7.

The change towards Tec’s educational model

The change towards Tec’s educational model is based in the development of

professors. Organizing a learning environment that is coherent with the
philosophy of the educational model requires a professor who has a broad cultural
and pedagogical background. The Program for the Development of Teaching
Abilities (PDHD for its acronyms is Spanish) was created to facilitate the process.
This program offers didactic resources and methodologies in which professors
participate in a very systematic, continuous, and intensive way.
The program fulfills two specific objectives:

? Offer a series of courses, workshops, and activities for professors to

acquire knowledge, abilities, and attitudes which are required to incorporate
the educational model. Train professors in the appropriate didactic
methodologies and techniques.
? Use a methodology centered in teaching in such a way that the professor
applies the educational model, with the established characteristics in real
situations and assumes the responsibilities of the new role. This is how
change takes place during the training process in which the professor has a
central role.

Theoretical considerations about change processes in education

The Program for the Development of Teaching Abilities (PDHD) was defined
analyzing the findings of studies about educational changes (Fullan and
Hargreaves,1992) which have helped to determine its characteristics and
methodologies. The following are the results of these investigations:

? Educational change is not a process which can be technologically

controlled; innovation is characterized by uncertainty about the results.
? Professors are noticeably independent in their teaching practice. This
makes it difficult for them to accept external pressure unless they thoroughly
know the reasons which justify this process and are convinced that this
change will improve their actual teaching methodologies.
? Professors are product of their own academic experience and have adopted
learned models and in order to understand alternative teaching-learning
methodologies, they need to discuss, test, and redefine them.
? The professors’work needs to be organized according to the same
principles as the students’so the latter can develop a democratic attitude.
 These principles are: having a collaborative social environment, exchanging
instead of supervising, receiving technical preparation, and having frequent
meetings with other professors to discuss their work.
? In education, change processes require a collaboration culture. Professors
normally work isolated and rarely share or publish their practice. This makes
them depend on their own knowledge and performance. In an academic
context where teaching is based in the transmission of information, this
attitude in professors might be useful. However, continuous improvement
and being open to innovations takes to uncertainty, mistakes, and therefore
it is necessary to have other opinions to fortify personal initiatives.
? Interpersonal relations should be complemented by activities in which the
professor, in an individual way, is aware of his/her own needs and desires.
Autonomous work is a source of expression and personal creativity. This
capacity is needed when changes in mental attitude are required. The
groups’growth and learning generate through diversity and individual
creativity. Considering all of this, reflection and internal processing must be
part of a professional.

As pressure from post-modernism is present, innovations multiply, old ideas and purposes
start to disappear, the functions of professors are broaden and they are expected to form
citizens to compete in a working market that is becoming more flexible and specialized for
a society that is then more plural and diverse.
Barth, 1990

? Professors do not carry out educational change just to learn methodologies

and techniques theoretically. In order to domain the abilities and acquire the
attitudes required by change, they need, besides knowledge, to practice
continually. The professor’s change normally follows a process of
consecutive periods: knowledge, practice, improvement, and maintenance.

Characteristics of the Program for the Development of Teaching Abilities

(PDHD)

The PDHD was created with the following characteristics having as reference the
last mentioned considerations and the basis of the learning principles in which this
program is founded:

? Promotes motivating professors and to generate in them a commitment with

the institution to contribute with their effort and their group the achievement
of educational change, making special emphasis in collaboration and
interpersonal support.
? Gives opportunities for the professor, individually or with a colleague, to
develop his/her own educational project, through planning, design, and
structure of a course which has the characteristics of the educational model.
 During these activities the professor contributes with his/her experience,
knowledge, personal attitude, and other personal characteristics.
? Offers opportunities for professors to collaborate, learn from each other, and
improve their professionalism as a learning community. As the professor
advances in the change process, s/he identifies strengths and weaknesses.
S/he then contrasts them with those of other colleagues and participates in
activities in which s/he can give and receive opinions for his/her personal
growth and that of the group.
? This program is not based in a series of workshops in which a professor is
expected to perform everything on his/her own but in real life experiences in
which, as a change agent, constructs his/her own practice, acts like creator
of the process, participates in an active and reflexive way and makes
continuous improvements according to the obtained results. Participating
for two days or one week in a workshop about the educational change and
the new didactic methodologies and techniques does not prepare a
professor to implement the changes that the educational model requires.
? Promotes professor’s effort and everything that s/he does to be continually
supported by a facilitator who acts like a critical partner in each phase of the
process. The facilitator is normally a full-time professor in the Institute and
has successfully implemented a course using the educational model in a
similar discipline as the professor’s. The facilitator’s responsibility is to
supervise the workshops in which the professor participates, be with the
professor during all the process, and observe and give feedback.
? The PDHD program makes available for the professor, through an
appropriate technological platform, workshops and activities in which other
professors participated using effective teaching-learning models and
methodologies. These workshops are organized in a collaborative working
structure which gives the necessary time for professors to meet,
opportunities for them to experiment in their own courses, and reflection,
evaluation, and improvement cycles.
? Finally, professors count with all the necessary technological resources:
electronic networks, personal computers, satellite, technological platforms,
and in general, the necessary infrastructure to carry out their teaching
practice.

