Training of the Trainers UOC

21/10/2025

The new edited volume of papers on Inclusive Student-centred Pedagogies is out providing more evidence-based research on how we can design learning environments and assessment for all. LINK https://zenodo.org/records/17407220

07/10/2025

Really happy to share our new Faculty Development Guide with Editors Helena Reierstam, PhD, and Meeri Hellsten and partners of Erasmus + COALITION Elena Marin Eleni Katsarou Roeland M. van der Rijst Mario de Jonge in an attempt to transform Teaching Through Evidence-Based Faculty Development.

Six European universities joined forces in the Erasmus+ COALITION project to design, implement, and evaluate inclusive, evidence-based faculty development processes. The result is a practical guide for academic developers and faculty members who wish to strengthen their teaching with strategies that are tested, collaborative, and grounded in research.
This hashtag Project Book moves beyond theory to show how peer observation, lesson redesign, and action research can directly enhance teaching quality and inclusivity across disciplines. Faculty who engage with these processes gain structured tools to reflect on their practice, co-create with students, and align their teaching with today’s diverse learning environments.
A key takeaway is the Self-Development Checklist, a practical tool faculty can use before designing lessons to ensure their teaching is inclusive, student-centred, and responsive to real classroom needs.
We invite you to explore these resources and apply them in your own context, transforming everyday teaching into a pathway for sustainable, inclusive academic excellence. LINK
For more: Really happy to share our new Faculty Development Guide with Editors Helena Reierstam, PhD, and Meeri Hellsten and partners of Erasmus + COALITION Elena Marin Eleni Katsarou Roeland M. van der Rijst Mario de Jonge
in an attempt to transform Teaching Through Evidence-Based Faculty Development.

Six European universities joined forces in the Erasmus+ COALITION project to design, implement, and evaluate inclusive, evidence-based faculty development processes. The result is a practical guide for academic developers and faculty members who wish to strengthen their teaching with strategies that are tested, collaborative, and grounded in research.
This hashtag Project Book moves beyond theory to show how peer observation, lesson redesign, and action research can directly enhance teaching quality and inclusivity across disciplines. Faculty who engage with these processes gain structured tools to reflect on their practice, co-create with students, and align their teaching with today’s diverse learning environments.
A key takeaway is the Self-Development Checklist, a practical tool faculty can use before designing lessons to ensure their teaching is inclusive, student-centred, and responsive to real classroom needs.
We invite you to explore these resources and apply them in your own context, transforming everyday teaching into a pathway for sustainable, inclusive academic excellence. LINK https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CMcdOuFagbHciGMNdRaDcFWovN9rtnmG/view?usp=share_link

26/09/2025

On Wednesday 1st October at 16.00 CET (17.00 Greek time), we are pleased to invite you to the book launch of EU Erasmus+ COALITION Project, a new

Faculty Guidebook on Inclusive Student-Centred Pedagogies (IScP) in Higher Education.

📅 Date: Wednesday, October 1st, 2025
🕓 Time: 16:00–17:00 CET

LINK: https://teams.microsoft.com/dl/launcher/launcher.html?url=%2F_%23%2Fl%2Fmeetup-join%2F19%3Ameeting_N2E5ZDg5MGQtMGYxYi00MTU2LWIzYzMtYjhlMDIzNjQ5YjNm%40thread.v2%2F0%3Fcontext%3D%257b%2522Tid%2522%253a%2522ca2a7f76-dbd7-4ec0-9108-6b3d524fb7c8%2522%252c%2522Oid%2522%253a%25229a2ac8a2-7d5f-44bd-acca-3b1fc6cb4c26%2522%257d%26anon%3Dtrue&type=meetup-join&deeplinkId=a0c63e35-2cc7-44c7-8ce1-8bc095c2cc85&directDl=true&msLaunch=true&enableMobilePage=true&suppressPrompt=true

The Guidebook, co-edited by Helena Reierstam, Kallia Katsampoxaki-Hodgetts, and Meeri Hellstén, is a self-regulation and self-development tool for faculty, which also informs CTL coordinators, Programme leaders and Policymakers about IScP. It brings together a conceptual framework, case studies from six European universities, and policy recommendations, offering evidence-based strategies for inclusive student-centred teaching.

