5.1 Faculty Qualifications, Performance, and Development
5.1.a Qualified Faculty
Professional education faculty members in the unit are all highly qualified; all have earned a doctoral degree as required by Qatar University (QU) policy. The unit has a diverse and well-qualified faculty in different areas of specialization including science education, mathematics education, Arabic & Islamic studies, early childhood education, special education, social studies education, English as a second language (ESL), foundation of education, technology education, educational leadership, and educational psychology. All faculty members have achieved sufficient professional experience and expertise in their respective fields to accomplish their academic and professional assignments. Of the 57 faculty in the unit, 50 (87.7%) are full time and seven (12.3%) are part time, with reduced teaching loads; ten (17.5%) are full professors, 22 (38.6%) are associate professors, 17 (29.8%) are assistant professors, and eight (14.0%) are lecturers. 31 (54.4%) are Qatari and 26 (45.6%) are non-Qatari, representing different nationalities. 36 (63.2%) are female and 21 (36.8%) are male.
The unit actively searches for highly qualified and experienced faculty members of diverse backgrounds to promote diversity and add excellence to teaching, scholarship, and leadership. The unit adheres to the QU academic recruitment guide and advertises publicly in local, regional, or international media, in professional journals or publications such as the Chronicle of Higher Education, with professional associations such as the British Educational Research Association, and on the university’s web site.
Potential faculty members are carefully screened through an elaborate process including telephone interviews, Skype interviews, face-to-face interviews, and scholarly presentations. For example, during the 2013-2014 academic year, the unit received more than one hundred applications representing more than ten different nationalities, including applicants from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and North America for ten positions – four in the Department of Psychological Sciences and six in the Department of Psychological sciences. The new hires enriched the diversity in terms of academic rank, country of origin, and country of obtained terminal degree.
Qualifications of professional education faculty are described in Exhibit 5.3.a, which demonstrates that the unit faculty are highly qualified and have experience in K-12 settings. Most of the unit’s faculty earned their terminal degrees from English speaking countries. Faculty members actively participate in scholarly activities in English and Arabic, including teaching, publication, conference presentations and workshop training.
5.1.b Modeling Best Professional Practices in Teaching
The unit provides many opportunities for its faculty members to keep abreast of best professional practices in teaching and learning; for example, through conference leave and financial support, opportunities with scientists-practitioners in their area of expertise, and participation in professional development workshops that model best teaching practices. These are regularly offered by the College of Education and the Office of Faculty and Instructional Development (OFID), and include such topics as course portfolio development, advanced use of Blackboard V9.1™, intercultural communication in classroom settings, formative assessment, student-centered teaching, and the use of TaskStream™.
Unit faculty members have a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the field of education and are committed to being models of best professional practice in teaching. A review of the course syllabi and faculty publications (Exhibit 5.3.d_4) suggest that teaching and learning reflect current research and developments in the field of education. As can be seen in course syllabi, faculty members use a wide range of assessment and instructional strategies to deliver course content and to facilitate candidates’ learning, including:
- Lectures
- PowerPoint™ presentations
- Small group instruction
- Cooperative learning groups
- Case studies
- Panel discussions
- Blackboard™ activities
- Online activities and instruction
- Guest speakers
- Projects
- Candidate presentations
- Field experiences
- Reflective journals
- Problem solving
- Role playing
Assessment strategies include:
- Written exams
- Portfolios
- Projects
- Field observations
- School Technology Plan
- Classroom Management Plans
- School Technology Plans
- Research plans
- Papers and reports
- Reflective writing
- Discussion boards
- Online assessments
- Interviews
As reflected in the variety of instructional and assessment strategies used throughout the unit’s programs, faculty members are highly committed to modeling best practices in teaching and learning and to prepare candidates to recognize, understand, and value multiple forms of diversity and their importance in learning. Faculty members and staff of the unit identified their beliefs about teaching and learning which formed the basis of the conceptual framework. The unit’s candidates are taught by faculty members of diverse backgrounds, which in itself offers opportunities to learn about differences and to raise awareness about diversity. In addition, the unit’s different programs prepare all candidates to teach in diverse settings through relevant course material and field and clinical experiences by selecting diverse classrooms to provide comprehensive hands-on learning experiences and evaluate their candidates in the areas of teaching and interacting with K-12 students. Results about teaching activities used in classes are obtained from Satisfaction Survey and the Faculty Satisfaction Survey Report.
