First phase of the eTraining FinPal project implementation focuses on assessment of the context and needs of the teaching staff at Islamic University of Gaza. The project team members have regular email correspondence and online meetings to discuss assessment activities and instruments to be developed during the first project phase. The assessment process is carried out through several research activities.
During September 2017 IUG team prepared a report on IUG institutional practices and mechanisms for evaluating and enhancing the pedagogical competences of its teaching staff. The report provides detailed description of departments involved and tools used in the process of appraising the performance of IUG academics.
Furthermore, the assessment phase also includes data collection through questionnaire on pedagogical competencies. UTA team is currently developing the questionnaire that will be finalised together with IUG team in the upcoming online meeting. The aim of the questionnaire is to collect data on pedagogical approaches and teaching methods of the IUG teaching staff. The questionnaire will be piloted and administered in November 2017.
In December 2017 the project teams will also conduct interviews with IUG academics in order to collect further qualitative data on pedagogical approaches and teaching methods.
The assessment phase will be concluded with common Assessment analysis workshop during which the project teams will discuss the collected data and outline the aspects to be taken into account in designing the training programme on university pedagogy at IUG. Assessment analysis workshop will be organized in late December – early January.
Collected data and the results of the assessment process will (1) contribute to better understanding of the situation at IUG, (2) provide basis for development of the training programme, and (3) provide material for joint research publication.
