QUAL.I.T.I. project aims to improve the quality of higher education teaching through a systemic action in the logic of integration among evaluation of didactics, didactic-pedagogical training to teacher professionalism, didactic innovation. EU documents underline that " in most higher education systems, there has been an increasing focus on the quality of research outputs, where a range of bibliometric measures and peer review techniques are routinely implemented. However, governments and institutions have typically paid less attention to measures of the quality of education and outreach and engagement activities. […]the emergence of more competitive research funding and international university rankings based on research performance accentuated a widespread perception that teaching was (and is) a comparatively neglected activity in higher educationg."(SWD (2017) 164 pp-35-39). Project partners, considering the institutional goals of PP Universities about the quality of teaching, have carried out a self-assessment activity on specific dimensions addressed to the following internal quality STANDARDS of the higher education system (ESG, 2015): Information Management-Key performance indicators; Teaching staff; Student-centredlearning, teaching and assessment. MONITORED DIMENSIONS are: 1) typology and adequacy of indicators used in measuring quality teaching, 2) promotion of the professional development of teaching staff on methodological-didactic competences and pedagogical competences for student-centered practices. The analysis showed two MACRO- AREAS of NEEDS: 1) need to make the quality of teaching more transparent and to acquire data through evaluation indicators focused on teaching, which also make the performances comparable AMONG Higher Education Institutes; 2) need to strengthen and enhance higher education teaching through the definition of benchmarks, linked to specific indicators able of measuring the quality levels of teaching in Higher Education Institutes. TARGET of the project are higher education teachers of first level degree courses. The main beneficiaries will be the students of the first level degree courses. SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES of the project are: 1) increased ability to provide evidence of teaching quality through the acquisition of integrated data; 2) improved ability to compare teaching performance among higher education institutions; 3) increased capacity of HEIs to pursue the institutional objectives of continuous improvement of teaching, also through a system of "proven" recognition of the quality of the teachings within each IIS; 4) enhanced pedagogical training of teachers in order to increase the quality of teaching QUA.L.I.T.I completely fits the priorities concerning the development of concrete data and the promotion of teaching excellence. The project, in line with Recommendations of the European Documents, adopts a methodology working on the following strategic assets: 1) building indicators to monitor, evaluate and improve teaching and learning practices, in order to develop and implement a strategy of continuous quality improvement (RAC.13; Policy Department B Structural and Cohesion Policies-2015). 2) systematic and regular collection of data on issues affecting the quality of teaching and learning; professionalization and development of teachers, trainers and staff; innovative teaching and learning methodologies and pedagogical approaches (RAC.13. High Level Group on the modernization of IS -2014) Intellectual outputs will be: -DIRECT INDICATORS SYSTEM FOR THE QUALITY ASSESSMENT OF THE TEACHING OF HIGHER EDUCATION (IO1) -PROFILE OF “LEARNING / TEACHING-FOCUSED “ TEACHER, INCLUDING BENCHMARKS AND QUALITY LEVELS (IO2) -OER / METHODOLOGICAL -DIDATICS GUIDELINES FOR THE “LEARNING AND TEACHING-FOCUSED” TEACHER. (IO3). These outputs will be tested on a group of universities in order to be validated in terms of effectiveness and impact with regard to the transparency of quality higher education teaching and to the support for the continuous improvement of higher edcuation teaching. The project adopts an holistic approach (OECD Fostering quality teaching in higher education, 2012) which works on three interdependent levels: - institutional level: by creating a system for measuring and for assessing the quality of teaching; - planning level: by development of quality levels to measure and improve the didactics; - individual level: by increasing methodological and pedagogical competences of teachers for designing and implementing teaching practices oriented to student-centered learning Project will have positive impacts on teachers by increasing their engagement with respect to the quality of teaching; and on students, in terms of meaningful learning experiences and better results.
The project helped to clarify the factors that define 'quality teaching' and to validate tools that can provide guidance for delivering high quality education, as well as to - make teaching quality transparent and acquire data through teaching-focused assessment indicators, improving the comparison of teaching performance between HEIs; - improve teaching through the definition of benchmarks, linked to specific indicators, capable of measuring the levels of teaching quality in HEIs making targeted support actions possible. - Strengthen the system of "evidence" on teaching quality with integrated data acquisition; - increase the capacity of HEIs to pursue institutional objectives of continuous improvement of teaching, also through a system of "recognition" of teaching quality; - strengthen the pedagogical training of teachers to increase the quality of teaching. The high transferability potential of the IOs and the TQIF's ability to integrate them into quality policies provided the opportunity to support the project in the university community.
The project proposal was prompted by the urgent need to put teaching back at the center of universities' educational action, which has not always been considered, in terms of processes and results, alongside the other institutional functions (research, lifelong learning and third mission). Over time, attention has been paid to the quality of research results, on which the concerns of policymakers and HEIs have focused, as EU documents show, but not for training results, accentuating the widespread perception that teaching is a relatively neglected activity. This has led HEIs to underestimate the importance of providing high-quality education, which helps prepare skilled professionals and explore forms of continuous educational development, corresponding to and anticipating economic, social, and cultural needs of society appears to be a necessary condition for identifying new avenues directed at forming skilled, knowledgeable, and responsible citizens and professionals capable of solving everyday problems and meeting the demands of a demanding society, without which no country could evolve economically, socially, and culturally.