Having this program for the development of professors towards educational

change does not mean that all the professors start at a cero level. Many of these
professors have worked using these methodologies, although they were not made
public or explicitly recognized. What is expected to be achieved with the program is
for all professors, considering the mission, to know what the educational model is
and what it implies. And, according to their specific situation, reflect to identify their
present teaching practice and what they need to do to carry out the required
change. They should also know what learning their students acquire as they apply
the new methodologies, and according to the educational purposes and intentions,
make the necessary adjustments in those aspects they consider necessary and
reaffirm the ones that fulfill the desired characteristics. With the development of
professors it is not expected to renounce, a priori, to those educational traditions
which are effective only for certain achievements but to enrich the professor’s
experience starting from their previous experience.

Description and structure of PDHD

The structure of the program has as main goal to develop an educational project
through planning, design, implementation, and evaluation of a course with the
characteristics of the educational model. The PDHD also incorporates courses
and workshops which support the development of the project in each phase. This
process includes activities which are divided in two options:

? Option A: for professors who develop a course using the educational model
in a technological platform. Professors implement, evaluate, and prepare
the necessary didactic documentation so other professors can use it as a
model.
? Option B: for professors who adopt a course developed by a colleague and
which was approved and published in a technological platform.

Option A

The development of a course using Tec’s educational model has an initial

preparation and four phases which at the same time correspond to the phases of a
project.

Initial preparation: Efficient use of the technological platform

All the redesigned courses are offered to students in a technological platform which
could be LearningSpace, Blackboard, WebTec, or others. Students and professors
work in this platform during all the semester. This is why the professor requires
previous preparation in order to use this platform efficiently. In this preparation the
professor acquires knowledge about the databases that integrate it, what type of
information is put in each one, how they work, and the applications that are
allowed.

Phase 1: Mobilization towards change

The objective of this phase is to inform, create awareness, and take the professor
towards the implementation of Tec’s educational model. If a professor does not
know and accept the demands implied in the process of change, she/he will not
easily initiate it. This phase is formed by short workshops and activities based on
reflection, analysis, and group discussion about the following topics:

? The characteristics of higher education in the 21st. century. New

approaches in education are analyzed and discussed as well as the
solutions that Tec offers in this context.
 ? The educational model which is generated from this change, its principles,
implications, and contrasts with the traditional model. This situation is
supported by examples of courses developed and validated by other
professors.
? The implications that this change has in the professor’s new role, like
tutoring abilities, educational orientation, and formation in values.
? Students’characteristics like emotional intelligence and social abilities.

Once a professor shows interest in starting the educational change, he/she

formally registers in his/her campus to begin the project. He/she selects a course
from the ones he/she teaches plus the didactic technique that will be used. He/she
is assigned a facilitator and a technology tutor: The facilitator is more experienced
on this process and generally teaches in the same area, he/she will be giving a
critical evaluation during the whole process. The technology tutor provides support
on the use of technological tools. The professor is also given a laptop and other
resources to be able to work in the project and fulfill the requirements established.

From that moment on, the professor begins the process of educational change,
which has three stages.

Stage 2: Structure and course design

In this stage professors reflect on what they want to achieve with their students
how they are doing it and how they will do it and what they need. In this stage they
get trained on methodologies and didactic techniques that are promoted within the
Tec community Project-Oriented Learning, Problem-Based Learning, Case
Studies, and Collaborative Learning. Because of the diversity on knowledge and
experience professors´ have, this stage is composed by a series of required and
optional activities according to the professors´ needs.

