Welcome to the 1-year teaching course “Learning-centred and Reflective Teaching: From Theory to Good Practice”! This site is going to be our virtual home for the entire length of course.

We recommend you check back to this site regularly because we are adding newer material as we build the site. We are also going to contact you about major updates and additions.

Last updated: May 3, 2018.
Academic Issues

• With general and program related questions, please contact Agi Simon (asimon@mail.muni.cz) or Gabriela Pleschová (gabriela.pleschova@euba.sk).
• If you would like to communicate with one of the summer school session leaders or your coach during the online segment, please use the relevant email or skype contact below

COACH	EMAIL	SKYPE
Roisin Curran	curranroisin3@gmail.com	roisinacurran
Vicky Davis	vickydavies01@gmail.com	vicky-davies49
Agi Simon	asimon@mail.muni.cz	agi_simon
Eszter Simon	eszter_simon@yahoo.com	eszter_simon
Matyas Szabo	szabom@ceu.edu	satyam0101

Technical Issues

• If you can't figure how to submit your assignment or use a feature of the system, consult the extensive help menu of this site. It is fully available in Czech and many pages are also available in English. If further help is needed, you may contact Agi Simon (asimon@mail.muni.cz) or MUNI IT (see below).
• For technical problems that are related to functionality (login problems, site load problems, etc.) contact Václav Štefela (stefela@fss.muni.cz; +420 549 49 4386).

The first part of the program centers around the summer school. The summer school includes two segments:

A. Preparation for the Summer School
For the (1) preparatory exercises and (2) reading material this online site is our home. Please scroll down and read the instructions about the preparatory material submission and then look at the entry about the summer school reading.

B. Summer School
During the summer school, this online site serves as a supplement to the summer school allowing you to access and submit in-summer school assignments. It is also the place where you can get access to supplementary material (i.e. suggested reading, handouts, exercises, etc.) posted by session leaders.

For more details about the program, see the Participant Handbook attached after this entry.

We ask you to complete a few assignments before the summer school in order for you to arrive prepared, and thus, get most out of the summer school and later from the online segment of the program. We have set a relatively early deadline for the completion of these exercises so that you can have easy access to people at your university before the summer holiday starts.

By completing these assignments, you help us gain a better understanding of your situation so that we are better able to assist you in the learning process. In addition, the information that you collect as part of these brief exercises will be utilized during various sessions of the summer school and is also the beginning of your preparations for teaching in the Fall 2017 semester.

We understand that you are currently busy with your exams and papers and probably counting the days for the summer vacation. Therefore, we have kept the assignments as short as possible: we estimate that the completion of all assignments would take about 5 hours of your time.

The deadline for completing the exercises listed on the assignment sheet (SEE ATTACHED .PDF BELOW) is 10 p.m., June 30, 2017. Submission is via the course site at Masaryk University’s online platform. Submission starts on June 20. 

As for the content below, first, you can find the exercises that we have emailed you earlier attached. Second, you can find the submission link to the homework vault.

When submitting your documents, please remember to have

• each of them in the required format about which you can find the information under each exercise on the assignment sheet.
• your full name written on top of every document you submit
• the name of each submitted file start with your family name and include the name of the assignment (E.g. Smith-Questionnaire.docx)

HOW TO SUBMIT:
Click on Summer School Prep Submission Homework Vault link below. Upload all your assignments using the button to the vault. (If you click on the " upload several files at a time" link under the boxes, you can upload all files at once. Otherwise you need to repeat the process for each file you are uploading).


If you have any questions about the exercises or require technical or other assistance, we are glad to help you. Please contact Agi Simon at asimon@mail.muni.cz.

Please find a short list of reading or video clips and, in a few cases, reading related tasks at the end of this entry. The document contains detailed instructions and, where available, links to the reading and video material. Material that otherwise cannot be found online is uploaded to the folder below.

Below you can find a copy of the summer schedule in .pdf format. Last updated: August 22, 2017.

Day and time: Monday, August 28, 18:30-19:45.
Session Leader: Eszter Simon
Description: The purpose of this session is to introduce the program (goals, structure, sponsors, session leaders and participants) and facilitate participants’ cooperation and active involvement in the summer school. The session will start with participants completing a questionnaire for the research component of the grant project.  The session will then continue with the general introduction of the program participants, their motivation to attend the summer school, and their expectations regarding the week ahead. The session will conclude with imparting essential information about the program. Participants will be invited to ask practical questions relating to the program.
Preparatory reading: None.
Other: Bring your laptop to the session.

Obsah není zveřejněný.

Date and time: Monday, August 28, 20:00-21:30.
Session Leader: Eszter Simon
Description: The purpose of the session is to introduce students to the idea of student-centeredness. The session will start out from taking a snapshot of participants’ current understanding of ‘teaching’ and ‘learning’ before introducing the idea of student-centeredness. Then the class will explore the meaning of student-centeredness at different areas of teaching and in contrast with teacher-centeredness. The session will also seek to deconstruct misconceptions of student-centeredness. The concluding part of the session will explore the question of ‘how one becomes a student-centered instructor?’.
Preparatory reading: None.
Follow-up reading (Recommended): Peter Kugel. 1983. “How professors develop as teachers.” Studies in Higher Education 18(3): 315-328.

Day and time: Tuesday, August 29, 9:00-10:30.
Session Leader: Roisín Curran
Description: This session will allow participants to focus on some of the wider issues that inform curriculum design and delivery. Specifically, participants will draw on their summer school preparation and preparatory reading to consider the impact of: self, students, and institution and how these interact to inform a developing understanding of teaching as a social practice.
Preparatory reading: Saranne Weller. 2016. “Becoming a teacher in higher education.” In Academic practice: developing as a professional in higher education. London: Sage. pp. 1-7.
Other: See additional material attached.

