UniPed – Higher Education Pedagogies | University of Stavanger

Uniped is a scientific unit at University of Stavanger. Our primary function is to enhance the quality of education and support the professional development of academic staff in alignment with national guidelines and UiS's commitment to educational excellence.

Published 05. Nov. 2020. Updated on 18. Dec. 2024

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Our role

Uniped's work is guided by a comprehensive framework of national regulations and institutional guidelines.

This includes Parliamentary Report 16 (2016-2017) "Culture for quality in higher education," which emphasizes the importance of educational activities and teaching competence.
Our practices align with the university's Guidelines for appointment and promotion, particularly section 2.2, which mandates pedagogical and didactic expertise for teaching staff.

We also adhere to the new national regulations for appointment to teaching and research positions, as outlined in § 3-8 and § 3-9 of the regulations for the University and University College Act. These regulations underscore the need for formal training and significant contributions to educational quality.

Our goals

We aim to:

Promote evidence-based teaching practices
Facilitate the development of pedagogical competence among academic staff
Contribute to the implementation of national educational quality standards

Our initiatives are designed to address the evolving needs of higher education in the context of technological advancements and changing educational paradigms.

Our activities

Uniped provides the following programs:

Collaborative Pedagogical Research: We engage in research partnerships with UiS departments to advance understanding of effective teaching and learning practices in higher education.
Basic Course in University Pedagogy: A mandatory 100-hour course for new academic staff, covering fundamental concepts in higher education teaching.
Elective Modules: specialized 25-50 hour courses to complement the basic pedagogical training:

a. Supervision in Higher Education: Aims to develop effective guidance strategies for bachelor's and master's student supervision.
b. Challenge-Based Learning: Seeks to integrate real-world problem-solving into curriculum design and teaching methods.
c. Intercultural Competence for Teachers: Focuses on fostering inclusive learning environments in increasingly diverse academic settings.
d. Artificial Intelligence in Education: Examines the role and impact of AI technologies in teaching and learning processes.
e. Constructive Alignment and Course Design: Aims to enhance coherence between learning outcomes, teaching activities, and assessment methods in course development.

These electives are designed to complement the basic pedagogical training. While they can contribute to ongoing professional development, they are also open to staff who have already completed their mandatory training or those seeking specific pedagogical competencies.

Detailed information and registration for employees are available on the UiS intranet (Feide login).

International collaborations

Uniped is involved in several international collaborations through networks focused on pedagogy, research projects, and joint publications. These partnerships support the exchange of ideas and practices in teaching and research. By working on shared projects and contributing to publications, we maintain connections with the global academic community, which helps to inform and improve our own educational approaches.

FLeD - Learning design for Flexible Education

The FLeD project aims to facilitate the design of effective flexible learning scenarios for Faculty. The project seeks to guide in applying the flipped method making the best use of pedagogies and digital technologies to prompt the sustained shift towards flexible education.

ECIU

UiS plays an active role in the European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) by contributing to the development and implementation of challenge-based learning.
This collaboration occurs at multiple levels, including policy development, university-wide initiatives, and direct integration into our teaching practices.
Additionally, we are involved in establishing the ICCS Micromodule, further strengthening our connection with ECIU and advancing innovative education practices.

Teaching Excellence Recognition

In alignment with national directives and institutional policies, UiS implemented a teaching merit system in 2019 (Meritteringsordningen). This system is part of a holistic career policy that includes recognition for teaching excellence.

The merit system aims to:

Recognize and reward significant contributions to teaching quality
Motivate and reward continuous improvement in educational practices
Balance the recognition of teaching excellence with research achievements in academic careers

The scheme supports the university's commitment to pedagogical expertise as outlined in the Guidelines for appointment and promotion. Successful applicants receive the designation of "Merited Teacher" and associated benefits.

This merit system represents a concrete step towards elevating the status of teaching in higher education, in line with both national expectations and UiS's strategic goals for educational quality.
Through these programs, Uniped supports UiS's objective of providing high-quality education and contributes to the ongoing development of effective pedagogical practices in higher education.