Experience in implementation of outcomes of the tempus "tuning Russia" international project

Purpose – to present the research results of the international project Tempus "Tuning Russia". In particular, this research will identify and describe the academic programs, as well as present the form on describing the competence, level of proficiency, learning outcomes and evaluation criteria.

Methodology – As a methodological base, the research employs the dialectical method of knowledge and system analysis. During the research the following general scientific methods and techniques were used such as: analysis and synthesis, comparison, generalisation with relevant conclusions.

Originality/value – The need of organizing teaching and academic staff upskilling programs in the field of implementation of competence-oriented methods and technologies as well as planning personal teaching activities is stressed. It is described how these challenges are met at UNN in the framework of the development of programs for the academic staff upskilling based on the Tuning methodology.

Findings – Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod (UNN) participation in the Tempus "Tuning Russia" international project is analyzed. It is described how the aims of the project are implemented in the UNN academic process. The issues of curricula reform based on the Tuning methodology are examined, as well as a scheme of curricula development based on the Tuning methodology designed at UNN, particularly the development of teaching and academic staff upskilling programs. It is pointed out that the use of the Tuning methodology allows to improve curricula according to the requirements of the third generation of the Federal State Education Standards. 

Tuning project: key principles

Russia joined the Bologna process in September 2003, at the meeting of Ministers of Education from the EU countries in Berlin, and now it is fully involved in creating a common European Higher Education Area in order to achieve students’ international mobility and recognition of their qualifications by the EU employers. Joint educational projects between Russian and European higher education institutions, particularly projects of the Tempus program (since 2014 – Erasmus Plus), promote the design of academic programs aimed at coming together of national educational systems of the EU countries and Russia [1].

The Tempus "Tuning Russia" international project, carried out from 2010 to 2013, teamed up 4 European universities – the University of Deusto (Bilbao, Spain) – the project coordinator; the University of Groningen (Groningen, the Netherlands); Trinity College, the University of Dublin (Dublin, Ireland); the University of Padua (Padua, Italy), as well as 13 Russian universities.

The project was aimed at Russian participants’ mastering the Tuning methodology and its further implementation in "educational philosophy and practice of Russian higher education institutions (HEIs)" [2, p.198]. The key principle of the Tuning methodology is that "universities do not look for the harmonization of their degree programmes or any sort of unified, prescriptive or definitive curricula; but simply for points of convergence and common understanding" [3, p. 45]. These agreed parameters are generic and professional competences of graduates, in other words students’ aptitude for professional activities. The aims of an academic program are formulated in terms of competences as this very terminology is known to employers who use these indicators to judge about graduates’ qualifications.

It is impossible to form competences within one subject. Formation of competences is a cyclic process that is realized due to the efforts of all the participants of the academic process by developing the content area and implementing modern educational methods and techniques. The levels of formation of competences are evaluated by observing students’ work within different subjects of the curricula at all levels of the academic process. However, it’s not easy to measure a competence. That’s why the notion "learning outcomes" is pointed out. The learning outcomes are not that diverse as the "...formulations determining, that will know or are capable to do the student as a result of educational activity" [4] or "...formulations that, as it is expected, the student will be able to do as a result of educational activity" [5].

As a matter of fact, learning outcomes "are formulated by teachers as expected and measured "constituents" of competences: knowledge, skills, experience that every student should acquire and be able to demonstrate at completion of each level of an academic program" [6, p.28]. Very important correctly to perceive their role and value, as "the outcomes of training represent base "building units" for maintenance of a systems transparency and higher education proficiencies…" [7].

Learning outcomes can be formulated either for each module of an academic program or for a program as a whole. Learning outcomes placed on record according to the evaluation criteria are the basis for credits given to students as well as indicators of students’ achievement of a certain level of competence.

The list of competences defined by the participants of the project after considering the results of inquiry of employers, teachers, senior students and graduates in different subject areas and the related generalized learning outcomes are represented at the project’s website [8]. Competences and generalized learning outcomes corresponding to them are spread among different levels of education, with the difference in the degree of complexity of the tasks performed and the degree of self-sufficiency of their performance. The results of defining the indicators of the level of competences’ formation for each academic cycle are also provided. Within the project approaches to learning, teaching and evaluation acceptable for the competence-oriented education were defined. As the "problem of the implementators of the educational programs is to run in application of learning outcomes to esteem training from the learners' point of view, instead of teachers, and by that make more rich quality of educational experience received by the students" [9, p.103].

