European Credit Transfer System Research Articles

Development of professional knowledge in action: experiences from an action science design focusing on acknowledging communication in mental health

This article reports a multi-professional development project that was based on an action science design. The purpose was to develop 'acknowledging communication' in a psychiatric department for young people, and the objective to study the staffs' experiences of participating in the project. The professional part of the project has its foundation in Schibbye's treatment theory of inter-subjective understanding of relationships, and involves three main approaches from her theory: self-reflection, self-delimitation and emotional presence. The article presents the specific action design used, where reflection processes were developed in three different arenas: multidisciplinary Reflection groups, a Leader support group for the group leaders of the Reflection groups and collective Project seminars for all employees. A formal study programme designed to increase professional expertise, 15 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), was also offered. The research methods included the researcher's process notes taken during the process, field notes from participating in the Leader support group, and qualitative interviews of eight informants participating in the various reflection arenas. The article presents and discusses the experiences evolved from the methods that were developed during the professional action science project: reflection on specific situations of interaction with patients in the form of oral/written narratives and the development of video presentations in combination with 'reflective teams'. The study showed that to facilitate change in the role of staff members, it is important to combine several reflection arenas where theoretical principles can be converted into practical action. By drawing data from only one study site, the study has a limited transferability, but should be of interest for professionals working with clinical change processes.

An Assessment of the ECTS in Software Engineering: A Teaching Experience

Spain is currently implementing the regulatory modifications promulgated by the Declaration of Bologna, which should result in the updating of the structure of university degrees, and the inclusion of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) methodology. In some Spanish universities, the experimental adoption of this methodology has been encouraged, with the aim of gaining experience which could be extrapolated to other qualifications and subjects when this system becomes compulsory, which is expected to be in 2008. This paper examines the teaching methodologies that follow the experimental introduction of the ECTS in the Technical Software Engineering degree course taught at the Higher Technical College of the University of Cordoba, Spain. Based on data gathered in three specific subjects during the first and third years, this paper defines the teaching strategies implemented in order to increase the active role of students during their learning. The utility of e-learning tools in this type of teaching is discussed and the academic results are compared with results obtained in previous years using more traditional teaching methodologies.

A desktop application to learn the actual workload of the students

The use of European Credit Transfer system (ECTS) provides a reference standard for exchange students across the European Union (EU). It helps more transparency and compatibility to compare the self-study period and performance of students from the different educational structures. However, the implementation of ECTS and re-design of courses according to ECTS can be comparatively problematic in most countries. Teachers generally would like to learn the actual workload that is necessary to successfully complete the course(s) of the study program because, this is a more realistic evaluation for the duration of study, except the teaching time. In this study, we describe the design and implementation of a Windows Vista sidebar gadget tool, namely “Helo Gadget”. It runs like an instant messenger on the desktop and interactively collects data from the users. It periodically asks what the students are doing at that moment and saves the answers in the database. The statistics generated by the tool can be used to improve performance of the students and calculate the necessary course credits. The proposed tool enables teachers to monitor the activities of their own students and see these meaningful statistics of courses and students in a daily routine.

Diseño e implantación del Sistema Europeo de Transferencia de Créditos (ECTS) en una Asignatura de Química para Estudiantes de Ingeniería

The implementation of the ECTS system (European Credit Transfer System) has been initially tested in the course “Fundamentals of Chemistry” with the aim of improving the teaching methodology and student assessments used in previous years. With this aim in mind, the number of lectures has been reduced and students’ participation encouraged using both individual tasks (problem solving and class discussions) and group work (cooperative actions). These changes have increased the workload for both student and faculty, but the achieved results indicate learning and attitudinal gains as the number of students approved increased in a 10% respect to previous years.