Day and time: Tuesday, August 29, 11:00:12:30.
Session Leader: Roisín Curran
Description: This session will introduce participants to an outcomes-based curriculum. The main theoretical underpinning of this approach is provided by Biggs (2003) model of constructive alignment. Participants will consider how sessions, courses and programmes are designed such that their students should be able to demonstrate the achievement of skills and knowledge (written as outcomes) appropriate for the level and size of the taught session etc.
Preparatory reading: John Biggs. An introduction to Constructive Alignment.
Other: See additional material attached.

Day and time: Tuesday, August 29, 13:45-15:15.
Session Leader: Roisín Curran
Description: This session will draw on theoretical underpinnings explored in sessions 3 and 4 along with an exploration of deep and surface learning. Participants will engage in designing learning outcomes using constructive alignment and Bloom’s taxonomy for a real-life course that they will deliver in the Fall semester.  In addition, participants will consider the sequencing of class sessions for their course to enable their students to achieve the learning outcomes.  This practical session will allow the application of theory to practice and as such will be interactive and formative in nature.
The first daily activity assignment on course design will also be distributed and discussed.
Preparatory reading: None.
Other: See additional material attached.

Instructions:

1.    Using the template posted below (Course Design Template.rtf), design a course plan that you will deliver in the Fall 2017 semester. In doing so, 

• use Biggs’ model of constructive alignment to consider equally: session content, outcomes, learning activities, how the student is assessed, and the disposition of yourself as instructor;
• apply learning taxonomies to the planned course sessions as appropriate so that students will adopt a deep approach to learning;
• be mindful of the time allocated for your sessions and be realistic about what can be achieved within this period.

2.    When filling out the template, 

• start with providing practical information on the course;
• then consider the aim and learning objectives of the course;
• finally, sequence your syllabus with filling out the table. You can find an example in the table for your convenience. Remember to adjust the format of classroom activities, assignments, and resources to your discipline, the learning objectives, and the particular topic covered in a session.
• use as many rows (weeks) as you need and have your table break to the next page if necessary.

Deadline: 10 pm, Tuesday, 29 August 2017.

Mode of submission: 

• Name the file using the name of the exercise and use a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file extension (e.g. Course Design.docx). (Inserting your name to the name of the file is not necessary—the system will automatically do that for you).
• Upload the completed exercise to the “Course Design” Homework Vault (see link below) in the Masaryk Online system.
• Bring a printed or digital copy displayed on your laptop to the morning feedback session on Course Design Planning, where you will engage in peer-feedback on course designs and will be able to reflect on your design and the designs of others in order to enhance these going forward.

Day and time: Wednesday, August 30, 9:00-10:30.
Session Leader: Roisín Curran
Description: This session will be structured for peer review of the draft course design plans completed the previous evening. Participants will be allocated in groups of three and within these groups each participant will read the course design of their two peers, spending a minimum of 5 minutes on each design (a rubric will be provided to aid the peer-review). A ten-minute discussion session will follow when each group will discuss the merits and challenges of their respective course designs. Feedback from each group will then be discussed in a plenary session with signposting to further resources where appropriate. 
Preparatory reading: None.
Other: See additional material attached.

Day and time: Wednesday, August 30, 11:00-12:30.
Session Leader: Agi Simon
Description: We often associate small group teaching (SGT) with discussions – indeed, small group sections are called ‘discussion groups’ in some colleges. While discussion may be particularly appealing in such an environment, there is a wide variety of other teaching approaches that can facilitate learning in small groups. This session will explore these alternative teaching instruments. We will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of SGT as well as the necessary skills and investment from both the student and the teacher for SGT to succeed. We will use our reading as a thesaurus while students will apply those that they find most applicable to their teaching.
Preparatory reading: Kate Exley and Reg Dennick. 2004. “Chapter 4: Working with Student Groups. Techniques and Methods in the Classroom.” In Small Group Teaching. Tutorial Seminars and Beyond. London and New York: RoutledgeFalmer. pp. 50-75.
REMEMBER to complete the assignment related task!
Other: please bring the compulsory reading to class in either printed or digital format.

Day and time: Wednesday, August 30, 13:45-15:15.
Session Leader: Agi Simon
Description: As students, all of us have taken at least one lecture course where we were very interested in the subject and yet felt pain suffering though the actual classes. However, large group teaching should not be synonymous with either boring or frontal lecturing. Nor should it depend solely on the oratorical skills of the instructor. There are several ways to capture the attention of students and involve them in the learning process even in large groups. This session will introduce participants to those methods including transforming your large group into small groups and inserting shorter activities into a lecture.
The second daily activity assignment on learning activities will also be distributed and discussed.
Preparatory reading: Linda B. Nilson. 2014. “Making the Lecture a Learning Experience.” In Teaching at its Best. A Research-Based Resource for College Instructors. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 113-125.

Instructions:

During today’s sessions on teaching large groups and small groups you have become familiar with a set of methods that help introduce active learning into the classroom. This assignment will ask you to design one such activity for the course you are (most likely) going teach this fall. 
Start with thinking about the course design you put together yesterday. Select a class and then choose one concept, theory, or approach from your course that you are going to cover during that class. Develop an active learning activity through which you are going to introduce the chosen concept, theory, or approach to your students. 
Note that this is not a class plan, therefore 1) think about an activity that requires anytime between 15-30 minutes to execute; 2) spell out the details of the activity responding to the questions and exercises on the sheet posted below (Learning Activities Exercise.rtf) on the next page. Use as much space as necessary.

Deadline: 10 pm, Wednesday, 30 August 2017.