The work of Russian participants of the project resulted in the series of publications under the common title "Reference points for development and realization of academic programs" in different subject areas, which can be found on the website of the International Tuning Academy [10].

Designing academic programs within the Tuning methodology

According to the Tuning methodology designing of academic programs for different levels of training – for Bachelor, Master, postgraduate studies – should consist of the following stages:

1. Defining the demand for a program (on the basis of consultations with the persons concerned: students, teachers, employers, graduates) in order to confirm the
2. Analysis of the results of the consultations that is aimed at defining the list of generic and professional competences and the level of Bachelors’, Masters’ and postgraduate students’
3. Description of a program.

• defining possible spheres of graduates’ professional activity;
• initial description of the program content aimed at the further development of generic and professional competences;
• development of the content of competences at which the designed program is oriented;

4. Formulating learning outcomes of the program.
5. Designing the
6. Defining competences and learning outcomes for each
7. Finding means for and approaches to the development and evaluation of competences.
8. Analysis of the compliance of the program content with the development of competences.

The common approach to the program’s design may be represented in the form of a table (Table 1). 

Table 1 – Project of an academic program 

Defining the list of competences, forming the content of a course, planning the lessons a teacher should put questions that will help him/her to avoid a formal approach and improve efficiency of students’ learning process:

1. What does this competence mean to your students?
2. How do the teaching methods you use aid students to acquire this competence?
3. What learning activities do your students perform in order to develop this competence?
4. How do you evaluate the level of students’ competence?
5. How do your students learn about the level of their competence? If students failed to acquire a competence, how do they learn about the reasons for that?

An algorithm for planning the content and development of competences

The work of the Tuning Russia project participants from Lobachevsky State University of Nizhni Novgorod resulted in creation of an algorithm for planning the content and development of the chosen competences that is adjusted to Russian reality:

1. Choosing a competence which is important in a particular subject area and which will be formed. Choosing a competence it’s possible to use the statements of the State Federal Education Standards, making additions or amendments if
2. Planning the development of competences within an academic course:
   • description of a competence and it's connection with the other competences;
   • defining the system of competence characteristics (an indicator or a generalized result of learning) – defined with the use of nouns;
   • validation of indicators of the chosen competence;
   • grading the indicators (only Bachelor level, only Master level, Bachelor and Master);
   • formulating learning outcomes in concrete actions in movement for each indicator (descriptors) – formulated with the use of verbs;
   • validation of the correlation of the described actions with the indicator and the way they reflect the developmental dynamics of the chosen competence.
3. Selection of means of development of the chosen competence. Among the means of a competence development are both the content of the subject area and educational In order to develop competences it’s necessary to use not only traditional methods, but also the methods that insure active learning: methods of developing critical thinking skills [11, 12], project-oriented methods [13] etc.
4. Selection of means of outcome monitoring (evaluation). Usually the means of a competence development serve as the means of outcome monitoring [14]. However, there are some specific means of authentic evaluation, such as portfolio [12, p.264-279; 15].

In practice following this algorithm means successive filling in the following table (Table 2).

Table 2 – Description of a competence, level of proficiency, indicators (learning outcomes) and descriptors (evaluation criteria)

The following is a sample description of a professional competence in terms of indicators and descriptors worked out by the participants of the "Ecology" subject group within the "Tuning Russia" project (Table 3) [15, p.63-64].

At UNN the participants of the "Tuning Russia" project designed an academic module on planning competences’ development which was included in the curriculum of the staff upskilling courses.

The described algorithm of the development of competences is used in designing academic courses in Mathematics, Mechanics, Chemistry, Law, Rhetoric, Insurance Business and History. The project participants’ electronic publications on the results of the Tuning methodology implementation by UNN teaching staff in designing academic courses are available on UNN website under the head “Educational Electronic Resources” [16]. 

Table 3 – Sample description of a competence "Ability to analyze independently materials on environmental pollution in the field and in labs, ability to discuss, describe, document and represent the research findings" (Bachelor degree) 

Participants of the staff upskilling programs realized by UNN Advanced Training Faculty gave positive feedback. They emphasize that implementation of the Tuning methodology allows to reform academic courses in compliance with the requirements of the State Federal Education Standards of the third generation. However, to use the offered algorithm a teacher should be able to follow each of the mentioned steps. This requires upskilling in the field of competence-oriented methods and techniques as well as in planning pedagogic activity of a teacher.