Grading systems, features of assessment and students’ approaches to learning

The Bologna process aims at harmonising the higher education systems in the Europe. One of the most important tools proposed for such a purpose is the European Credit Transfer System. A significant element of this system is a common seven-step grading scale. It has previously been shown that assessment characteristics impact on students’ approaches to learning. Furthermore, there is also empirical evidence that judgement criteria have an effect on students’ learning. The focus of this article is on the relationships between grading systems, assessment characteristics and students’ learning. Empirical evidence from a Swedish survey study indicates that multi-step grading scales may have detrimental repercussions on the nature of the assessment tasks and thereby indirectly on the students’ approaches to learning. We suggest that the effects of grading systems need to be considered in the current discussion in order to support quality in learning.

Methodological changes in technical teaching in order to the European higher education area comparison between countries: Italy and Spain

Debate regarding the creation of a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) began in 1998 (Sorbonne Declaration) as an essential element to increase the international competitiveness of the European system of higher training and to facilitate both academic and working mobility of its citizens. In Italy, the reform was undertaken through a governmental regulation and was implemented in the academic year 1999-2000. In Spain, the process has been completely different and, almost ten years after, university transformation has not been undertaken yet. In this work we present a comparison between both countries regarding the way in which such transformation has been or is to be undertaken —by the teaching staff— for measuring the work of students to pass subjects in ECTS (European Credit Transfer System). With that purpose, we have attempted to obtain information about the way in which professors implement these transformations in their everyday work. Professors in Technical Teachings (Engineering) have been consulted in both Italy and Spain. The research has been structured into two stages. The first was developed in a three-month stay, from September to December 2006. In this stage, it was studied the process followed in Italy. To do this, a questionnaire was designed and it was given out to professionals of teaching engineering in Italy; the results obtained allowed us establishing interesting conclusions. In the second stage, such questionnaire was adapted for their delivery to professionals of teaching engineering in Spain, at the end of the academic year 2007/08 (June 2008). The conclusions drawn allow us recommending preferential lines of action to support the process of methodological transformation in current subjects and future syllabuses.

Evaluation of Undergraduate Students’ Involvement in Research Projects

Major changes have been taking place in Higher Education (HE) systems, part of them emerging to face the demands of the so-called Bologna Process. Within this context, researchers show a great concern with issues that may promote the quality of students’ learning. One of these concerns focuses on the importance of linking teaching and research in undergraduate studies since year one. A recent initiative of the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education is the creation of conditions to straighten this link by creating a set of research grants to undergraduate students, the so called BII (“Bolsas de Integracao na Investigacao”). The students can apply to these grants and get involved in research projects coordinated by senior researchers. At the University of Aveiro (Portugal), and in particular at the Department of Education, there are already undergraduate students engaged in several research projects, starting in the academic year 2008/09. Due to the novelty of these grants at Portuguese universities it is urgent to proceed to an evaluation process aiming to improve this initiative in subsequent years. Thus, the ultimate goal of this study is to (i) evaluate student outcomes of undergraduate research experience in Education; (ii) understand how the work developed is translated to European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), and (iii) identify the advantages and possible constrains of undergraduate students’ involvement in research activities. In this paper the authors will explore in detail phase one of the study, more specifically how this initiative is taking place at the Department of Education, and the data referred to a questionnaire delivered at the beginning of the research process.

Dental Education in Europe

Dental Education in Europe

Zukunftsfähige Raumplanungsausbildung: Das Beispiel der Fakultät Raumplanung der TU Dortmund

This article deals with the adaptation of study courses to the two-cycle bachelor’s and master’s study system in planning education, according to the Bologna process. At first crucial general conditions coming along with the Bologna Reform are introduced. This contains among others the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and new requirements concerning the structure and duration of academic programmes. Further basic considerations on planning education are presented. The main focus of the article is on the case study about the courses of planning studies belonging to the Technische Universität Dortmund, School of Spatial Planning.