Mode of submission: 

• Name the file using the name of the exercise and use a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file extension (e.g. Learning Activities.docx). (Inserting your name to the name of the file is not necessary—the system will automatically do that for you).
• Upload the completed exercise to the “Learning Activities” Homework Vault (see link below) in the Masaryk Online system.
• Bring a printed or digital copy displayed on your laptop to the morning feedback session on Course Design and Session Planning, where you will engage in peer-feedback on session designs and will be able to reflect on your design and the designs of others in order to enhance these going forward.

Day and time: Thursday, August 31, 9:00-10:30.
Session Leader: Agi Simon
Description: This is a practical session where participants are going to work with the daily activity exercises on learning activities that they have submitted the previous evening. They will work in pairs/groups and we will also use plenary discussions for providing constructive formative feedback. In doing so, participants will critically assess their exercise against the various criteria included in the rubrics provided  with the original instructions for the exercise. Participants will also reflect on the strengths and weakness of their draft design.
Preparatory reading: None.

Day and time: Thursday, August 31, 11:00-12:30.
Session Leader: Matyas Szabo
Description: Assessment is integral to the achievement of good university learning and to good course design. This session will discuss the general role and major characteristics of student assessment in a student-centered learning paradigm, by looking at assessment as a way of enhancing learning, rather than only measuring the fulfillment of learning outcomes. The session will also address the question on how to select and align assessment tools to the aims, and learning outcomes of a given course.
Preparatory reading: Phil Race. 2003. “Why Assess Innovatively.” In Assessment Matters in Higher Education: Choosing and Using Diverse Approaches, eds. Sally Brown and Angela Glasner. Buckingham: The Society for Research in Higher Education and Open University Press, pp. 57-70.

Day and time: Thursday, August 31, 13:45-15:15.
Session Leader: Matyas Szabo
Description: This session provides an essential understanding of the most problematic issues in students’ assessment and explores the most widely used forms of assessment in a critical way (by outlining their usefulness and shortcomings). The session will then move on to look at more complex and innovative assessment methods that encourage self-development and collaborative learning (such as group projects, portfolios, self-assessment tools, learning diaries): good practices, concrete examples will be discussed, as well as various ways of marking/grading students’ performances.
The third daily activity assignment on assessment will also be distributed and discussed.
Preparatory reading: Rebecca Attwood. 2009. “Well, what do you know?” Times Higher Education, January 29.
REMEMBER to complete the assignment related task!

Instructions:

• Complete the exercises in the attached file (Assessment Exercise.rtf), using as much space as necessary.
• Your stating point should be the course design daily activity that you completed earlier. 
• Examples are inserted in the file to help you get a good grasp of what is required.

Deadline: 10pm, Thursday, 31 August 2017.

Mode of submission: 
•    Name the file using the name of the exercise and use a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file extension (e.g. Assessment.docx). (Inserting your name to the name of the file is not necessary—the system will automatically do that for you).
•    Upload the completed exercise to the “Assessment” Homework Vault (see link below) in the Masaryk Online system.
•    Bring a printed or digital copy displayed on your laptop to the morning feedback session on Course Design and Session Planning, where you will engage in peer-feedback on session designs and will be able to reflect on your design and the designs of others in order to enhance these going forward.

Day and time: Friday, September 1, 9:00-10:30.
Session Leader: Matyas Szabo
Description: During this feedback session participants will review each other’s home assignments and provide constructive feedback. They will be divided into small groups of 3 or 4, based on their disciplines, in such a way as to make sure that everybody in the class receives feedback from peers working either within the same discipline or in related ones. Each participant will be asked to read all parts of their peers’ assignment, but will need to comment and provide suggestions only on one particular part of the assignment (either the overall description of the assessment in the course, or the rubric for a specific type of assessment). After these group discussions, each group will choose one of the assignments to be presented to the rest of the class, and outline the suggestions its author received from peers.
At the end of the session participants will receive instruction on the microteaching exercise.
Preparatory reading: None.

Description
On Day 7 (Sunday) of the summer school, you will put some of the things you have learned during the week into practice. You will prepare a 15-minute mock teaching session that engages the audience to learn about an aspect of your PhD research. You are free (1) to choose the exact aspect of your dissertation you for this teaching presentation and (2) to decide how you wish to teach it. Your audience are second- and third-year undergraduate students, who major in your field of study. To facilitate your preparation, a box with office supplies will be available in the classroom during the rest of the week. The rooms that you are going to teach in will have a projector, as well as a black/whiteboard with chalk/marker. Find the details on the microteaching assignment attached.

Day and time: Friday, September 1, 11:00-12:30.
Session Leader: Vicky Davies
Description: Supervision is an essential but often ignored part of the teaching profession in higher education. Everyone who has been a PhD candidate has a thorough knowledge of this process from the receiving end. This session will use that experience as a starting point in first defining the expectations toward professors in tutoring and supervision and then discussing how we could best provide the students with these. The session will discuss the meaning, elements, and conduct of supervision and tutoring. One aim of this session is to discuss how to increase efficiency at this area: increase dissertation quality, improve supervisor-supervisee communication, achieve some level of student-satisfaction with the advisory process, and enhance them with adequate time-management for tutors and supervisors.
Preparatory video: Qualities of a good research supervisor (Griffith University, Australia)

Day and time: Friday, September 1, 13:45-15:15.
Session Leader: Vicky Davies
Description: This session is designed to give participants a flavor of how technology-enhanced learning (TEL) approaches can be used to promote flexible and active learning engagement for students. It also provides participants with an opportunity to explore ways in which they may incorporate a TEL approach to their own learning and teaching practice.
At the end of session participants will be notified about the opportunity to put in their preference for a coach during the online program segment.
Preparatory videos: 1) Technology-Enhanced Learning (Concordia University); Blended Learning and Technology Integration (Jen Johnson).
REMEMBER to complete the assignment related task!
Follow-up reading (Recommended): James Pickering. 2015. How to start using technology in your teaching. York: Higher Education Academy.