The required activities are oriented towards the following objectives:

? To know and apply self and collaborative learning in classroom and virtual
sessions.
? To know methodologies and didactic techniques that are used in the
courses and to get trained on the appropriate technique for the content of
the course and the students´ development.
? To design and structure a course with the characteristics of an educational
model using the most adequate didactic technique.

Also in this stage other optional workshops are incorporated so professors can
participate to complete their formation:

? Resources and technological tools to support the teaching and learning

processes: management of virtual groups, information science resources,
multimedia, simulations, among others.
 ? Criteria and rubrics to evaluate the diversity of learning processes that are
promoted in the different techniques, not only in individual activities, but also
in group activities.
? The role of a professor as a facilitator, a tutor and an expert in the students´
learning process.

These workshops vary depending on the demand and the professors´ needs as
they advance in the process, that is to say, the PDHD Program (Program for
Development of Teaching Techniques) becomes flexible and under continuous
development.
When a professor designs a course, either individually or collaboratively,
he/she obtains a global vision, foresees all the process and makes decisions that
he/she documents in the technological platform in an organized, structured and
integrated form. In this process a professor show his/her independence and
creativity.
The elements and decisions that a professor incorporates in the design of
his/her course are basically the following:

? To define the educational intentions that include abilities, attitudes and

values that professors want to promote among students. Also the learning
objectives, that the course program contains.
? To structure the contents of the course. To research, select and document
difficult real life situations.
? To determine the experiences and activities where students participate to
achieved learning. To organize these experiences according to the didactic
techniques that will be used. The professor gives instructions to perform the
activities and establishes the requirements to be fulfilled.
? To decide what activities will be done in the classroom or in the virtual
sessions, as well as the technological resources that will be utilized.
? To estimate the time for each activity so they do not surpass the academic
load established by the Tec´s regulations so that activities are distributed in
such a way that students are continuously busy.
? To establish the plan and the evaluation criteria for learning and to elaborate
the instruments and rubrics needed to register results.
? To inform students of their responsibilities and what they are expected to
achieve within the process; and the professors´ role as a facilitator.
? To determine the policies and rules to be followed in the course, the
behavior and attitudes expected which are also established within the
educational intentions.
? To suggest and facilitate the resources of information and materials needed
for the students to perform them successfully.
? To create a space to document his/her experience where he can incorporate
relevant data when implementing the course so that it gets ready to be
transferred and improved.
All these elements must go in accordance with the educational model. Before
implementing the redesigned course, professors and facilitators apply evaluation
criteria to fulfill the requirements.
The activity to design a course is fundamental in the process of change because
the professor mentally builds the educational model and adjusts it to the specific
context of his/her course. At the same time, it removes and contrasts its previous
scheme about teaching and learning within the educational model. The activity of
designing is not only about attending a course, but rather having a personal
reflection about the construction and creation of the educational model without
which it would be impossible to achieve it.

To design a course requires training and reflection time from the professor,
because he needs to handle pedagogical concepts that generally a university
professor has not been trained for. On the other hand, although professors have
done their programs and plans prior to the course, these programs were not as
rigorous as they are today considering that now they have to be posted in a
technological platform.
Because the traditional educational model is based upon classroom sessions, the
information of the course was transmitted orally to students and professors did not
need time to make decisions since teaching was supported only by implicit
knowledge.
A redesigned course, besides incorporating the educational model, has other
advantages: it avoids improvisation, makes professors reflect on their professional
practice, allows to contrast intentions with results and do research-action in the
classroom incorporating the continuous improvement as a normal operation and
the transition of oral tradition to information culture more appropriate to the new
educational approach.

A redesigned course in a technological platform

When placing a course in a technological platform, it is enriched and provides more

advantages, for example:
? It allows professors to make public his/her teaching, so that it can be
evaluated and recognized in the Institute. The course can be used as a
resource in the training process to reach change in a faster way.
? It allows to have, in a natural way, access to other technological sources of
information, like the Digital Library and Internet and it facilitates other
technological sources and the work in virtual spaces or individual and group
tasks.
? It makes information about a course and materials available to students.
? It allows students to control easily their process, to administer time, and to
be able to know the agenda of the course.
? It promotes the information culture, not only for professors, but also for
students. It also promotes the efficient management of new technologies.
 ? It allows professors to make adjustments easily according to the problems
that come up during the process of implementing and informing students
about these changes.