The unit’s faculty members are committed to the integration of technology in their teaching. As an example on how they model the use of technology to candidates, all faculty regularly use PowerPoint™ presentations, Smart boards, other audiovisual devices, wireless internet, Blackboard V9.1™, and the TaskStream™ learning management system for their assignment evaluations and for feedback. In select courses, candidates use appropriate interactive technology to enhance students’ learning by creating a PowerPoint™ slide shows; for example, in the social studies method courses candidates create slide shows with embedded audio and video to show architectural differences between old and new Doha and show the cultural influence over history. In language classes, candidates create recordings of their pronunciation of various words, phrases, and sounds and analyze them in order to speak more clearly, and in chemistry classes candidates use a modeling program to create virtual molecules and to balance chemical equations. The unit is also using immersive virtual reality (i-Cube) to support candidate learning in the B.Ed. programs in biology and chemistry.
Unit candidates use a campus-wide online evaluation system (QU Faculty Performance Review System) to evaluate the unit’s faculty members every semester in all courses. Results of course evaluations are summarized in Exhibit 5.3.f_3 for semesters from fall 2011 to spring 2014. In addition, all faculty members prepare portfolios for annual evaluation by the respective head of their department that involves evaluations of their performances in teaching, scholarship, and service to the university and community, including a reflection on their practices in each area. Based on the student evaluations, the heads of department review the reports of all faculty members and encourage them to strive excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Faculty members can apply for the campus-wide Academic Awards established to honor and recognize their demonstrated excellence in service to Qatar University and the community at large or to acknowledge the exceptional performance and commitment to effective teaching and use of innovative instructional techniques that impact the learning of QU candidates. From 2007-2011, four members of the unit received merit awards.
5.1.c Modeling Best Professional Practices in Scholarship
The QU Faculty Handbook states clearly that all faculty members should strive for excellence in teaching, scholarship and service. High quality scholarly endeavors constitute a major component of the academic promotion process. To help meet these expectations, the unit provides continuous support for faculty to engage in scholarly activities that involve development of funded research projects, publication of journal articles, and dissemination of research findings at regional and international education conferences.
Within the professional practices framework, the unit established a new center in 2011-2012, the National Center for Educational Development (NCED), to increase Qatar’s internal capacity to prepare highly qualified educators for Independent Schools in Qatar and to conduct research and evaluation projects in the area of personnel preparation. In this context NCED has over the last three years of operation built strong relations with national organizations for ongoing professional development projects in types of training programs. These projects include the Supreme Education Council (SEC), ExxonMobil, Reach Out To Asia (for youth services), Qatar Assistive Technology Center (MADA), Awsaj Academy for special Education, and the Islamic Museum.
NCED offers a variety of professional development programs. Faculty members work as mentors on specific areas of training, such as Arabic, English, mathematics, science and leadership, within the school-based support program (SBSP). That SBSP has been designed to provide in-school professional support and more in-depth conceptual understanding among school staff. NCED also initiatives and manages innovative projects, such as the Exxon-Mobil-Qatar University Science Academy for Teachers and the STEM Adventure Camp for preparatory students.
The unit has recently established the National Center for Educational Research (NCER) that will be dedicated to advancing knowledge and having an impact on the broad field of education, as well as addressing the needs of the local community and society at large. The center works towards addressing important educational issues and contributes to achieving the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030 and the country's quest to establish a knowledge-based economy of world-class quality. NCER is managed by a committee with representatives from each department and leaders of faculty research groups. NCER conducted 14 seminar sessions in 2013-2014 focused on building capacity by providing candidates and faculty with a supportive environment for scholarship and with techniques for developing effective collaborative partnerships in research nationally and internationally.
Unit faculty continued their efforts to produce quality research publications that merit being included in high quality journals in the field of education. Faculty members have presented their research and scholarly work in national, regional and international conferences and in 2013-2014 published approximately 50 papers and articles in recognized, peer-reviewed academic journals. The unit encourages faculty to publish their research work in high quality journals in the field of education as well as other cognate areas. Preference is normally given to research outlets that are peer-reviewed and indexed and that have a high impact factor, if applicable. The summary of faculty scholarly activities shows the breadth and depth of faculty scholarship for the last three years.
