The outbreak of Covid-19 led to a sudden and extensive transformation of the, overly conservative, approach to teaching and learning in higher education worldwide. As higher education institutions (HEIs) switched abruptly to remote teaching, teaching staff, as well as students, had to adapt instantly to the new learning environment. In the majority of instances, teachers were expected to design relevant online learning materials and activities in a short period of time, and in line with the previously defined work plan created for face-to-face teaching and learning activities. Such transition, generally, accompanied with a lot of anxiety both for academic staff and students yielded positive aspects, such as increased student attendance, availability of more flexible, personalized learning paths etc.The potential of the digital learning environment (DLE) to transform our view on HE was recognized by all participants. Nevertheless, in order to provide meaningful learning experience and create stimulating learning environment, teachers are expected to design innovative educational resources and adopt new pedagogical approaches which will support high-level of student engagement and success. To secure effective teaching in a DLE, academic staff has to be equipped with knowledge and tools to accommodate a broad range of educational situations and contents. Thus, comprehensive and continuing professional development of academic staff has to be provided. It has been recognized that transition to DLE should also be accompanied with revised quality standards and necessary guidelines, applicable to an altered educational context,. StudES project objectives are set to respond to these perceived needs and prepare HEIs for the anticipated changes through: (i) Development of a blueprint for building stimulating learning environment in a digital world; (ii) Development of joint online training programme for academic staff competencies development for effective teaching in a digital learning environment, focused on students engagement, wellbeing and success; (iii) Development of quality standards and guidelines for effective teaching and learning in a digital environment. StudES partnership brings together the AGH University of Science and Technology (PL), the University of Maribor (SI) and the University of Belgrade (RS) as applicant organization. Participating institutions share common interest for continuous quality improvement of teaching and learning, recognize the importance of teaching competencies development and the need for institutional support which is best developed through collaboration and exchange of good practice among institutions. Project results include: (1) StudES Roadmap for the enhancement of digital readiness in higher education - guidance on how HEIs should approach strategic planning to effectively increase readiness of both academic staff and students for teaching/learning in a digital environment, and decrease the gap between the targeted and actual competencies of all the actors. (2) StudES Teachers Training Programme “Advanced teaching for students engagement, wellbeing and success in a digital learning environment: Mind the gap!” - joint online short learning programme for teaching competencies development based on the learning-by-doing paradigm, enabling enrolled teaching staff to experience the recommended innovative teaching and learning approaches from the student perspective, but also allowing them to design innovative educational resources tailored to the specific aspects of the courses they are involved in. (3) StudES Quality standards and guidelines for effective teaching and learning in a digital environment - framework for self-evaluation, and a resource for continuous quality improvement which will also provide input for further policy development at the university level and impetus for the update of accreditation standards. The desired impact on the stakeholders in partner institutions and beyond is a raised awareness of the importance of digital competence development and revised approaches towards teaching in line with the existing EU initiatives, including the EU Framework for the Digital Competence of Educators (DigCompEdu) and the new EU agenda for higher education (2017). The project will reinforce the process of transforming the current learning environment into more effective and positive for both academic teachers and students. Teaching staff will benefit from the training programme and apply innovative pedagogical approach, assessment strategies and proficiency in selecting and adopting available digital tools in their practice, which will boost the quality of teaching and indirectly influence students’ learning outcomes and digital skills development. At the strategic level, the experiences from the StudES project can be implemented in the ongoing work on the improvement of pedagogy and the digital transformation taking place at each partner institution.
StudES project objectives were: 1. Development of a blueprint (roadmap) for building stimulating learning environment in a digital world. 2. Development of joint online training programme for academic staff competencies development for effective teaching in a digital learning environment, focused on students engagement, wellbeing and success. 3. Development of quality standards and guidelines for effective teaching and learning in a digital environment.
The Covid-19 pandemic led to a sudden and extensive transformation of the teaching and learning environment, switched abruptly to remote teaching in higher education institutions (HEIs). Teachers were expected to design relevant online learning materials and activities in a short period of time, and in line with the previously defined work plan created for face to-face teaching and learning activities. The potential of the digital learning environment (DLE) to transform our view on HE was recognized by both students and teachers. In order to provide meaningful learning experience and create stimulating learning environment, teachers are expected to design innovative educational resources and adopt new pedagogical approaches which will support high-level of student engagement and success. To secure effective teaching in a DLE, academic staff has to be equipped with knowledge and tools to accommodate a broad range of educational situations and contents. Furthermore, it has been recognized that transition to DLE should also be accompanied with revised quality standards and necessary guidelines, applicable to an altered educational context.