Nine years of DentEd — a global perspective on dental education

This paper describes the three successive and successful DentEd projects, funded by the European Union, that established a productive thematic network which identified common content within the dental curriculum. It then developed an agreed professional profile, with a defined set of competences and a modular curriculum for all new dental graduates based on the European Credit Transfer System and trends in learning and assessment. The three phases took nine years to complete. Phase one investigated all aspects of dental undergraduate education and included over 30 visits to different dental schools by teams of dental educators. Phase two built on this work and included further visits to dental schools. Phase three refined the competency framework that had been developed in phase two and culminated in a global dental conference which finalised position papers on all aspects of dental education. The work and recommendations of the ICT in dental education group are considered in detail in the paper. The projects provided the stimulus for a number of European and international collaborations, including the web-based International Federation of Dental Education and Associations (IFDEA) Knowledge Centre and the International Virtual Dental School (IVIDENT), both of which aim to make increasingly sophisticated ICT-based educational material available worldwide and to promote international understanding.

Development of a new MOODLE module for a basic course on computer architecture

This work describes a new Moodle module, CTpractices , developed to give support to the practical content of a basic computer organization course. Within a constructivist pedagocical aproach Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment)[1], a very popular Learning Management Systema (LMS), provides a highly configurable web-based interface that includes a wide range of activities which are, in general, sufficient for a standard course. Nevertheless, when dealing with specific subjects, some functional features are missed, as it is the case when teaching a basic course on computer architecture, an essential topic in the computer science curricula. It involves practical assignments consisting on the design and simulation of elementary processors by means of CAD tools making use of schematic or VHDL design entries. Currently the University of Malaga is making an increasing effort oriented to the successfull implementation of the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) system. This involves changing the teaching practices carried out traditionally [2], looking towards the developing of assessment mechanisms in order to increase the student?s active effort. In our course, in order to better guide the students, teachers should perform a functional evaluation using a simulation tool to verify whether the students? designs work or not according to the specifications. This is a very time consuming task, becoming a common bottleneck when looking for a continuous assessment of students. One key element of the new CTpractices module is the automatic checking and verification engine that keeps information about the current state of students work, supplying automatic assessment features and feedback to the student. Teachers can modify the project description and define different testing benches. The module stores historical information concerning the results of the different evaluations, extracting statistics and metrics which are very useful when determining the student workload in the context of the ETS model. Additionally, this new module is oriented to promote a collaborative teamwork allowing to define student teams in a more operative way than built-in moodle groups. Other basic aspects supported are material repository, deadlines, hosting, etc. The new module inherits a part of its functionality from a specific LMS previously developed by the authors, that has been in use from academic year 2004 [3], widely proving its usefulness. It has been re-designed according to the Moodle philosophy, making possible to easily extend its application to other similar subjects. The choice for Moodle is motivated by its modular organization based on free software like PHP and MySQL. From the developer point of view, this allows to add new modules using well-known interfaces. As Moodle is currently used by the Virtual Campus of our university, this new module breaks the isolation of the previous platform as refers to activities like forums, messages or event signaling.

Literary Studies in The Netherlands

Comparative literature in The Netherlands has been strongly affected by the so-called agreement, the outcome of a 1999 summit on higher education during which the member states of the European Union, joined by a substantial number of non-EU nations, some of which have since joined the Union, agreed to create one single--and transparent--model for European higher education by the year 2010. The model that the ministers of education who met in Bologna agreed on is essentially the Anglo-American Bachelor-Master model, with the Bachelor phase taking either three years (in traditional universities) or four years (in professional schools and other institutions of tertiary education that prior to Bologna were not allowed to call themselves universities), and the Master phase taking either one or two years, depending on the generosity of the minister of education in question. It is worth pointing out, by the way, that such generosity is always extended to the sciences, but not always to arts and humanities programs. In any case, the enormously diverse and heterogeneous landscape of European higher education has in the new millennium been replaced, or is in the process of being replaced, by a far more homogeneous academic horizon. That landscape, however, has not been completely effaced. In fact, virtually every participant in this wholesale restructuring has succeeded in creating special features that are as baffling as the original diversity they sought to supplant--in The Netherlands, for instance, Masters programs in literary studies come in three varieties: one year, one-and-a-half year, and two years. There is no denying that things have considerably improved with regard to important issues such as the exchange of students--the agreement also included one uniform credit system (ECTS--European Credit Transfer System--for which the French surely have a different acronym)--and the reciprocal acceptance of degrees. In The Netherlands the restructuring of all programs that was necessitated by the introduction of the Bachelor-Master model made it possible to tackle a problem that had begun to manifest itself in the early 1990s: the ever decreasing interest in language programs and, within those programs, the decreasing interest in literary studies. To give one example: in The Netherlands new majors in German language and literature programs, which are offered by six universities, totaled around 120 in 1991. In 2001 the number of new majors was less than 30, with one program reduced to only two new majors, one of whom out of sheer frustration transferred to another university. (This has all the appearance of a tall story, but its source is the student in question himself, who was interviewed by a student newspaper.) All modern languages, including Dutch, were hit by what can only be called an enrollment disaster and were all forced to downsize through the 1990s and the early 2000s. Since keeping small programs afloat is a costly business, the restructuring that had to take place anyway led in a good many institutions to greater cooperation among the various language programs. …