In terms of funded research projects, unit faculty members have secured many internal and external grants from National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) research grants and Undergraduate Research Experience Program (UREP) funded by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF). In 2013-2014 unit faculty submitted a total of eleven research proposals from eight different faculty members; one of the research proposals was successful in gaining the funding from NPRP; a project entitled A study to evaluate the professional licensing system for teachers and school leaders in the state of Qatar. Additionally, three faculty members succeeded in gaining four research awards from the UREP for total funded amount of QR 773,699 (approximately $212,555) to conduct four research projects that explore methods to improve mathematics learning, life style and risk factors among adults in Qatar, and inclusion in the Arab world. Four faculty members also succeeded in gaining QU internal research grants for a total funded amount of QR 152,994 (approximately $42,000). Topics include exploring teachers’ needs, parent involvement in children’s play, social studies in Qatari curriculum, and female teachers in the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC). Current (previously funded) grants include QR 2,422,017 (approximately $666,000) from QNRF to conduct four research projects that investigate factors that structure student success, secondary students’ academic persistence and success, reading in bilingual contexts, and the social construction of motherhood.
5.1.d Modeling Best Professional Practices in Service
All professional education faculty members are actively engaged in dialogues about the design and delivery of instructional programs in both professional education and K–12 schools. They collaborate regularly and systematically with K–12 practitioners and with faculty in other colleges or university units. They are actively engaged in a community of learners at national and international levels through involvement in professional organizations. QU academic promotion policy described in Exhibit 5.3.d_2 requires that faculty applying for promotion provide strong evidence that they support the university mission of teaching, scholarship and service. To be consistent with the university-wide standards, the unit follows QU criteria for promotion that apply to all full time faculty members.
To support professional development opportunities to K-12 teachers and other local, regional, and international educators, the unit organizes an Annual Education Conference. The 4th Annual Conference on Educational Reform, Performance Assessment: The Road to Quality in Education (March 22-23, 2014), was attended by more than 550 participants from different parts of the world. The conference included eight workshops attended by 492 local and regional educators. In addition, practitioners and scientists from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Algeria, Kuwait, Jordan, Oman, and Turkey presented 56 papers.
In partnership with the UNESCO Doha office, the unit organized a seminar on Policy Dialogue, Momentum for Education Beyond 2015: Enhancing the Performance of Education Systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. The event served as a launching point for an NPRP grant for a College of Education/UNESCO Doha research project on Improving the Quality of Learning Outcomes and Enhancing the Performance of Education Systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries. Following this event, a panel of experts meeting entitled Maintaining Momentum for Education Beyond 2015 was held in June 2014 at Qatar University. The meeting was attended by representatives from the GCC and Yemen, members of the SEC, QU staff, ROTA, and UNESCO. The meeting helped establish a platform for collaboration with the panel of experts to develop a critically analysis of the performance of education systems in the GCC, provide recommendations for improving the quality of learning outcomes, and enable evidence-based decision-making.
Currently, unit faculty members are actively involved in the professional development of teachers in Qatar, sponsored by NCED. The unit has developed, in collaboration with its education partners, comprehensive professional development programs for teachers and school leaders in K-12 schools involving the design and delivery of training programs on a number important topics related to teaching and learning, such as classroom management, teaching student with special needs, teaching strategies, motivation to learn, and using technology in classrooms. Unit faculty members have conducted 34 training programs during the academic year 2013/2014 that were attended by more than 3297 teachers and school leaders.
One example of outreach to the community is the unit’s volunteer tutoring program, Reading Together for Qatar. Eight faculty members and five volunteers coordinate the program. The program aims to improve the Arabic and English literacy of school children with learning difficulties in grades 1-3 and to encourage the QU community to participate in supporting education in the schools. Bridging the Gap: High School to Higher Education is another program designed by two faculty members under the supervision of NCED. This program aims to provide high schools with expertise, support and professional learning activities using customized school-embedded activities. Events that demonstrate faculty participation in community services and that reflect professional practice in service include White Cane Week, Mental Health Day, Teacher Day, Women International Day, World Autism Day, and Deaf Week, all sponsored by the unit.
All faculty members at the unit submit an annual portfolio for evaluation by the department heads. In part of the portfolio, faculty members are asked to complete a survey about their involvement in professional development. In this survey, they are asked to describe the service activities they participate in that are geared toward the university and the community. Faculty members also take leadership roles in professional development programs and consultancy activities within and outside the university; for example, five faculty members from the unit presented nineteen training sessions in OFID, Dr. Maha Al-Hendawi serves as the Director of Core Curriculum Program, and Dr. Ahmed Al-Emadi serves as the head of the Student Academic Progress Committee and a member in Qatar University Outstanding Faculty Service Award Committee. The unit online Exhibit Hall provides more examples of the institutions or groups to which faculty contribute in leadership and service roles.