Description
As you have been informed earlier, after the summer school you will be working closely with a coach during the 1-year online segment of the project. With the help of your coach you will design, implement and evaluate your teaching innovation project and write a teaching philosophy. Therefore, it is important to build a good work relationship with your coach. To familiarize yourself with the nature of such a relationship, please read the attached “The Coaching Relationship.pdf” file attached below.
To achieve the best match between coach and coachee, we ask you to list your preferred choice for a coach among summer school session leaders (Agi, Eszter, Matyas, Roisin, and Vicky), who are also acting as coaches during the online program component. We encourage you to base your preference on professional criteria such as the nature and subject of your planned teaching innovation. Your preferences will be honored as best as possible given the requisite of equal number of coachees per coach. You will be informed about your coach in an email in 24 hours after the submission deadline.
 
Instructions
Task: Fill out the Coach Preference Form posted below by

• adding your name;
• marking your area(s) of interest for your teaching innovation or if you are not sure it yet, then your interest in teaching and learning in general;
• describing your teaching innovation project if you already have an idea on what you would like to do (it is fine if you do not know what you want to do yet and whatever you share here is non-binding);
• listing your preference for coaches by starting with the coach you prefer most and finishing with the one you would least like to work with.

Deadline: 10 pm, Friday, 1 September, 2017.

Mode of submission: once you completed the form,

• name the file using the name of the exercise (e.g. Coach Preference.docx) and use a .doc, .docx, or .rtf file extension (inserting to your name to the name of the file is not necessary—the system will automatically do that for you).
• upload the completed form to the “Coach Preference” homework vault in the Masaryk Online system by the deadline (see link below)
• Note: the homework vault will be locked at the time of the deadline and no late submissions will be possible. Those who have not uploaded their form by then will be considered to have no preferences.

Day and time: Saturday, September 2, 8:30-10:00.
Session Leader: Vicky Davies
Description: This session is designed to challenge participants’ perceptions of the nature and purpose of feedback from both the student and tutor’s perspectives. It will present some recent assessment and feedback projects and critically examine their recommendations. Participants will be asked to review their own current feedback practices and identify effective approaches they might adopt going forward.
Preparatory reading: Feedback FAQs for staff (University of Edinburgh)
REMEMBER to complete the assignment related task!

Day and time: Saturday, September 2, 10:15-11:45.
Session Leader: Vicky Davies
Description: This session will introduce participants to the concept of reflective practice in learning and teaching, through the exploration of key models of reflective practice. It will allow participants to explore ways in which their own reflection on practice may be developed based on scholarship and/or professional knowledge and evaluation.
Preparatory reading: None.

Day and time: Sunday, September 3, 9:15-10:30; 10:45-12:15; and 12:30-13:45
Location: University of Economics, Bratislava
Session (Group) Leaders: Agi Simon, Eszter Simon, Matyas Szabo
Description: In this session, participants will have the opportunity to try in a small group and “safe setting” some of the teaching techniques they intend to use in their future courses, and will receive constructive peer feedback from colleagues who will perform the role of students and classroom observers. The group will experience a range of different teaching strategies and styles, and will thus have the opportunity to see various classroom management techniques, and think about the possibility to adapt those to their own classroom practices. Participants will be offered the chance to have their performance recorded and shared with them for the purposes of self-evaluation.
Preparatory reading: None.

Instructions
After finishing your microteaching presentation, there are two tasks that you still need to complete. First, you need to upload some documents:

1. digital images of the presentation (lecture) notes that you have used for your microteaching demonstration. Do not fix, rewrite, or modify your notes in any ways—this applies to content as well as its form/style or language(s).
2. digital images of the observation and feedback sheets that you have received from your peers and instructor.

Second, you will write your microteaching reflection paper the afternoon following your teaching presentation. While you may feel rushed, completing the paper immediately after the actual experience offers the best way to record your thoughts and impressions. At the same time, following the general structure of the paper suggested in the assignment description attached to this entry helps structuring your thoughts and reflecting on issues that often are not immediately obvious when we consider our teaching experience. We expect you to write comprehensibly, but if you must choose between style and content, your preference should go to content. You can find detailed instructions for the microteaching reflection paper attached to this entry.
 
Deadline
The deadline for uploading all documents including the microteaching lecture notes, observation/feedback sheets, and microteaching reflection paper is 10 p.m., 3 September, 2017.
 
Mode of Submission

• Upload all documents into your personal folder (i.e. the folder named with your last name) in the “Microteaching” homework vault (a link is provided to the Microteaching vault below) at the Masaryk website.
• Upload your digital images and name
  • observation/feedback sheets as “Feedback” and number them (e.g. Feedback 01.jpg, Feedback 02.jpg, etc.)
  • lecture notes as “Lecture notes” and number them if you have more than one image (e.g. “Lecture Notes 01.jpg, Lecture Notes 02.jpg, etc.

• Upload your microteaching reflection paper after naming your file “Microteaching Reflection Paper” and use one of the following format: .docx, .doc, .rtf (e.g. Microteaching Reflection Paper.docx).
• There’s no need to add your name to any of the filenames, the system will automatically append the filename with your last name.

Day and time: Monday, September 4, 9:00:10:30
Session Leader: Eszter Simon
Description: The purpose of this session is to facilitate the practical implementation of what participants have learnt from the summer school once they return to their institutions. During this session, session leader(s) and participants will jointly identify potential obstacles, and will seek solutions for them. The precise list of issues will depend on participants to a large degree. The session is designed to explore ways to enable participants to overcome institutional barriers, to take control, to build a support network, to overcome personal insecurities, and to avoid burnout.
Preparatory reading: None.