Designing upskilling programs for academic staff 

The understanding of necessity to reform upskilling programs led to organization of an academic workshop elaborated by the members of UNN Tuning Centre, the Chair of Continuous Professional Education and the Advanced Training Faculty. The workshop was aimed at creation of a project of upskilling programs for HEIs’ academic staff based on the Tuning methodology and oriented at the reform of academic (educational) programs.

The results of the workshop are as follows:

1. The workshop attendees analyzed UNN staff upskilling programs, up-to-date aspects of development of staff upskilling system as well as requirements for the quality of academic
2. The workshop attendees defined content and organizational priorities of staff upskilling programs for different groups of
3. The workshop attendees formulated aims for different programs, designed the content of programs, defined aims and outcomes for each particular
4. The workshop attendees designed the content of particular modules of various programs.
5. The workshop attendees designed two versions of a program comprising all modules.
6. The workshop attendees formulated proposals to include particular modules to other staff upskilling programs.

The workshop results provided the basis for designing a new academic program on modern approaches to the design of upskilling programs for academic staff. Currently a manual on implementation of the Tuning methodology in designing academic programs is being worked out to ensure methodological support of this upskilling program.

References 

1. Gorylev, I., Grudzinskaya E. Ju. The International Educational Projects as a Means of an Intrusion Innovation Pedagogical Technologies in the Russian Universities (on an Example of the Project Tempus "Project-Oriented Methods of Training at the Russian Universities" // Bulletin of a Higher School. – 2010. –№ 9. –– pp. 28-31.
2. Karavayeva, V., Kovtun, Y. N. Adapting the Tuning Programme Profiles to the Needs of Russian Higher Education // Tuning Journal for Higher Education. – 2013. – November, 1. – pp. 187-202.
3. Towards Comparability of Higher Education Programmers: Information – 2013. – Bilbao: University Deusto. – pp. 172.
4. Morss, K., Murray, Teaching at University. – London: Sage Publications, 2005.
5. Jenkins, A., Unwin, D. How to write learning outcomes. NCGIA GISCC Learning Outcomes [Electronic source]. – 1996. – URL: ncgia.ucsb.edu/education/curricula/giscc/units/format/outcomes. html Date (Accessed: 12.05.2014)
6. Reference Points for the Design and Delivery of Degree Programmes in Management. – 2013. – Bilbao: University Deusto. – pp. 60.
7. Adams, Using Learning Outcomes: A consideration of the nature, role, application and implications for European education of employing learning outcomes at the local, national and international levels // Report on United Kingdom Bologna Seminar. – 2004. – Herriot-Watt University.
8. Official web-site of Tuning Russia [Electronic source]. – URL: http://tuningrussia.org (Accessed: 03.06.2014)
9. Allan J. Learning Outcomes in Higher Education // Studies in Higher Education. – 1996. – № 21 (1). – pp. 93-108.
10. The Tuning Russia Reference Points [Electronic source]. – URL: deusto-publicaciones.es/ deusto/index.php/es/tuning-es/tuning-russia (Accessed: 03.06.2014)
11. Grudzinskaja, E. , Mariko, V. V. Active Methods of Training in University. – Nizhni Novgorod: NNGU, 2007. – pp. 182. www.unn.ru/pages/aids_journals/2007/88.pdf (Accessed: 03.06.2014)
12. Zagashev, I. , Zair-Bek, S. I. Critical Thinking: Technology of Development. – St.-Petersburg: Publishing house «Alliance» a Delta», 2003. – pp. 284.
13. Handbook on the Project-Oriented Methods (PO’s) in – Nizhni Novgorod: NNGU, 2007. – pp. 124
14. Grudzinskaja E. , Mariko V. V. The substantiation of competences selection for educational programs implementation [Electronic source]. – Nizhni Novgorod: NNGU, 2012. – pp. 55. – URL: www.unn. ru/e-learning (Accessed: 03.06.2014)
15. Educational portfolios [Electronic source]. – URL: unn.ru/pages/aids_journals/2007/88.pdf (Accessed: 03.06.2014)
16. Reference Points for the Design and Delivery of Degree Programmes in – Bilbao: University Deusto, 2013. – pp. 100.
17. Educational Electronic Resources [Electronic source]. – URL: unn.ru/books (Accessed: 12.05.2014)