The university supports faculty members’ participation in service and the significance of service in meeting the university’s mission through the Qatar University Outstanding Faculty Service Award. The award was established to honor and recognize faculty members who have demonstrated excellence in service to the university and the community. In summary, a number of outstanding initiatives and achievements have been achieved during 2013-2014 and the preceding years that should have lasting impact on the future of Qatar.
5.1.e Unit Evaluation of Professional Education Faculty Performance
The unit’s systematic and comprehensive evaluation system includes regular and comprehensive reviews of the professional education faculty’s teaching, scholarship, service, collaboration with the professional community, and leadership in the institution and profession. Teaching performance is evaluated through the Faculty Performance Review and Development System. Every faculty member is required to complete an online system course portfolio. The department chair reviews the submissions and writes a report, which includes scores according to a highly- structured rubric. The report is reviewed and approved by the faculty member. The department chair arranges a meeting that includes the dean for any faculty member whose performance was unsatisfactory or less than expected to develop a plan for professional development.
The university provides different weight ranges for faculty performance evaluations in which 50% to 60% of the overall evaluation must be based on teaching, 20% to 30% on research and 10% to 20% on service. Service activities include such activities as improving the internal functioning of the university, enhancing the university's image in the eyes of the served community, or serving the professional community. The overall faculty performance average for the academic year 2013-2014 ranged from 4.00 to 4.78 on a 5-point scale, which corresponds to more than expected.
Part of the ongoing process of collecting information for improving the overall effectiveness of the unit, The Office of Institutional Planning and Development (OIPD) scheduled the collection and the analysis of the Faculty Satisfaction Survey (FSS) related to faculty members perceptions in evaluating teaching and learning environment, research, communication, services and institutional effectiveness to understands the faculty’s overall satisfaction and needs in spring 2015. Overview of the results obtained from 2012 administration about faculty satisfaction may be found in online exhibit, Faculty Satisfaction Report 2012.
The results of peer observation of teaching and FSS responses, taken together with those performed by the heads of the departments, are regularly used by the unit to improve professional practice in teaching. The unit also expects candidates to complete online course/instructor evaluations every semester; these become part of the QU Faculty Performance Review and Development system to provide evidence of faculty teaching effectiveness. Candidate ratings of faculty performance (full time and part time) were mostly positive according to the evaluation scale used at QU. The overall faculty performance is categorized by scale points, unsatisfactory 20.00% to 35.80%; less than expected 36.00% to 55.80%, Expected 56.00% to 75.80 %, more than expected 76.00% to 93.80%, and exceptional 94.00% to 100%. As Exhibit 5.3.f_3 suggests, candidate evaluations for fall 2014 averaged 83.78%, adjacent the average for Qatar University faculty, which averaged 84.17%, places the faculty members on the category “more than expected.” These data are made available to the dean of the unit via a secure website.
Faculty performance is also thoroughly assessed and reviewed regularly by the heads of departments and the unit as a part of the promotion process. QU promotion policy expects all faculty members to strive for excellence in teaching, scholarship, and service. Heads of departments provide guidance to each faculty member regarding the promotional criteria of the university and the college, including demonstrated performance in research, teaching activities, and service to the university and the community during their annual performance evaluations. During 2013-2014, one faculty member applied for promotion to the position of full professor in the department Educational Sciences and one faculty member applied for promotion to the position of associate professor in the department of Psychological Sciences. Both applications were sent back to the faculty members for additional information, and they can resubmit again after one year. In cases of unsuccessful subsequent submission, the promotion process will conclude at this stage and faculty member may apply for promotion after considering the feedback from outside peer reviewers.
Part-time faculty must have the same qualifications as a regular faculty. Hiring a part-time faculty and the following up on his/her performance is ultimately the responsibility of the department head. Expectations from part-time faculty and hiring procedures may be found on the online exhibit hall, Part-Time Faculty Expectations and Hiring.
