum devel­op­ment process is not an easy task even inside one univer­sity. When there are several univer­si­ties from differ­ent coun­tries involved, the diffi­culty factor is multi­plied. Differ­ences in national legis­la­tion, univer­sity guide­lines, processes and peda­gogy demand flex­i­bil­ity from all part­ners. For future co-oper­a­tion we iden­ti­fied the follow­ing things as key factors for success:

• Ensur­ing teacher and univer­sity commit­ment, partic­i­pa­tion and resources
• Finding the right balance between joint peda­gogy and teacher autonomy
• Well-func­tion­ing processes and commu­ni­ca­tion ensure effec­tive plan­ning and implementation
• Differ­ent forms of peda­gog­i­cal support provide flex­i­bil­ity and effectiveness
• Focus on student recruit­ment central

Ensur­ing teacher and univer­sity commit­ment, partic­i­pa­tion and resources

Clearly artic­u­lated univer­sity support and manage­ment role form the basis of effec­tive inter­na­tional co-oper­a­tion. In order to create well-working programmes, we need to engage moti­vated teach­ers with exper­tise on the subjects. Commit­ment is vital both at univer­sity and teacher level to ensure continuity.

I3: “You need actu­ally people who want this.”

I2: “Quite often [meeting/ work­shops] starts… what is it [INVEST peda­gogy] about and then some know, but others are still… what is it about? And in the third meeting, half of them know and still half remain as ‘what is it about?’ So, if there would be enough work and empha­sis on those who partic­i­pate to get idea about the INVEST peda­gogy in general, then also those train­ings would be perhaps easier for the organ­iser and then also more specific ques­tions for those how attend.”

I3: “At the end of last year… at the begin­ning of this year I felt: Do we have any strate­gic backing [at our univer­sity]. What do we want as [our univer­sity]? Ok. But then in the opening of the acad­e­mic year, there’s two people that mentioned it. That’s impor­tant, I think. Ok, there’s a strate­gic backing, very good.”

Finding the right balance between joint peda­gogy and teacher autonomy 

The part­ners had agreed on a joint INVEST peda­gogy in the early stages of the project. Later on, new CD team leaders and teach­ers have joined in. Creat­ing a joint, sustain­able peda­gogy, requires time, co-oper­a­tion and active partic­i­pa­tion from INVEST teach­ers. It also needs to be devel­oped further as a joint effort. In order to create owner­ship in teach­ing, teach­ers need to get famil­iar with the peda­gog­i­cal prin­ci­ples but also to find a way to make it their own.

I5: “This idea of showing INVEST peda­gogy is very useful for me. Because the back­ground is very differ­ent with lectur­ers, students and so on, and for me it’s oblig­a­tory to have this common approach, to unify the approach to teach­ing, to develop the mate­ri­als and so on.”

I5: “Accord­ing to my opinion, there is a resis­tance to this joint peda­gogy. This is my impres­sion. […] Some­times people are very good experts, but they are not able to attract the atten­tion of the students, to moti­vate them to partic­i­pate them in the process and from this point of view, this empha­sis on the process, how to teach and how to do better, is very important.”

Well-func­tion­ing processes and commu­ni­ca­tion ensure effec­tive plan­ning and implementation

In order to create well-func­tion­ing and effec­tive curricu­lum plan­ning and imple­men­ta­tion processes, clear and well-ahead planned timeta­bles and dead­lines are needed. They are also an impor­tant factor in ensur­ing teacher partic­i­pa­tion. Easily avail­able mate­ri­als, such as guide­lines, instruc­tions and templates support consis­tency in the plan­ning processes. Effec­tive and clear commu­ni­ca­tion plat­forms and co-working tools form the basis for CD work in inter­na­tional teams.

Differ­ent forms of peda­gog­i­cal support provide flex­i­bil­ity and effectiveness

In order to create a sustain­able joint peda­gogy, several forms of support are needed. When new teach­ers join in, flex­i­ble, effec­tive and cost-effi­cient forms of orien­ta­tion and support are needed. In addi­tion to CD team meet­ings and work­shops, peer learn­ing, co-teach­ing and mentor­ing offer flex­i­bil­ity to orga­niz­ing the support.

I2: ”I read back­ground infor­ma­tion about this method because it came partly by surprise in the begin­ning. I was curious to know more and then I read and even bought myself a book about the pedagogy.”

I5: “I have very good commu­ni­ca­tion from my colleagues from our univer­sity who have been involved in INVEST from the begin­ning. They’re very useful, help me to orien­tate and when I need some infor­ma­tion, they provide me very fast. That is good.”

I2: ”Often you see in projects, in the begin­ning there is a lot of support. And then we think like, oh we are already there and there’s nothing needed anymore. But this also means that the fire goes down slowly and it ends also often. So how to make sure that this contin­ues and you develop further in this?”

Focus on student recruitment

Sustain­abil­ity of joint inter­na­tional programmes requires steady and increas­ing student volumes. Conse­quently, there needs to be a clear focus on student recruit­ment and market­ing at every univer­sity. Inte­grat­ing INVEST path­ways into univer­sity curric­ula e.g. as minors or optional studies can offer one way to increase inter­est in the programmes. Increas­ing student acti­va­tion in plan­ning the programmes can be one of way to increase student interest.

I4: “Flyers are fine, website is fine, but it’s always the personal presen­ta­tion which is the best, most impor­tant.”

I3: “How to make programmes attrac­tive and feasi­ble. We [teach­ers] have an idea, but it might not always be the same idea as the students have.”

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Author:

Marjo Nenonen, PhD, Head of Educa­tional Devel­op­ment, Karelia Univer­sity of Applied Sciences

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