Abstract
How do we wish to structure the universities of tomorrow? There is probably no single response to this question, but it is possible to make a contribution from the work psychology perspective that offers ways and mean to achieve higher quality in university teaching. The aim of this chapter is to describe various educational innovation activities, based on models and applications developed in the field of human resources, that make it possible to meet the needs and challenges that universities will have to face in the immediate future. The proposed activities arise from personal and career development assessments and place the student at the center of the process, since the commitment of universities is to develop student potential as far as possible in order to ensure that in their professional lives former students have the knowledge and competencies required of them by society.
TopAssessment Proposals
From the perspective of assessment, when students are assigned to each centre of studies (based on their interests, their average academic scores and the average of a knowledge-based entry examination), these centres assume that the students have the same initial level of knowledge and apply standard programmes for all of them. Perhaps one could make this assumption from the point of view of knowledge (though the “introductory courses” provided before the start of the academic programme to even out knowledge levels suggest that this is not the case), but what about transversal competencies?
Do students have similar levels in digital, language, teamwork, planning and organisational competencies? Obviously not, yet it does not appear important to pay attention to competencies with such importance in any degree course for the various tasks and activities to be carried out. It seems that responsibility for assessing transversal competencies falls to the teachers of each subject, yet these are strategic needs. As such, they should be assessed on a standard basis in each centre, with an identification of what to assess and how to do so and different measures being taken over time.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Flipped Learning: A pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter.
Identification of Training Needs: Training process that through different assessment techniques allows to detect the weaknesses or needs of workers (students) in order to play their role in an optimal way.
Open Space Technology: A technique that allows discussion of relevant issues in an open way. Facilitates the generation of new ideas and approaches to a topic. Panels are established with questions or aspects related to the topic to be discussed. A facilitator moderates every panel. The participants circulate freely through them, contributing their ideas and discussing about others’ contributions. Although it can be applied in small groups, it is ideal for boosting large groups.
What You Want to Happen: Technique for the development of people and organizations. This is an open and thought-provoking question, offering each individual a protagonist’s role in terms of verbalizing the future that they desire.
Transversal or Key Competences: Combination of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that all individuals need for their personal fulfillment and development, employability, social inclusion, and active citizenship. They can be acquired and developed throughout lifelong and through formal, non-formal, and informal learning.
Mentoring: Peer mentoring is a support process by way of which the more experienced students from higher academic years help incoming students to adapt more quickly to the university, under the supervision of a teacher who acts as coordinator.
Gamification: Process related with the player´s thinking and the game technics to attract users and solve problems.