Stage 3: Implementation and guided practice

The objective of this stage is for professors to develop the abilities and attitudes
needed to implement and evaluate a course in accordance with the Educational
Model. This is because the fact of having a redesigned course in platform does not
guarantee its success when being implemented. The activities on this stage are
made by professors and are based upon continuous reflection about the way the
course is taught, the goals achieved and the obstacles faced. During the
implementation of the course, the professors´ way of teaching is guided by
continuous tutoring from a facilitator from his Campus and it is integrated by
activities such as the following:

? Peer coaching in the classroom by the facilitator, in order to know through a

colleague, how he/she performs his/her new role and make comment about
his/her results.
? Analysis of homework, assignments, projects and other ways of students´
participation in order to know their progress, to evaluate the effectiveness of
the plan established and make adjustments, as necessary.
? Interactive sessions with other professors in order to exchange experiences,
ask and give opinions about how to solve problems and overcome obstacles
that come up during the process, to standardize criteria and processes.

The results on this stage are incorporated into the didactic documentation of the
course. This is a very effective way of promoting reflection and improvement; also
it is a way of sharing with other professors the knowledge that is being built when
implementing the educational model. When finishing this stage, the course goes
through an evaluation process, approval and publication in order to be transferred.

Stage 4: Normal operation and continuos improvement

In the previous stages, the professor has developed the abilities and attitudes in
accordance to the profile established by the Mission: a professor who reflects and
acts as a learning facilitator who uses methodologies and didactic techniques
supporting the Educational Model. A professor who talks with his/her colleagues to
exchange experiences and gets involved in improving continuously as well as in
innovating education.
In this stage, professors are expected to consolidate and master the abilities
mentioned above so that they are used in a natural way. Professors carry out three
types of activities that characterize this new profile:
 ? To participate in updating processes and development in his/her area of
specialty or in innovating education processes and educational
technology.
? To share the knowledge and experience generated when implementing
the Educational Model through activities such as participation in
international, institutional or local forums; working in collaborative
networks with other colleagues for continuous improvement and
progress in the process; publication of articles and research.
? To put into practice the improvements of the course proposed at the end
of the semester, to evaluate the results, to document them and continue
incorporating permanently innovations and improvements to the course.

One important characteristic of this stage is that professors carry out the
responsibility and engagement in this process working in a more independent way,
because it is them who design the plan to be followed. At the end of the semester,
a professor writes a final report about his/her experience. This report is analyzed
along with his/her facilitator and together they do observations and reach
conclusions.
At the end of this stage, professors fulfill the formal training process within
the PDHD (Program for Development of Teaching Abilities) get certified in this
program. Professors are expected to follow their new role as part of their everyday
teaching, it is then when the goal of having a cultural change in teaching is
reached. All of the above implies a change in the way of thinking and the way of
carrying out the process of education so that the students´ profile is reached.

Option b: The process of transference

The process of transference is directed toward professors that adopt a course

designed by a colleague who has participated in the option A from the PDHD
(Program for Development of Teaching Abilities). The course to be adopted must
be approved and published in a data base and available to be used by other
professors that teach the same course within the same or different campuses.
Generally, professors that adopt and adapt a course, teach part-time at Tec; these
professors receive basic training which consists of two stages: Initial preparation
and Mobilization towards change once they register in the PDHD (Program for
Development of Teaching Abilities). Before adopting a course, the professor has to
understand the Tec´s educational model and its background, to handle the
technological platform where the course has been redesigned and be aware of the
responsibility he/she has when implementing the educational model.
In the process of transference, professors study the course he/she is going
to adopt, its methodology and the didactic technique to be applied, the process of
learning followed, the context in which it was applied, and the results of
implementation that are located within the didactic documentation. As a result of
this, the professor is able to adapt them to his/her own situation when necessary,
and he/she is able to improve them, if the philosophy of the educational model is
kept. In this process, the professor who adopts is supported by the facilitator who is
there with him/her during the following stages, which are very similar to Option A
stages. Also the professor is in touch with the designer of the course, both of them
and other professors that adopted the same course, form a collaborative network in
order to exchange experiences and opinions, so that the course can be enriched
through practical improvements.
The process of transference is a means of spreading experiences with the
educational model. On one hand, this facilitates the professors´ training, the
progress in the implementation process and the quality of the courses; on the other
hand, it makes experiences with positive results be kept, promoting this way
collaborative network among professors from the same and different campuses
(See Figure 7.1.).