Teaching applied genetics and molecular biology to agriculture engineers. Application of the European Credit Transfer System

We have been teaching applied molecular genetics to engineers and adapted the teaching methodology to the European Credit Transfer System. We teach core principles of genetics that are universal and form the conceptual basis of most molecular technologies. The course then teaches widely used techniques and finally shows how different techniques can be put together to solve specific technological problems from the environmental and food industry. Students from Spain, France, Turkey, and Poland have been able to understand and use simple scientific literature and propose experimental strategies as essays to tackle simple problems of technical interest.

Putting Dreyfus into action: the European credit transfer system

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to look closely at the development of a European Credit Transfer System for Vocational Education and Training (ECVET). The European Commission, together with the member States, are working on it and several pilot projects have been initiated within the Leonardo da Vinci Programme of the European Commission. The problem of the transfer as well as a convincing transparency of vocational competences has yet been developed. The aim is to discuss this in the article.Design/methodology/approachThis contribution illustrates a model using the Dreyfus/Dreyfus approach of acquisition of profiles in such a way that the levels of competence development are not applied to overall professional actions (as shown for pilots, nurses, teachers and others), but to smaller entities of professional profiles.FindingsWhile strongly taking into account work related tasks and contexts (objects, tools, work organisation) the authors define “groups of competencies” and apply Dreyfus' ladder to these new entities. That means the authors adopt Dreyfus' model in two ways: by applying the model to groups of competencies (corresponding to specific core work profiles) instead of using it for overall competency profiles (corresponding to professionals/ experts); and they make the model flexible and dynamic by not restricting it to a certain number of levels, but only defining the differences between levels.Research/limitations/implicationsThe background of the paper is the so‐called work process analysis to identify the work related tasks and related groups of competencies.Practical implicationsThe article offers a new concept for the European discussion of the Qualification Framework as well as the Credit Transfer System.Originality/valueThis article provides an alternative to existing European policy.

Konzeption, Implementierung und Evaluation eines interfakultären Master of Medical Education Programms

The implementation of new medical licensing regulations (AAppO 2003) was the starting point for radical curricular changes in all German medical schools. In 2004, the postgraduate and interfaculty Master of Medical Education (MME) degree programme was established at the University of Heidelberg under the auspices of the Medical Faculty Association (Medizinischer Fakultätentag, MFT) and supported by the Association for the Promotion of Science and Humanities in Germany (Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft). This new degree programme is intended to train multipliers and leaders in medical education, to build a German-speaking network and to strengthen educational research. The eight one-week MME modules are organised by seven locations in Germany (Munich, Tuebingen, Muenster/Essen, Berlin, Heidelberg, Cologne, Dresden) and an annually changing international faculty. The instructor teams are composed of national and international experts. Major focal points include: curriculum development, education theory, teaching and exam methods, evaluations, team building and group dynamics, project management, leadership, and faculty development, as well as educational research. The modules are connected with each other longitudinally: each participant conducts a project to improve teaching in his or her own faculty and writes a master's thesis about an educational research project. Overall, the participants earn 60 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) in the course of two years while working. So far 100 participants (25 per year) from 33 of 34 medical faculties have started the program and 19 participants (50% of the participants from Cohort 1, 29% of the participants from Cohort 2) completed the program. The evaluation of the individual modules showed a very high level of participant satisfaction. In two modules, the evaluation results demonstrated a need for change. In 2006, an external evaluation conducted by international experts positively highlighted the MME Programme structure as a leading example emphasizing all aspects of modern medical education, including relevant managerial skills. The MME Programme as a contribution to the professionalization of medical education in the German-speaking area has become firmly established. The impact of the MME Programme on the career development of its participants and the institutional development of the medical faculties still remains to be evaluated.