Day and time: Monday, September 4, 11:00-13:00
Session Leader: Agi Simon
Description: In this practical session, participants will conclude their summer school by completing a survey and receiving a certificate. They will also be reminded of the exercises that they will need to revise and upload to the course’s website. Participants will also be introduced to the nature and structure of the upcoming 1-year online segment of the course. We will also talk more in depth about the first online assignment and participants will have the opportunity to ask questions.
Preparatory reading: None.
Other: Bring your laptop to the session.

Please click on the link to access the survey.

Instructions
This exercise invites you to create a teaching portfolio (i.e. a set of documents) in support of the notion of becoming reflective teachers. This portfolio builds on your summer school activities and includes revised versions of the three learning activities (course design, learning activities, and assessment) and of the microteaching reflection paper. Assignment details are posted in the attachment below this entry.
 
Deadline
The deadline for completing the portfolio is 10 p.m., 17 September 2017. By this time, you should upload all four files to your personal folder (i.e. the folder with your last name) in the “Teaching Portfolio” homework vault at our course site (see link to the vault below). Do NOT merge, join, or copy them in any other way into one single file.
 
Mode of Submission

• Use one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, or .rtf.
• Have your full name written on top of each of the four documents of the portfolio.
• Name each file by the joint name of this assignment and the name of the individual exercise (i.e. Teaching Portfolio - Course Design.docx; Teaching Portfolio - Learning Activities.docx; Teaching Portfolio - Assessment.docx; Teaching Portfolio - Microteaching Reflection Paper.docx). It not necessary to add your name to the file name as the online system will automatically append the uploaded files with your last name.

During the Fall 2017 semester you will focus on one larger project: the design and implementation of a teaching innovation plan. Its details are listed below.

During the summer school, you have become familiar with various concepts, theories, and approaches to teaching and had your first opportunity to design a few teaching and learning documents. The online program builds on this experience. Your first major task is to design, implement and evaluate a teaching innovation in the Fall 2017. Teaching innovation means the introduction of an active learning method, approach, or activity into your teaching practice that you have not used before and/or that are not commonly used in your institution. Because this innovation will serve as the basis of the reflection paper that you are going to prepare by the Spring 2018 semester, your teaching innovation plan will be accompanied by a research design in order to measure the impact of your innovation on student learning.

Therefore, the core of your innovation will be teaching and learning as related to the course—and specifically to the topic of the classes—you are going to teach using your innovation plan. That is, it is not about your dissertation topic unless you happen to teach a course whose topic is identical with your dissertation. The teaching innovation plan is theory driven: it makes use of a concept, theory, or approach of teaching and learning and, thus, it is linked to the relevant literature. Although it may seem premature, there are three reflection papers attached to this entry that have been written by participants of a similar teaching and learning program. By reading these, you can get a better understanding of what is required of you in this project. However, the content, focus and measurement your innovation may be very different from those used in these papers.

The design and implementation of your teaching innovation plan is broken down into smaller steps not only to make it less overwhelming but also to allow for its incremental development and improvement with the assistance of your coach. These involves three major assignments. Two of these will have be focusing on writing and design and will require both a first and a final draft. The third one is putting your design into practice during your teaching, and collecting the necessary data for the subsequent evaluation. The general schedule for the Fall 2017 is shown in the table below.
 

	Steps to Realize the Teaching Innovation Plan		Due Date
1.	Teaching innovation proposal	1st Draft	17 September 2017
		Final Version	1 October 2017
2.	Teaching innovation session plan(s) and research design	1st Draft	15 October 2017
		Final Version	29 October 2017
3.	Implementation of teaching innovation including data collection		End of fall semester

We are aware that you may have limitations on when and how many classes you teach during the semester. We also know that some of you have some constraints on how much you can change the subject and delivery of the material. In both cases, please notify your coach and the program coordinator (Gabriela Pleschová) as soon as possible. They will work with you and draw up a revised submission schedule that are compatible with your teaching duties. They will try to assist you in finding a solution so that you can implement your teaching innovation plan. 

The sub-syllabi below contain detailed information on the individual steps and they will be made accessible one at a time.

You start working on your teaching innovation plan by developing a proposal. In this proposal, you decide upon and justify the teaching innovation you would like to carry out during the semester. The proposal should provide information on your student audience/class composition, the course for which your innovation is planned, topic of the innovation, the teaching challenge that prompted you to try a new approach, the related pedagogical concept, what innovation you would like to introduce to your teaching, how you expect the new approach to enhance student learning, and how you will evaluate the impact of your innovation on student learning. The actual writing that you do (i.e. not including the questions) is expected to be around one page. We ask you to present your answers to these questions by completing the questionnaire attached to the sub-syllabus detailing instructions on the first draft of the proposal below.

Instructions:
Fill out the attached questionnaire by responding to the questions in full sentences (rather than bulletpointing your responses). Use as much space as you need. Make your responses as clear as possible rather than trying to disguise your uncertainty, confusion, or lack of understanding—your coach needs to know the areas in which he or she should help you. We expect that you have discussed your ideas for the teaching innovation with your coach by the time you complete the questionnaire. However, if further questions arise while working on the questionnaire, you are encouraged to consult your coach again.
 
Deadline: 10pm, 17 September 2017
 
Mode of Submission:

• Use one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, or .rtf.
• Have your full name written on top of your questionnaire.
• Name the file by the name of the exercise (i.e. Proposal – First Draft.docx). It is not necessary to add your name to the file name as the online system will automatically append the uploaded files with your last name.
• Upload the proposal questionnaire to your personal folder in the “Proposal” homework vault at our course site (see link to the vault below).

