eCoaches of the Bernese Universities
At three Bernese universities, eCoaches make teaching more a(ttra)ctive. The training of eCoaches is being developed jointly.
Duration: July 2022 – February 2023
Status: Completed
Educational level: Tertiary Level
Topic: Digital Skills & Literacy, Digital Tools
Keywords: Reverse Mentoring, eCoaching, Digital Competence
Initial Situation
The eCoach programme at the University of Bern was launched in 2020 to strengthen digital competencies in education. Students are trained to become eCoaches who collaborate with lecturers to develop digital teaching/learning scenarios. In view of the growing need for innovative digital higher education, this successful model was to be extended to PHBern and BFH. Research shows that the quality of teaching primarily depends on the competencies of lecturers, not on the digital tools used (e.g. Hattie, 2009). Therefore, it is crucial to support lecturers in the targeted use of digital tools. The eCoach programme relies on the concept of reverse mentoring: students assist lecturers in handling digital teaching/learning scenarios. Although this model is still under researched in the higher education context, successful examples already exist in the private sector (e.g. Browne, 2021; Marcinkus Murphy, 2012).
Follow-up Project
In the follow-up project eCoaches: SOL in the Digital Classroom, the eCoach programme is adapted for PHBern and expanded to include media didactic competencies for designing digitally supported self-organised learning (SOL) courses. The required eCoach competencies are first identified, forming the basis for the development of a tailored training programme.
Objectives
The aim was to develop a cross institutional eCoach programme to promote innovative digital teaching and train eCoaches as multipliers. In the preliminary phase, different organisational scenarios were developed to define an efficient and sustainable training model. Transferability of the concept and cooperation possibilities were also examined — for instance, whether modules could be attended across institutions.
Method
Between March and June 2022, PHBern and BFH conducted shadowing to gain insights into the eCoach training at the University of Bern. A coordination committee with representatives from all three universities and an external project management oversaw the preliminary project. This committee worked with hypotheses, evaluated different organisational scenarios, and coordinated internally on a regular basis. Additionally, an online survey and semi structured interviews were conducted with stakeholders from all three institutions. The external project management by b werk bildung gmbh contributed objectivity and constructive collaboration.
Results
The central outcome is a jointly developed concept for a cross institutional eCoach programme. The training of eCoaches follows a common curriculum, while each university defines its own standards for recruitment, deployment, and financing. Collaboration in further developing the programme is contractually agreed upon. This approach aims to leverage synergies and strengthen the quality of digital teaching across the three institutions.
Implemented Translation
Translation is already in progress at the University of Bern: eCoaches undertake online learning units on e learning, higher education pedagogy, and consultancy, receive certification, and are employed at 20 % for one year. They assist lecturers in (re)designing digital courses, moderate online discussions, or design digital learning environments. A central eCoach pool facilitates their deployment. At PHBern, prospective teachers acquire eTeaching competencies for schools; BFH eCoaches later act as multipliers in their professional fields. The translation also takes place across institutions: all three institutions benefit from one another, further develop the concept, and consider its transfer to vocational education, where learners could become eCoaches. Pilots at PHBern and BFH are scheduled for 2024; in 2025 the curriculum development and cooperation agreement will follow.
This project lays the foundation for an interinstitutional qualification of eCoaches in the canton of Bern. Lecturers benefit from targeted support in designing digital teaching/learning scenarios. The universities involved enhance their innovative capacity and their cooperation in the digital transformation of teaching. In the long term, a sustainable network for digital higher education pedagogy may emerge.