The role of a facilitator in the process of development of professors

During the process of development of professors until the time they get certified in
the PDHD (Program for Development of Teaching Abilities), he/she is
accompanied by a facilitator that acts as a partner, he/she guides the reflection
process, coordinates the professors´ activities, offers feedback and evaluates the
stage of design, implementation and improvement of the course.
The facilitator is a full time professor that has more experience in the
process; has participated in all the stages of the PDHD (Program for Development
of Teaching Abilities), has implemented a course in a computer platform and has
acquired a didactic technique. This is done to set an example for the professors
he/she is tutoring; also, he/she has received advanced training in a foreign
university; not only in the mastering of a didactic technique, but also in abilities and
attitudes required to play his/her role of facilitator of the educational change.
In this working structure, the facilitator has the following functions:

? To support training on didactic techniques in his/her campus to implement the

educational model.
? To act as a promoter of the process and frequent working sessions either in
classroom or virtual sessions in order to analyze and discuss topics related to
the implementation of the didactic technique; and consequently the educational
model.
? To be expert at the application of the didactic technique and evaluate the
courses of those professors under his/her responsibility based upon established
criteria.
? To supervise that the application of the didactic techniques is done without
alterations and in accordance with the educational model.
 Figure 7.1. Scheme of the PDHD (Program for Development of Teaching
Abilities).

Option A: Development and

implementation of a course that applies Option B: Transference of a course
the educational model and it is Stage 1 developed by other professor that
organized based upon the following Mobilization to change applies the educational model.
didactic techniques: collaborative
learning, case-studies, project-oriented
learning, and problem-based learning.

The professor begins the The professor begins the

change, registers his/her change, registers his/her
course and selects the course and selects the
appropriate technique. course to be adopted.

Stage 2 Stage 2
Structure and course design Adoption and adaptation of
the course selected.
Publication of the
course approved
to be transferred.

Stage 3 Stage 3
Implementation and guided Implementation and guided
practice of the course. practice of the course
adapted to the professor´s
context.

Evaluation and
approval of the course
at System level for its
transference.

Stage 4
Normal operation and continuous
Improvement of the course.

Reflection and continuous improvement Reflection and continuous improvement

 ? Main relationships with foreign universities to keep up-dated and have joint
activities like research, professor and student exchange programs, co-
edition of articles, etc.
? Promote a systematic exchange of experiences among colleagues so the
implementation of the educational model is continuous.
? Promote openness among professors to communicate their experiences,
request help, document their findings, contribute to the knowledge-base of
the System, and this way avoid isolation which stops the process towards
change.
? Have campuses achieve advance in the implementation of the educational
model with autonomy and quality.

At present, all the campuses have a working structure and the necessary
resources for the implementation of the educational model. PDHD workshops
are published in the platform of Blackboard to be transferred. There is a
database where model courses which use a didactic technique. There are also
enough experienced facilitators who have been certified in each didactic
technique. These facilitators have been distributed in all the campuses in order
to advance in the implementation of the educational model.
All the System continues working so all the courses, with no exception, fulfill
the characteristics of the educational model. The following is the advance of the
implementation up to June of 2002:

? Of the total of professor, thirty percent are implementing the educational

model and have concluded their training and fifty-two percent are now

Figure 7.2 Present situation of professors in relation to the implementation of the

educational model.

in their training process. This means that eight-two percent of the

professors are working with the educational model and eighteen percent
is about to start the process. (See Figure 7.2).
? Of the total class groups which are offered, twenty-nine percent apply
the educational model with courses approved System wide and forty
percent apply it although they are in process of being approved. This
 means that seventy-nine percent of the class groups use the educational
model and thirty-one percent use the traditional model. (See Figure 7.3).

How to participate in the PDHD

The conditions of each campus and the professors’ needs and preferences to
receive training are varied. In order to attend all the variables, the workshops and
activities which are offered can be in the classroom, on-line/classroom, on-
line/satellite, or totally on-line. (See Table 7.1).