5.1.f Unit Facilitation of Professional Development
The unit has policies and practices that encourage all professional education faculty members to be continuous learners. During the academic year 2013-2014, the unit surveyed faculty members’ needs related to research and scholarly activities through the Research Steering Committee. This has led to developing a new unit research strategy for 2013-2016. The Research Steering Committee promoted the idea of developing a number of specialist and interdisciplinary research groups to bring together faculty members with similar and related research interests to work collaboratively on more strategic research projects in order to enhance the quality and volume of research produced by faculty. Four research groups were initiated including School Leadership, Evaluation of the Licensing System for Teachers and School Principals, Kindergarten and Home Partnership in Early Years, and Transition Policies for Persons with Disabilities. The heads of research groups worked with their team and submitted a number of proposals to the Research Steering Group. Four of these proposals were approved by the Research Steering Committee and submitted as NPRP research grants. The Research Steering Committee also developed a survey to identify research and scholarly interests of faculty members and to clarify areas of strength and those that require further development. The purpose of this effort was to inform the training program provided by the Research Steering Committee for faculty members. A list of the main research/scholarly interests appears in the Online Exhibit Hall, entitled Faculty Research Interests.
The unit provides support for the professional development of faculty members in the form of workshops and face-to-face consultations. During 2013-2014, thirty-five faculty members attended workshops in using Backboard and TaskStream, fifteen faculty members received training on Avoiding Plagiarism and Using Safe Assignment and twenty faculty members had the opportunity to practice the use of the SharePoint System (see Exhibit 5.3.g_2_CED_Faculty_Support). Face-to-face consultations/support are provided to faculty members in different forms of using educational technology and QU electronic systems.
Faculty participation in professional development activities includes attendance at workshops and conferences to keep abreast of scientific and technological development in their respective fields. QU reimburses the cost of authorized travel expense related to research incurred by a faculty member/s including travel to conferences to present accepted research; attendance at workshops, training, meetings, or research-related field trips; expenses related to collecting and/or analyzing data; expenses related to hiring research consultants and visitors, etc.
There has been a steady increase in faculty participation in professional activities during the last three years, as shown in Exhibit 5.3.g_1. OFID also actively supports faculty members by providing campus-wide professional development opportunities in the use of technology, innovative teaching methods, and assessment strategies. Thirty-four faculty members participated in nineteen training sessions and seminars offered by OFID during 2013-2014. Example topics are Becoming Experts in the Use of Blackboard™, Formative Assessment, Preparation of E-Course Portfolios, Engaging Students in Large Classes, Assessing Learning Outcomes at the Course Level, Student-Centered Teaching Based on Research, How to Increase Students’ Motivation, Enhancing Students’ Cognitive Skills.
New faculty members in the unit new are welcomed to attend the academic orientation for new faculty members scheduled before classes start for the academic year. The orientation provides valuable information about QU’s strategic plan, programs and numerous resources to enhance the quality of work and life in Qatar.
Each new faculty member in the unit has a faculty mentor colleague selected by the department chair from among experienced colleagues in the same department. The mentor follows QU advice to support the new faculty member’s arriving to Doha, guides the new member in fulfilling the unit expectations and helps the new member become aware of responsibilities in terms of teaching, scholarship, and professional development. The mentors also advise on regulations related to course development, assessments, student affairs, procedures and deadlines and other related issues as needed.
5.2.b Continuous Improvement
Plans for sustaining and enhancing performance through continuous improvement as articulated in this standard.
- Recruiting highly qualified faculty members is the central to continuous improvement. One way to publicize the announcement for job vacancy is to cast a wider recruitment net through professional networks and organizations.
- Faculty scholarship and performance data are not gathered electronically and are not yet fully integrated into online system. Undertaking those activities to have data become more accessible and easier to analyze will support strategic planning and sustain continuous efforts for improvement across faculty members and administrators.
- The unit continues to increase publication rates by involving faculty members in various external and internal funded research projects; for example, the unit collaboratively proposed an innovative project, International Math-Teacher Professionalization Using Lesson Study with Tokyo Gakugei University. This externally funded project aimed to establish a robust organizational improvement model of professional development in Qatar schools. In addition, the unit often seeks to draw different national stakeholders into collaboration with the unit to address key national priorities through a well-planned and thought-out consultation process, including such important stakeholders as representatives from the Supreme Education Council, independent schools and other educational institutions.
- Faculty members use a variety of assessment tools for evaluating learning experiences including exams, projects, and performance assessments. Rubrics are created to guide candidate work and evaluation. The unit will continue monitoring inter-rater reliability among the faculty members who use these rubrics.
5.3 Exhibits for Standard 5