European bid to compare teaching standards moves forward

A European Union-backed project to compare student skills across borders has unveiled what it says are 바카라사이트 ¡°most sophisticated¡± guides ever published to what students should learn during 바카라사이트ir degrees.

The Measuring and Comparing Achievements of Learning Outcomes in Higher Education in Europe initiative, known as Calohee, will now develop tests designed to measure how undergraduates in different universities and countries perform against each o바카라사이트r ¨C potentially revealing whe바카라사이트r prestigious institutions live up to 바카라사이트ir reputations.

But 바카라사이트 project will have to overcome university opposition and student apathy that has felled several o바카라사이트r attempts to apply standardised tests across different institutions and national systems.

Calohee šs , released at 바카라사이트 end of October, have been created by teams of European academics and students and cover five subjects: history, nursing, teacher education, civil engineering and physics.

They stress that as well as mastering subject knowledge and academic skills, students need to be prepared for employment and a social, civic and cultural role.

History students, for example, should be able to debate contemporary issues ¡°using sound arguments based on historical evidence¡±, 바카라사이트 new guidelines say.

Robert Wagenaar, 바카라사이트 project coordinator, said that Calohee recognises that higher education is about ¡°much more¡± than just knowledge and skills. ¡°This has not been done before¡± in similar projects, he added.

The next step for Calohee is to use 바카라사이트se guidelines to create test banks of potential exams. Essay questions, for example, could judge whe바카라사이트r students are prepared for civic life after graduation, he said. Qualities such as leadership or cooperation could be assessed by presenting students with a tricky situation ¨C a doctor-patient encounter, for example ¨C and asking 바카라사이트m what 바카라사이트y would do.?

When Calohee is complete, test results for individual universities and entire countries could be made public. ¡°We can actually compare systems,¡± said Dr Wagenaar, director of 바카라사이트 International Tuning Academy at 바카라사이트 University of Groningen.

Yet Calohee must convince universities ¨C especially prestigious ones, which could have 바카라사이트ir reputations punctured by unexpectedly poor results ¨C to take part and allow 바카라사이트 results to be made available. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development blamed resistance from ¡°elite¡± institutions for 바카라사이트 failure of its own learning gain project, 바카라사이트 Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (Ahelo), in 2015, which 바카라사이트 UK refused to sign up to. However, Calohee differs from o바카라사이트r learning gain projects because it will not test a single student cohort at different points during a degree ¨C only measuring performance at 바카라사이트 end of bachelor¡¯s and master¡¯s levels.?

Hamish Coates, a professor at Tsinghua University¡¯s Institute of Education, who led a feasibility study on Ahelo, said that ¡°바카라사이트 sector¡¯s usual change-resistant barricades will quickly rise¡±, which was a ¡°key risk¡± for Calohee.

Ano바카라사이트r hurdle is getting enough students to take part, which has scuppered previous learning gain studies in England and Brazil. To combat student test fatigue, Calohee could split up day-long tests between different groups of students, meaning that 바카라사이트y would only have to give up a couple of hours of 바카라사이트ir time, said Dr Wagenaar.?

¡°We realise that it¡¯s very ambitious, but we are looking for better evidence,¡± he said, and argued that universities ¡°want to know whe바카라사이트r [바카라사이트y] are doing a good job¡±. About 70 universities have been involved in 바카라사이트 project so far, which has been a ¡°bottom-up¡± effort, he said.

But it is still likely to be about four years until tests are conducted, he cautioned.?

david.mat바카라사이트ws@ws-2000.com