International Higher Education Teacher Award ^2024/25

The same as any human being needs to internalise the logic behind any given input, advice, strategy , or a solution, in order for it to stick, our students need to internalize the implications of their results of our assessment on their work, in order to understand it, learn from it and grow. Due to this rationale, this practice promotes leaving assessment to the students and their peers themselves and getting the teacher out of the picture, for the most part. When we directly tell our students what to do and how to do it in order to meet certain criteria and academic expectations, we are actually targeting a very short term goal. No matter how logical and straightforward our rationale is, the students will retain it in short term memory only, apply it perhaps the next day, or the next week, and very likely go back to their learned behaviours and habits from before. This is why it is crucial to develop a coaching skill, namely pertaining to skilled questioning, that empowers the coach and the coachee in facilitating both of their thinking. This way students take on reciprocal coaching hats and act as critical colleagues to one another, independent of the teacher. By listening, clarifying, asking and answering probing questions, giving and receiving feedback, the students engage in a deep thought provoking process that leads to innovation. This reciprocity of a coaching relationship goes both ways, student-student and student-teacher. Otherwise, if a coaching or a mentorship role belongs solely to the teacher, the issue is likely failure, due to multiple reasons: First, lack of capacity, as the teacher cannot cater to all students as the only one possessing coaching skills. Second, a proven teaching method being collaborative learning belongs to peers and sharing their understanding among themselves, in their own language. The main activity of the instructional peer coaching for collegiality and collaborative learning practice is a dialog. With multiple "AHA moments" that are being provoked through such dialogue (described to detail in methodology, with examples provided), students internalize their own understanding of what's at hand and feel in charge of their own learning. The learner autonomy is strengthened by a simple communication pattern that is so often being neglected in HE teaching and learning, dropping the student from the centre.

Methodology

Instructional Peer Coaching for Collegiality and Collaborative Learning is an innovative strategy in this region, namely Croatia and the Balkans. It is applicable both to teaching and learning, but mostly adheres to alternative forms of assessment encouraging peer and self reflection through formative assessment. The protagonists of this methodology can be learners of all ages. In HE, I have tested and implemented it with MA students and PhD candidates as well as adult learners, namely HE faculty and staff.

Tools, equipment, technology used

1. Initial tool is the art of a collegial conversation. The students received coaching cue cards via Padlet. The cards contained sentence stems and question prompts, possible examples and steps of a collegial dialogue. 2. Rubrics with achievement levels and detailed descriptors were designed to assist assessment and to provide for rubric-rooted grading. For every achievement level, on a grade scale 1-5 , a detailed description of how achievement looked for specific criteria was given. The description was knowledge, understanding or skills based and it was rooted in the learning outcomes. This way, assessment resulted in more reflective behaviour upon receiving results, with little to no surprises whatsoever, and less defensive behaviours. Through ongoing practice of peer assessment the students were being graded against the same rubric that was the same throughout the course. They knew what the expectations were so they could polish their performance each time. 3. Over weekly course forums, students interacted in peer assessment on a weekly basis by engaging in a discussion thread. Each week they were given a discussion prompt which they had to extensively reply to. Each student was randomly assigned three peers to give their peer review for and leave feedback. The students had to honour the steps of a collegial dialogue in their interactions. These tools were digital as we went online with teaching and learning during initial stages of the pandemic caused by virus Covid 19, and now we are practicing collegial dialogue in class, with actual physical cue cards. The students who attend MA course Teaching and Learning with Technology are to become teachers soon, and they practice through many ed tech integration scenarios.

Outcomes and outputs, main results

The students are able to: lead collegial dialogue to communicate and collaborate effectively analyze texts to collaboratively construct meaning give and receive peer feedback explore instructional peer coaching demonstrate speaking and listening skills to improve collegiality and communication skills craft different types of questions to support inquiry-based learning participate in facilitation protocols reflect on practice and implement peer observation protocols Learning Outcomes understand educational technology frameworks to support teaching and learning unpack unit planning elements and backward design consider how to design authentic assessment with an achievement rubric collaboratively reflect on examples of peer work and implement visible thinking routines develop common understanding around formative and summative assessment and differentiation engage in a variety of learning experiences and activities

Lessons learnt

The most important aspects are the following: - the students enjoy authentic scenarios to practice collegial dialogue as a form of giving feedback - this alternative assessment works as a means of reflective learning, with more focus on the formative assessment throughout the course, not a summative final check point Mistakes: - I designed the rubric myself and should have had the students re-design it and polish it themselves. Once they realised of what they were capable of doing, they were keen on setting that as a high standard, i.e. expectation under higher achievement levels.