This event will provide an opportunity to:

Explore how the Guide can support faculty development and everyday teaching practice.

Learn about case studies and lessons learned from the COALITION partners.

Engage with policy recommendations that link pedagogy with institutional strategy.

We warmly welcome Presidents of Departments, faculty members, policy makers and Centres of Teaching and Learning to join us and celebrate this important milestone.

01/09/2025

Invitation to a 30-Minute Webinar 🌟

“Three-Stage Exams the C.R.A.M. Way” (Collaborative Reflective Assessment Model)

📅 Date & Time: Tuesday 02/09/2025 14.00 Greek time
🔗 LINK (MSTEAMS)

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_OWE0OTUyZDYtYWVlZi00MjFkLTgzZTItNTdiNzdmMmFjMTc5%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22845ee061-0700-412a-90f5-1465fb9a39f1%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225c7591c9-f35f-476c-8ecb-fb451a1c8c15%22%7d

Why join?

Most three-stage exams stop at collaboration.
CRAM goes further:
1️⃣ Individual accountability – each student begins independently.
2️⃣ Peer collaboration – students engage in dialogue, clarify misconceptions, and co-construct knowledge.
3️⃣ Teacher-mediated reflection – the unique final stage where structured feedback fosters self-regulation, feedback literacy, and deeper learning.

Unlike other three-stage or two-stage exams, CRAM integrates inclusivity, reflexivity, and formative feedback directly into assessment, turning exams into learning opportunities rather than just evaluation moments.

👩‍🏫 For colleagues interested in:

Inclusive, student-centered pedagogy

Formative and reflective assessment

Reducing exam anxiety while enhancing learning


🕒 Just 30 minutes to explore a fresh approach that makes assessment more meaningful!

25/06/2025

Our Web Carnival Sunday keynote will be given by Scott Thornbury.

Join us at 09:00 UK time on 29th June to hear Scott talk about Writing methodology texts: bridging the research – practice gap.
How do methodology writers mediate what has been described as a ‘dysfunctional discourse’, i.e. that between researchers and practitioners? I interviewed a number of such writers in order to find out how they perform this bridging function. In this talk I’ll present and discuss my findings, and attempt to draw some principles that might guide others – such as teacher educators – who also mediate research and classroom practice.

About Scott Thornbury:
Scott is a teacher, teacher trainer and writer: he works in the field of English language education and has a Masters degree in TEFL from the University of Reading, UK. Originally from New Zealand/Aotearoa, he has been living in Barcelona, Spain, for a number of years now.
Prior to this, he worked in the UK and Egypt, and, until recently, he taught on the MA TESOL program at The New School in New York. Scott also travels extensively to give workshops and conference presentations.
​His writing credits include several books for teachers on language and methodology, for which he has twice been awarded a British Council ELTon award for innovation in English Language Teaching. He also edits the Handbooks for Language Teachers series for Cambridge University Press, and he is on the faculty of the International Teacher Development Institute (iTDi). Scott is also a trustee for the Hands Up Project, which promotes drama activities in English for children in under-resourced regions of the Arab world. At present, he works for Mosaik Education, training teachers of refugees in the Middle East in how to integrate communicative activities into their online classes.

Register Here: https://www.iatefl.org/events/692

24/06/2025

Join Us for Two Inspiring Webinars on Inclusive Assessment in Higher Education! As part of the Rethinking Higher Education Assessment and Feedback Series hosted by the INGENIUM ALLIANCE Education LAB, we are excited to invite you to two back-to-back talks on June 25, 2025 that explore inclusive and culturally sensitive assessment approaches in Higher Education.
🔗 ZOOM Link to Join:
https://uoc-gr.zoom.us/j/84581130386
Meeting ID: 845 8113 0386 No registration required.