Instructions:
The final version of the teaching innovation proposal is the revised and updated version of the first draft of the questionnaire. Since the final version will be the basis of your next assignments (i.e. the first draft of your teaching innovation session plans and research design), we ask you to take extra care when you work on this version. Therefore, once you receive your coach’s feedback, your revision should take into account that feedback and should also include any other changes you see fit. Remember to use the track changes function of MS Word (or whatever alternative software you are using) to show the changes. If you need explanation or additional help regarding the feedback, you are encouraged to consult your coach. In addition, you will also have to provide the revision report in the format that your coach has specified for you (a standalone document, comment bubbles in the final version, or a combination of the two).
 
Deadline: 10pm, 1 October 2017
 
Mode of Submission:

• Use one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, or .rtf.
• Have your full name written on top of your questionnaire.
• Name the file by the name of the exercise (i.e. Proposal – Final Version.docx). It is not necessary to add your name to the file name as the online system will automatically append the uploaded files with your last name.
• Upload the proposal questionnaire to your personal folder in the “Proposal” homework vault and, if you are required by your coach to post a separate revision report, then that too (see link to the vault below).

This exercise is direct continuation of the work that you have done so far on the teaching innovation proposal. Therefore, you are recommended to familiarize yourself with the feedback that your coach has given you on the final version of your proposal as it may contain information and advice that you should incorporate into this assignment.
 
In this step of your teaching innovation you are going to work out the practical details of your teaching innovation and its evaluation. Therefore, this assignment requires you to prepare (1) a plan for each class session of your teaching innovation; (2) an essay describing your research design to evaluate the impact of the teaching innovation; and (3) a summary of data collection instruments.
 
Read the instructions attached below (see first draft entry) in order to learn about the nature and requirements of this assignment.

Download the assignment description attached below. First, familiarize yourself with the assignment. Second, fill out the attached session plan template for each class session that you are going to teach as part of your teaching innovation. Please have all session plans in a single document. Third, prepare your research design following the instructions in the assignment description. Finally, draw up any data collection instruments that you will use exclusively for the evaluation of the impact of your teaching innovation. Please, place all data collection instruments into one single file. We expect that you have discussed your ideas for the teaching innovation with your coach by the time you complete the questionnaire. If any questions arise with regards to the assignment, you are recommended to discuss it with your coach.
 
Deadline: 10pm, 15 October 2017
 
Mode of Submission:

• Use one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, or .rtf.
• Have your full name written on top of each of your documents.
• Name the files by the name of each exercise (i.e. Session Plans – First Draft.docx; Research Design – First Draft.docx; Data Collection – First Draft.docx). It is not necessary to add your name to the file name as the online system will automatically append the uploaded files with your last name.
• Upload your files to your personal folder in the “Session Plan and Research Design” homework vault at our course site (see link to the vault below). Your coach will upload the feedback to this folder as well.

The final version is the revised and updated version of the first drafts of your teaching innovation session plans, research design, and data collection instruments. Since the final version will be the basis of your actual teaching (i.e. the implementation of your teaching innovation), we ask you to take extra care when you work on this version. Therefore, once you receive your coach’s feedback, your revision should take into account that feedback and should also include any other changes you see fit. Remember to use the track changes function of MS Word (or whatever alternative software you are using) to show the changes. If you need explanation or additional help regarding the feedback, you are encouraged to consult your coach. In addition, you will also have to provide the revision report in the format that your coach has specified for you (a standalone document, comment bubbles in the final version, or a combination of the two).
 
Deadline: 10pm, 29 October 2017
 
Mode of Submission:

• Use one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, or .rtf.
• Have your full name written on top of each of your documents.
• Name the files by the name of each exercise (i.e. Session Plans – Final Version.docx; Research Design – Final Version.docx; Data Collection – Final Version.docx). It is not necessary to add your name to the file name as the online system will automatically append the uploaded files with your last name.
• Upload your files to your personal folder in the “Session Plan and Research Design” homework vault at our course site (see link to the vault below).

Congratulations! You have arrived to a milestone of the program: the implementation of your teaching innovation. You have prepared for this for two months and, we hope, you are as excited about you teaching as we are!
 
It is also the time when you start collecting the data that will be the basis for your work during the next phase of the teaching innovation project. Please treat data collected about your students confidential (i.e. don’t allow outside parties to have access to the raw data). In addition, all data (physical or digital) should be backed up and safely stored. If you wish, you may use the MUNI site for backup, which is also a way to make your data accessible to your coach. A vault has been created for this purpose, to which you can find the link below this entry.
 
Even though the implementation/data collection phase of the program lasts until December 17, 2017, some of you might finish earlier and some will get access to the last data (i.e. end of semester evaluations) beyond this day. Nonetheless, once you have finished teaching the innovation project related sessions, you should move on to the next phase, namely, the evaluation of your teaching innovation. This includes both reading the requirements of the Reflection Paper on the Outcomes of the Teaching Innovation to be posted below shortly and consulting with your coach.

Inviting another program participant to observe your class does not only always a great opportunity to get feedback on your teaching but also to maintain the community of practice that you have formed during the summer school. Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to arrange one or more classroom visits by a fellow program participant during the implementation of your teaching innovation.
 
The visitor shall observe and take notes on classroom activities, dynamics, instructor and student behavior, and so on, preferably by completing the classroom observation protocol prepared by program organizers and attached to this entry. We have also included instructions on how to use this form and conduct the visit. The participant and the visitor are expected to meet afterwards to discuss the visitor’s comments.
 
If you plan on using classroom observations as a method of data collection on your teaching innovation, we recommend you check our observation protocol first to see if it allows for collecting the kind of data you need for the evaluation of your innovation. If our protocol fits your purpose, you are welcome to use it. If not, you will have to design your own, possibly shorter, form. In the latter case, you may still have your visitor use our protocol for general observation purposes together with your specific data collection instrument.
 