How to make an educational change meaningful

The educational change is not maintained with the last mentioned activities. The
following is required in order to achieve an effective result:

? Professors should participate in permanent development activities which

respond to their needs and that are performed during their teaching
practice and they should not be part of a list of complementary activities.
? Professors should continue to use technology to share resources and
experiences as part of the professional development, to publish results
and generate a share knowledge-base.
? Time should be given for change to take place and the necessary
support should be offered so this change has the opportunity to grow.

Figure 7.3 Implementation of the educational model in class groups.

Table 7.1 Format for workshops offered in PDHD
Format Description

Classroom workshops These workshops are developed and taught in each

campus. They respond to specific needs of the
professors and are taught in classroom sessions by a
facilitator who offers academic support to participants.

On-line/classroom These workshops use a common database for all the

workshop System campuses and its design includes activities
which require a facilitator who is assigned in each
campus.

On-line/satellite There are courses which are developed and published

workshops in a technological platform and are combined with
satellite transmissions in which professors from all the
campuses participate simultaneously. New workshops
are normally offered in this format.

Totally on-line These workshops are published in a technological

workshops platform and are used and managed by each campus.
These workshops count with a coordinator who gives
academic support to participants and facilitates the
process.

? Processes which are complex should not be simplified. Change can be

stopped if the time dedicated for the development of professors is not
enough and there are no additional activities to support it.
? The institution should continuously support and evaluate the process.
? Directors as well as other administrators should participate since change
affects the organizational function of the institution and requires a solid
infrastructure to be carried out.

Table 7.2 shows the comments of a professor about her experience in the
implementation of the educational model.

Conditions for change: Institutional support

The institutional support offered to professors is an essential factor to facilitate

the conditions and opportunities where change can be accomplished and be
maintained at a long-term. This change should be sustained with the
agreements, politics, and norms established by the corresponding organisms.
The following is a description of the support which each organization offers to
achieve the implementation of the educational model.
Support form the Academic Vice-rectory

This entity, together with the Systems’Academic Council, took the responsibility to
develop and support the implementation of the educational model in the
professors’practice. It was done through the following activities and functions.
? Define Tec’s educational model and the pedagogical frame in which it is
based, as well as the creation of the working structure to carry out the
implementation of the model in the whole system.
? Establish the conditions, directions, guidelines and criteria for the
implementation of the educational model and the processes to follow them
up.
? Develop and promote training programs for professors’formation and
development, and establish activities and mechanisms to keep them active
and in continuous formation process.
? Provide information related to the educational model through electronic
documents, to offer theoretical and technical support to the professor in a
continuous and accessible way.

Table 7.2 Professors testimony.

I have had to impulse the educational model since its origin. As a teacher I can
say that I have leaned a lot during my training in the PDHD which I considered
a process full of experiences. What I liked the most, among other things, was
asking myself why and what for I did things and why I asked my students to do
them. This educational model becomes sort of a life and culture style which
allows us to change and learn all the time.
I have also learned from the process of being a facilitator of high school
teachers and college professors. It is motivating to hear about professors
experiences in the classroom and observe their creativity when they are trying
to adapt their course to the educational model and to their needs. It is also
interesting to see how they share ideas about their activities and make
adaptations learning from each other with good bases and how they share the
mistakes they had in the past to avoid making the same mistakes again. It is
also interesting to observe how teachers change; frequently, they show
surprise, doubt and even fear, however, when they have finished the redesign
they comment openly that they are conscious that it is an important process
they have just started and would like to continue.

Guadalupe Suárez
Department of Agriculture and Food Technology
Campus Querétaro
 ? Collect experiences of professors who have implemented the educational
model and share it with other colleagues in order to use them as support
resources.
? Investigate the world educational tendencies and the best experiences in
educational innovation, as well as information about universities which are
leaders in educational changes to be sure that the professors will have the
most advanced training.
? Develop schemes for the didactic use of computer technology that would
help professors develop situations and learning spaces and integrate them
to their teaching practice.
? Create, publish and administer data bases where courses are registered
and undated, and analyze and publish the results in order to improve them.
? Evaluate continuously the needs professors have to generate supporting
mechanisms and make the necessary changes to the development process.
? Be a link between the campuses and the central system to coordinate the
activities and guarantee the advance of the implementation of the
educational model.
? Give feedback and work together with other entities of the Institution to
make decisions and supporting actions required by the educational change.