Adaptability and sustainability of the best practice (for other institutions)

Easily. With practice and commitment at first, over a course of one terma, the faculty and staff can come a long way in establishing this alternative assessment practice in their courses in order to enhance student-centered learning. I would say the only precondition is commitment to knowing, understanding and doing. Through a collegial reflective discussion and peer feedback routines, in the example of my original practice.

Promotion of best practice

https://www.sanjak.co/academia https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjakisicek/

Scope and impact

• Course/department level
• Faculty level
• Institutional level
• Cross-institutional level
• National level
• EU/EHEA/International level

Collegial dialog, collaboration and peer coaching are strategies inherent to every single course I teach and every single professional development I facilitate. Both in academia, school or corporate sector, nationally or internationally. I am implementing the practice at course and department level within the courses I teach and workshops. Undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate levels. I am facilitating workshops and training on this practice for faculty at my faculty, covering different departments. I facilitated workshops under the series Creating the Culture of Collaboration. I am facilitating workshops and training on this practice at different faculties at my university. I am facilitating workshops and training on this practice for my university and another significant educational body - Teacher Training Agency. I participate in organizing a conference for school principals, who supervise teaching staff in their respective schools, advised by the Teacher Training Agency counsellors that I train. And finally, on a national level, I am a co-author writing a Mentor's Guidebook that will serve to all teacher mentors across subject groups, who serve the role of students' mentors upon their internship in schools (vocational occupations). Lastly, I have facilitated workshops for the corporate sector as well, serving a large regional board of directors team from a digital solutions company and virtual assistants. Full list of partners and institutions I collaborated with by facilitating professional development in workshop style: University of Zagreb, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (FFZG) - facilitating Creating a Culture of Collaboration workshops - taught courses and implemented collaborative learning in: Undergraduate courses: - Information Technology Basics and Digital Image and Text Processing Basics. Graduate: - Teaching and Learning with Technology. Postgraduate: - Presentation and Communication Skills University of Zagreb, School of Dental Medicine (SFZG) - facilitated Academia Master Class unpacking Teaching and Learning, Instructional Peer Coaching and Collaboration Teacher Training Agency (AZOO) - facilitating 5 modules of workshops Collaboration and Collegiality University of People (UoPeople), Master Program in Advanced Teaching - taught courses 2019-2021 implementing instructional peer review: o Education in Context: History, Philosophy and Sociology o Learning Theory and Implications for Instruction o Curriculum Design and Instructional Decision Making o Creating Positive Classroom Environments o Understanding Barriers to Learning o Online Education Strategies Facilitated professional development in collaborative learning and assessment, coaching skills, collaboration and collegial dialogue for: - Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA) - Central and Easter European Schools Association (CEESA) - American International School of Zagreb (AISZ) - American International School Kuwait (AIS) - Al Bayan Bilingual School (BBS) - High School Ivanec (SŠ Ivanec) Facilitated Communication and Coaching Skills workshops for leadership capacity increase for the corporate sector: - CADCAM Group (Digital Solutions for Companies) - Go2Human (Hub Virtual Assistants) All in all, in the last year only I facilitated 33 workshops, PD opportunities, keynotes and presentations. With this, I served an audience of 1809 adult learners. On top of that I taught 6 classes educating 219 college students which makes it 2028 learners in total! Partner references and testimonials are available on my website (https://www.sanjak.co/) and my LinkedIn profile (https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjakisicek/) and contacts as referrals upon requst.

6.1 Digitalization

• NOT RELEVANT

Reasoning:

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6.2 Internationalization

• Outstanding practices of international online collaborative learning
• International projects/research results embedded into course development and T&L

Reasoning: I was teaching at University of People, a solely online university leading education innovation and revolution with regards to self-regulated learning and peer assessment models. During the pandemic I have adapted the models and applied it to my courses at UNIZG, teaching and learning online, and strengthened my practice based on extensive international experience in educational leadership as an instructional coach. Result: all stakeholders empowered and taking charge of their own learning.

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6.3 Inclusion and diversity, universal design

• (Innovative) use of devices and tools for inclusion

Reasoning: During the pandemic, we use Moodle platforms and a Course Forum for class discussion, for inquiry based learning, research and collaborative learning, as well as for peer and self assessment. The students in my Teaching and Learning with Technology course provided weekly feedback to each of the seminar prompts formed as coaching reflective questions, for 2 of their peers. This was formative assessment preventing all surprises after a summative, as the student was able to reflect beforehand.

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6.4 Sustainability

Reasoning: This practice can be universally implemented to all spheres of human interaction, to all levels of education. Throughout the entire course, during every unit, my students and I brushed our coaching skills, practiced collegial dialogue and nourished the habit of inquiry based collaborative learning. This is how one builds continuum, develops habit and builds trust among all stakeholders.

3.3 Public contact datas

Name	Email address	Website
Sanja Kišiček, PhD	sanja.kisicek@ffzg.hr	https://www.sanjak.co/academia