Regardless of whether you have invited someone to observe your class to gain more information on your teaching or specifically to collect data for the evaluation of your innovation, you are encouraged to consider comments received during the peer observation in your teaching innovation reflection paper to be completed during the Spring 2018 semester.
 
Finally, we would appreciate if you shared the completed classroom observation protocol and other notes, if available, with us. A homework vault named “Classroom Observation” has been set up for this purpose. Forms should be uploaded to the personal folder of the participant whose teaching was observed (not to the folder of the visitor).

We invite you for a coffee and cake meeting! Sip tea or coffee, munch on biscuits, and chat about teaching, life, fun, the approaching holidays or anything you want!
 
Come and join us for the entire meeting or just drop by for a shorter period of time, as your schedule permits. You have come a long way since the summer school and worked real hard to get to this point—we want you to have a bit of fun!
 
For ease of attendance, we have organized separate meeting at Masaryk University in Brno and at the University of Economics in Bratislava. Details about each meeting are posted below. We are looking forward to seeing you again!

With the end of the Fall 2017 semester, you turn to the next phase of the project with a strong focus on writing. The deadlines during the semester are the following (note that the first deadline falls on a Friday, not a Sunday):

Your next assignment is to evaluate the teaching innovation to which you dedicated significant attention during the Fall 2017 semester. The evaluation is to be done in an approximately 2,400-word reflection paper, which describes and assesses the results of the innovation. A reflection paper is a form of academic research paper which (1) is based on your personal experience, in this case your own teaching practice, and (2) follows the traditions of scholarly writing including methodology, structure, language, and citations.
 
A document containing the detailed instructions for the exercise is posted below this entry. This document not only contains the requirements for the reflection paper but also gives you advice on how best to proceed with the writing process. After reading the document, make sure that you understand what is required of you. If questions or confusion arise over certain aspects, discuss them with your coach.
 
The three sample reference papers (see examples) that we provided before you started working on your teaching innovation are re-posted below. We very strongly recommended that, before starting to write your own paper, you (re-)read these sample papers to get a good idea on how a reflection paper should look like. Note, however, that there are no two identical teaching situations, and therefore, you are expected to adapt the lessons learned from reading these papers to your circumstances.
 
We recommend that you work closely with your coach to find the most efficient way to produce the best paper possible. It is especially so because those of you who present the outcomes of your teaching innovation in the highest quality will be invited to contribute to an edited book. For more details see the “Scholarship Opportunity” section in your Student Handbook.
 
Similarly to how you worked on your assignments in the previous semester, you will be asked to submit a first draft and final version of your reflection paper. As in the past, submission information and a few practical suggestions regarding each draft is (going to be) provided in the sub-syllabi below.

The first draft of your teaching innovation reflection paper is expected to be a full draft prepared to the best of your abilities. It should include all the required information as spelled out in the instructions. We expect that you have discussed how to proceed and organize your paper with your coach and recommend that you consult with him/her whenever substantial questions arise.
 
Note that the deadline is on Friday (not on Sunday as before). We expect you start working on the paper after you have finished teaching and collecting your data, but no later than three weeks before the deadline (26 January 2018). If your draft is completed well before the deadline, you may upload the paper early and notify your coach so that s/he may give you feedback earlier if his or her schedule allows. While we do not encourage late submissions, if you have problems meeting the deadline, inform your coach in time and find a mutually agreeable new deadline.
 
Deadline: 10pm, Friday, 16 February 2018
 
Mode of Submission:

• Have your full name written above or below the title
• Use one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, or .rtf.
• Name the file by the name of the exercise (i.e. Innovation Paper – First Draft.docx). No need to add your name to the file name as the online system will automatically append the uploaded files with your last name.
• Upload the document to your personal folder in the “Innovation Reflection Paper” Vault at our course site (see link to the vault below).

UPDATE:
Feedback Form:
Find below the feedback form that coaches will use to evaluate your draft submission. Reading through the rubrics can help you (together with the instructions) to get a better idea of how best to satisfy the requirements.

The final version of the teaching innovation reflection paper is a revised and updated version of the first draft. Therefore, once you received your coach’s feedback, your revision should take into account the received feedback and may include any other changes you would like to make. The feedback may suggest smaller adjustments or major revisions based on the state of your first draft. It is the best interest of both you and your coach that you produce the best possible paper and get it published in our book. Therefore, we ask you to be open to your coach’s suggestion including comments on writing and style. Clarify with your coach in advance any comments or suggestions that you do not understand or do not know how to implement.
 
Revising and updating a research paper is no small task and even the smallest revisions are unlikely to be implemented in a day. Therefore, we have scheduled a period of approximately one month for you to revise and resubmit your paper.
 
Remember to use the track changes function of MS Word (or whatever alternative software you use) to show the changes in the final version. As agreed with your coach earlier, either submit your revision report with this final version or react to your coach’s comment within the submitted document.
 
Deadline: 10pm, Sunday, 25 March 2018
 
Mode of Submission:

• Have your full name written above or below the title
• Use one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, or .rtf.
• Name the file by the name of the exercise (i.e. Innovation Paper – Final Version Draft.docx). No need to add your name to the file name as the online system will automatically append the uploaded files with your last name.
• Upload the document (and the revision report if applicable) to your personal folder in the “Innovation Reflection Paper” Vault at our course site (see link to the vault below).

Feedback Form:
Find below the feedback form that coaches will use to evaluate your final submission. Reading through the rubrics can help you (together with the instructions) to get a better idea of how best to satisfy the requirements.

