Pedagogical Innovations
Institute of Advanced Pedagogy (IPA) established in 2010
The IPA is ESSCA’s educational centre. It is dedicated to supporting the professional development of our faculty by offering training, workshops, personalised guidance, and spaces to innovate and improve teaching practices.
The IPA also oversees the Assurance of Learning (AoL) approach, which is defined in collaboration with our accreditation bodies. It coordinates the Evaluation of Teaching by Students, thus facilitating the enhancement and improvement of teaching practices within our institution.
The IPA’s expertise can be seen in a number of areas.
Faculty Training and Support
On a day-to-day basis, the IPA provides training and both individual and collective support for teaching staff on a wide range of projects. This includes the full revision of courses, specific improvements such as assessments, as well as more ambitious projects.
Our expertise spans all stages of course design, with a focus on creating techno-pedagogical environments that are conducive to teaching and learning.
Our teaching community of practice supports these objectives by encouraging the exchange, sharing and formalisation of best practices.
Higher Education Pedagogy
A multitude of tools, methods, and approaches from the literature on higher education pedagogy are utilised in our internally designed training programmes for ESSCA professors.
Our training catalogue comprises more than twenty distinct courses. These are dedicated to various aspects of teaching design, such as “teaching an adult audience”, “formulating teaching objectives”, and “assessing learning”. They also cover the creation of educational resources, including the design of serious games like escape games, and the integration and deployment of digital tools.
Digitalisation of Teaching
In the area of teaching digitalisation, ESSCA provides comprehensive support to its teaching staff by collaboratively analysing their needs and the requirements of their teaching systems.
Our expertise spans several aspects, including the technical facets of resource design and production, ergonomics, and accessibility. We also offer guidance on the selection of digital tools (such as LMS, AI, and complementary applications), based on their potential and relevance to the projects at hand.
We also consider factors such as learner engagement, motivation, and success. For instance, the IPA has contributed to the development of several MOOCs focused on innovative topics. These include the Periscope project on purchasing and supply management, and the FIRE and subsequent FIRE+ MOOCs on integrating refugees through sport.
Supporting and Promoting Teaching Initiatives
Since 2019, the IPA has been actively promoting the continuous improvement of teaching and learning, as well as pedagogical innovation, through the introduction of a Pedagogical Initiatives Fund (FIP).
Each year, we invite professors to submit projects aimed at improving their teaching practices. These projects are reviewed by a selection committee comprised of international specialists in higher education pedagogy from renowned institutions such as McGill University, Polytechnique Lausanne, Polytechnique Montréal, and the Université de Montréal.
These projects are evaluated based on various criteria, including the analysis of the challenges faced by the professor and/or students, the planned evaluation of the project, the transferability of the project, and the project management. As a result, numerous successful initiatives, such as gamified applications, the development of learning spaces, and programmes focusing on the personal and professional development of learners, have been brought to fruition thanks to the human and financial support we provide.
Quality Assurance
Assurance of learning across all programmes
As the custodian of teaching quality, the IPA oversees the Assurance of Learning across the School.
This quality-centric approach has been developed in partnership with our accreditors. It utilises course syllabi, which outline the content and objectives of each course. It also uses rubrics that provide information on observable aspects of the course, enabling the tracking of targeted skill attainment. Additionally, it employs skills acquisition diagnostics. These tools measure the attainment of targeted skills across different student cohorts, thereby facilitating continuous improvement.
Quality assurance through student evaluation of teaching
Another key responsibility of the IPA is overseeing the evaluation of teaching by students.
This formative process is designed with the primary aim of enhancing teaching practices. Each professor receives the results of their evaluations, providing them with valuable feedback. Furthermore, they have the opportunity to request personalised support to refine their teaching strategies and methods, thereby continually improving the quality of education we offer.
Examples of IPA expertise
The IPA played a pivotal role in the review and revision of the Masters in Management programme from 2019 to 2023, ensuring pedagogical alignment. We supported the teaching teams by providing a variety of tools and approaches. These included an instructional design guide that incorporates concepts from higher education pedagogy, instructional scripting models tailored to the context, and the use of digital tools such as Moodle, Wooclap, and Genial.ly. This multi-faceted approach has optimised the student learning experience and enhanced the effectiveness of the courses delivered.
Our expertise extends to the evaluation of learning, encompassing both hard and soft skills. We raise professors’ awareness of the importance of assessment and guide them through all the crucial stages of the assessment process. This ranges from clarifying the learning to be assessed to analysing the evidence of learning. Our approach also includes the development of objective scoring grids aligned with learning objectives, as well as specific support for peer assessments.
Lastly, our expertise is reflected in our support for the diversification of teaching methods, particularly through serious games. For instance, we have developed a customised digital escape game for new ESSCA students. This game is designed to familiarise them with library facilities while encouraging the development of essential research skills. Our involvement in innovation projects, such as the gamification of an entire course and the development of workshops for professors, demonstrates our commitment to advancing education through technology. By merging our expertise in technology and pedagogy, we ensure impactful and transformative learning experiences for students.