M. (Miquel) Pérez Torres, Dr

AI in Education Project - Vision and Training for University Educators

New functionalities of AI tools around education demand for specific support from FSE to develop a critical AI litearcy for educators. After the publication of RUG basic rules for the use on AI in teaching, FSE has complemented them with a vision that points out how AI literacy is defined and the underlying values that should guide the decision-making.

In collaboration with the INFINITE Erasmus + project and other initiatives from RUG, this project attempts to provide a structured set of trainings that allow FSE educators to make a critical use of AI tools available from 2024-25.

Profissionalisation of Teaching Assistants - Quality Agreements Project

Teacher Assistants (TAs) play a major role through their educational activities at FSE. Despite this, their previous teaching experience and training are frequently missing or insufficient. The Professionalize Teaching Assistants project aims to create sustainable support for BSc and MSc students at FSE who work as TAs, focusing on small-scale education from a STEM-specific standpoint. To achieve this objective, a group of Teaching Assistant students, educators from different disciplines, and education specialists have collaborated to develop training modules that address diverse specific TA needs at FSE. These modules are based on an analysis of FSE’s demands for TA training, which converged on areas such as Assessment Skills, Inquiry Labs Environments, Problem-Based Learning Methodologies, Intercultural Awareness, and Gender Bias. The catalogue of elective modules is expected to be piloted in the next academic year. Additionally, guidance for other FSE members will be elaborated, informed by research and current good practices related to the selection and professionalisation of TAs.

FSE Blended Learning Project

Blended learning is an educational approach that combines face-to-face classroom instruction with online learning activities. There are many possible benefits to a good blended learning design, like increased accessibility, flexibility, personalized learning and engagement. However, designing an effective blended learning environment can be challenging with respect to design choices, resistance to change (from students, but also from the teacher or programme), and many technical and technological challenges.

This project aims to support FSE teachers who are interested in blended learning to redesign their education in an effective way. The goals of the project are:

• Developing an FSE vision on Blended Learning: What is BL? Why BL? What is effective for the FSE context?

• Developing a sustainable and coherent professional development offer for staff (considering time constraints, teachers’ prior knowledge, etc.) by

  • encouraging bottom-up initiatives,

  • creating connections between colleagues who want to incorporate BL in their teaching practice, so they can benefit from exchange with peers, and

  • provide research and evidence-based information and development opportunities for teaching staff.