Development of a Questionnaire to Evaluate Pilot Schemes Adapting Undergraduate Courses to the Requirements of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)

Convergence towards the European Higher Education Area involves a profound change within the university sector. The emphasis in the teaching-learning process shifts away from the teacher and onto the student. In order to deal with the major changes in the reform, the Faculty of Psychology of the University of the Basque Country, like other faculties throughout Europe, introduced a pilot scheme involving the adaptation of several undergraduate courses to the ECTS (the European Credit Transfer System). Based on data collected from a sample of 218 students – 143 belonging to the experimental group which received teaching based on ECTS credits and 75 belonging to the control group taught in accordance with the current system – the aim of this study was to develop and validate a questionnaire that assesses whether, from the students’ viewpoint, the courses adapted in this pilot scheme met the pedagogical requirements proposed by the new system. The results show that the instrument has a four-dimensional structure with adequate internal consistency and good validity indices.

Una propuesta de evaluación en el EEES: el uso del portfolio en una clase de idiomas

This article is based on putting into practice methodological experiences based on the philosophy of the European Higher Education such as collaborative learning and autonomous learning. Apart from this, the article is also based on using new criteria and procedures to evaluate students in such a way that the final exam is not the only grade to base students' learning process. Our end was to emphasize that students are the protagonists of the teaching- learning process and not just passive receivers of the information selected by the lecturer. To put into practice these ideas related to the European Credit Transfer System, we decided to evaluate students using a portfolio in a core subject of the third year of English Studies. The results show that students learn more and get better results.

European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System: An Alternative Way to Calculate the ECTS Grades

The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) has been developed and instituted to facilitate student mobility and academic recognition. This paper presents, discuss, and illustrates the pertinence and the limitation of the current statistical distribution of the ECTS grades, and we propose an alternative way to calculate the ECTS grades attribution in order to improve the ECTS system. 1. The authors extend their gratitude to C. Buret for the English language assistance and the Department of Educational Pedagogy for its financial support.

Análisis del trabajo no presencial utilizando un enfoque ETCS

Credit ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) is based on hours of dedication that students must assume to obtain the aims of a program. This research goal was to check importance of student’s homework in their first year in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences at Universidad Europea de Madrid to try to look for the right balance student’s weekly homework. Our specific goals are, in one side; generate activities considered homework, including measured average time of dedication for the student. On the other side, to classify activities to be considered homework from different points of view, to have a global vision of qualification acquired the students through their independently accepted activities.

Higher Education Structure at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Tuzla: Influence of the Bologna Agreement

The University of Tuzla has in the recent past implemented all its activities in both institutional and legal terms. As a result, all higher education institutions (Faculties) are now integrated in one legal entity — the University. In doing so, the university has been guided by European standards in higher education. The Faculty of Electrical Engineering, as a member of the University of Tuzla, began to educate the first generation of undergraduate students in complete accordance with the Bologna Declaration in the academic year 2003/2004. At the same time the educational credit system ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) was established. In the academic year 2005/2006 Electrical Engineering was the first university faculty to establish one-year postgraduate studies with ECTS. Now students obtain a Bachelors degree after four years of study and a Masters degree after at least one additional year. An overview of the undergraduate and postgraduate course structure at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering is presented here.