Webinar 1
Topic: Culturally Sensitive Assessment: A Special Breed of Inclusive Assessment
🗣 Speaker: Professor Kathleen M. Quinlan, PhD PFHEA
Time: 12:00–12:30 Greek Time / 10:00–10:30 London Time
About the Speaker:
Professor Quinlan is Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Kent. She previously held roles at the University of Oxford, Cornell University, and ANU. She has authored over 50 journal articles, 14 book chapters, and edited two books on higher education.

Webinar 2
Topic: The Perils and Strengths of Multimodal Formative Assessment in Inclusive Curricula
🗣 Speaker: Dr Kallia Katsampoxaki-Hodgetts
Time: 12:50–13:20 Greek Time / 10:50–11:20 London Time
About the Speaker:
Dr Katsampoxaki-Hodgetts is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Ioannina and Lecturer on Multiliteracies and Multimodality at the University of Crete. Her research focuses on literacies, multiliteracies, multimodality, and inclusive curriculum design. She is the co-author of Teaching Literacies and Multimodality (Disigma, 2024) and author of Shaping Future-Driven Education: Educational Assessment and Inclusive, Democratic, and Lived Curriculum Design (Disigma).

14/06/2025

Ebook on Inclusive Student-centred pedagogies (2025)

Our new EBOOK is here! Innovative Faculty Development Towards Inclusive Student-Centred Pedagogy
Editors: Roeland van der Rijst & Elia Fernández Díaz
Published: March 2025 by Disigma Publications
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15307979

Are you passionate about creating more inclusive and student-centred university classrooms? This new open-access EBOOK is the culmination of a powerful collaboration between six European universities in the Erasmus+ COALITION project. Together, we developed practical, research-informed tools for faculty developers, teacher educators and academic staff that are tested and ready to use across diverse higher education contexts. Inside, you'll find:

A framework for inclusive student-centred teaching
Approaches to assessment for learning
Strategies for achieving digital equity
Guidelines for lesson plan redesign
How to use peer observation to enhance reflective teaching
Empowering action research as a driver for change

From evidence based needs analysis, case studies, discourse analysis, reflective essays to practical models and transformative pedagogies, this EBOOK supports educators ready to rethink their role and co-create inclusive learning environments with students as partners.Scan the QR code in the visual below or access the chapters directly: You can refer to this work as: van der Rijst, R. M., & Fernández Díaz, E. M. (Eds.) (2025). Innovative faculty development towards inclusive student-centred pedagogy: A reflective and transformative approach. Heraklion: Disigma Publications.

Editorial: A prelude to inclusive student-centred pedagogies in higher education
Roeland van der Rijst & Elia Fernández Díaz
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15307979

Inclusive student-centred pedagogies
Mārīte Kravale-Pauliņa, Liene Briede, Ilona Fjodorova, & Alīna Romanovska
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15212171
A framework for inclusive student-centred higher education
Elena Marin & Roeland van der Rijst
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15212410
Assessment for inclusive student-centred learning
Meeri Hellstén & Mario de Jonge
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15212473
Digital equity for inclusive teaching practices
Helena Reierstam
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15212525
Peer observation as a reflective tool to build inclusive curricula
Kallia Katsampoxaki-Hodgetts
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15212561
Redesigning lesson for inclusive curricula
Kallia Katsampoxaki-Hodgetts & Eleni Katsarou
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15212654
Action research for promoting inclusive teaching
Eleni Katsarou & Elia Fernández Díaz
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15212685
Towards agency to change the system
Roeland van der Rijst & Mario de Jonge
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15212741

10/06/2025

Here is a video created by our University of Cantabria COALITION partners. They interviewed two conference delegates regarding conference take-aways. We are really grateful for all the positive feedback and we look forward to the next conference at the Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης- University of Crete

The International Conference on Inclusive Student-Centered Pedagogies in Higher Education, within COALITION ERASMUS+ Project, took place in Heraklion, Crete,...

09/06/2025

With Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης- University of Crete – I just got recognised as one of their top fans! 🎉