The last written assignment for your course is writing your statement of teaching philosophy.  A statement of teaching philosophy describes your current views and practice of teaching and learning. Your philosophy of teaching evolves with your knowledge and experience of teaching. Such a statement also has its practical uses: many universities explicitly ask you to submit a teaching statement when applying for a position while others inquire about your views of teaching during an interview.
Everyone has a philosophy of teaching even if they have not explicitly thought about it. During this this program, you have become familiar with other people’s position on and methods of teaching and learning. In this assignment, we ask you to write 600-word statement explaining what you consider your aim(s) of teaching and learning in higher education and connect it with your pedagogic practice.
A document with detailed instructions for the exercise is posted below this entry. The instructions also contain guidelines on how to write such a statement and provide links to sample examples. If you still have questions after reading the instructions including the writing advice, and reading some of the examples, please consult your coach for further assistance.
As before, you will be asked to submit a first draft and final version of your statement. Submission information and a few practical suggestions regarding each draft is provided in the sub-syllabi below.
UPDATE: In the instructions, one of the links has been updated as the previous one went dead.

The first draft of your statement of teaching philosophy is expected to be a full draft prepared to the best of your abilities. It should include all the required information as spelled out in the instructions.
While we do not encourage late submissions, if you have problems meeting the deadline, inform your coach in time and find a mutually agreeable new deadline.
 
Deadline: 10pm, Sunday, 22 April 2018.
 
Mode of submission:

• Have your full name written above or below the title
• Use one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, or .rtf.
• Name the file by the name of the exercise (i.e. Teaching Philosophy – Final.docx). No need to add your name to the file name as the online system will automatically append the uploaded files with your last name.
• Upload the document to your personal folder in the “Teaching Statement” Vault at our course site (see link to the vault below).

Feedback form:
Find below the feedback form that coaches will use to evaluate your final submission. Reading through the rubrics can help you (together with the instructions) to get a better idea of how best you can satisfy the requirements.

The second and final draft of this assignment is to improve on the first draft by incorporating recommendations from your coach and, if you wish, implement additional changes. Remember that your submission should not only include the revised statement of teaching philosophy, but also reactions to your coach’s recommendations in the form that your coach specified (revision report or annotation in your revised document). Remember to use the track changes function of MS Word (or whatever alternative software you use) to show the changes in the final version.
 
Deadline: 10pm, Sunday, 6 May 2018.
 
Mode of submission:

• Have your full name written above or below the title
• Use one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, or .rtf.
• Name the file by the name of the exercise (i.e. Teaching Philosophy – Final.docx). No need to add your name to the file name as the online system will automatically append the uploaded files with your last name.
• Upload the document (and the revision report if applicable) to your personal folder in the “Teaching Statement” Vault at our course site (see link to the vault below).

 
Feedback form:
Find below the feedback form that coaches will use to evaluate your final submission. Reading through the rubrics can help you (together with the instructions) to get a better idea of how best you can satisfy the requirements.

Obsah není zveřejněný.

As we have shared with you earlier, we are publishing a book with the Staff and Educational Development Association (SEDA). The book will include chapters written by teaching and learning experts and by those of you whose teaching innovation reflection paper is selected for the book. This section of the course site contains information on the book publication project. As new information becomes available and as we step into new phases of the project, this section will be updated—check back here time after time.

If you have questions, please contact Agi (asimon@mail.muni.cz) or Gabriela (gabriela.pleschova@euba.sk).

Document attached:

• Book publication proposal: this is a condensed version of the document that we have submitted to the publisher

Below, you can find the information the criteria and selection of teaching innovation papers for publication as chapters in the book.

Documents:

• Book selection criteria: this document lists the criteria along which we are going to evaluate whether or not to invite your innovation reflections paper for publication in the book.
• Book selection process: in this, you can find information about the evaluation and notification process regarding the selection of those reflection papers that will be invited to publish with us.

This entry is ONLY for those who were selected to publish their teaching innovation paper as a book chapter. 

We hope that you decide to pursue your paper further and publish it with us as a chapter of the book to be published online with SEDA. To confirm your participation, please upload the completed (signed!) contract, sent out via email, by April 29, 2018 to the "Book Contract" homework vault--a link to the vault is available below this post. (This is one single vault with no individual folders within; nonetheless, you will only be able to see your own submission.)

Welcome on board and we are looking forward to working with you!

All of you are being contacted via email by one of the book editors about how to revise your chapter for publication. As during the course year about assignments, information regarding the book will be posted here as they become available including such things as the formatting requirements for your chapter. 

Submission of revised chapters will take place in the same way as before. You can find a link to vault below, which set up a personal folder for each of you. Although deadlines are not displayed here as they vary within the group, however, we ask you to observe your personal deadline so that we can keep meet the book project on track and meet publication milestones and deadline.

UPDATE: The guidelines for formatting and references (i.e. copyediting) have been posted below. ONLY COPYEDIT YOUR TEXT WHEN the editor you are working with told you to do so--i.e. when the final text of your chapter is approved.

We ask you to (1) fill in the author information sheet including a short, 150-word biography and (2) provide a photo of yourself.
Regarding the extra information, you can find a questionnaire attached to this entry below. Please read the information provided therein carefully before responding to the questions.
As for the photo, provide a high quality professional headshot. It is similar to a passport photo although you may have friendlier posture and expression (smile!) on your face. Avoid (1) selfies; (2) headshot cut out from a larger picture; or (3) photo with an unprofessional background.
 
Deadline: 10pm, Thursday, 25 September 2018.
 
Mode of submission:

• For the information sheet, use one of the following file formats: .doc, .docx, or .rtf and keep its original file name (i.e. Author Information Sheet.docx).
• Regarding photo, use one of the following file formats: .jpg, or .png and name it ‘photo’ (i.e. Photo.jpg).

You do not need to add your name to either file—the MUNI IS will automatically add your name to it.

• Upload both the information file and the photo to your personal folder in the “Author Information” Vault on the course site (see link to the vault below).