Support form the Internationalization Vice-rectory

In order to offer better training to the professors, it was decided to learn form the
experience of universities which are leaders in educational innovation. At the
same time, it was possible to encourage the professors’international formation,
participating in workshops in foreign universities.
The internationalization Vice-rectory carried out the following activities to give
support to this process:

? Give priority, within their projects, to professor training in foreign universities

to learn teaching techniques and to participate in workshops oriented to the
educational innovation.
? Create links and establish alliances with other foreign universities to
facilitate teacher training activities and keep a long term relation with them
to exchange experiences and assure the academic internationalization of
the Institute.
? Cooperate with information, obtained from visiting foreign universities that
could be used to give support to the educational model.

Support from the Virtual University

The role of the Virtual University during the implementation process of the
educational model has been very important, since it provides satellite spaces which
allow professors to communicate and interact with professors form other
campuses. These virtual spaces have facilitated the following activities:

? Develop a common language related to the educational model through out

the System, work with the same orientation, reinforce the information offered
though electronic means, clarify critical situations related to the
implementation of the educational model and communicate the institutional
guidelines.
? Carry out an interchange of experiences among professors form all
campuses who work in the educational model to share their experiences
and learn form each other.
? Allow professors and students form all campuses to participate on (a
distance) courses which use the educational model in order to have them
share their experience and working schemes.
? To maintain active all the professors and to give opportunity to recognize the
advances of each campus in the process and the specific forms to promote
this process, preventing in this way, that the experiences of each campus
might be isoleted, not recognized and might become weakened.
? Establish working sessions to unify criteria. In order to support the
educational model, conferences and workshops given by professors form
foreign universities are offered to all the professors of the System.
? Produce experiences about the use of information and communication
technology as well as activities which are based on them.

Support form Information Technology Vice-rectory

The main objective of this organization is to support the implementation of the

educational model, offering technological tools. Some of their functions are the
following:
? Investigate and offer better technological options in the market.
? Offer training to teachers to help them use the technological options of the
educational model efficiently.
? Develop tools which adjust more to professors’needs.
? Create the required technological infrastructure: ports, networks, high-
performance servers and other elements.
? Give continuous service to the technological needs and problems presented
in the Campus.
? Work in a coordinated way with the Academic Vice-rectory to answer
professors’technological needs.

Administrative support in the Campus

In order to have a lasting and solid innovation, it is important to encourage changes

in the functions of the director and in the organizational culture of the campuses. If
the organizational processes are not adapted to the change requirements, they
inhibit the working forms the innovation demands. When a professor takes the risk
to make changes, he/she needs intermediaries, not interferences. Directors should
participate in the process as leaders and share with the professors the activities
and acknowledge their needs and fears. They should also facilitate the resources
and comprehend the structural changes required for the implementation of the
model. In addition, directors should have periodic meetings to discuss about the
changes and promote communication.
In order to achieve this goal, directors should assume new and different roles: The
most important is to incorporate an educational leadership which differs form
his/her administration role. (See Table 7.3)

Many directors of different campuses are carrying out efficient activities to support,
advance and sustain the process. Some of the strategies used by the directors are
to:

? Participate actively through out the process and analyze professors’

workload considering that it is now more time consuming. In the new
teaching model, professors carry out activities such as: searching for real-
situational problems and publishing them for the students, planning the
steps followed in the course carefully, checking continuously students’
advance, communicating with colleagues, and training to update and
improve permanently. All these activities demand from the professor more
time and energy than the activities of the traditional model.

Table 7.3 Role of an administrative director (traditional role) and a of a director

with leadership (new role) in the educational change.

Administrative role Educational leader role

? It is based on control. ? It is based on confidence.
? It is focused on keeping the ? It is focused on improvement
status. and success.
? It works in an isolated way. ? It works collaboratively.
? It emphasizes fulfillment and ? It emphasizes personal
dependence. responsibility.
? It solves problems ? It helps to solve problems.

? Promote professors’meetings to analyze teaching and professor-training

problems in the educational change. It also reactivates academies’
participation incorporating colleagues’discussions about the implication of
using teaching techniques in their courses.
? Facilitate the means to buy the necessary material and equipment to renew
the classrooms and make them more dynamic using movable tables, ports
to connect to the Internet, technological resources, appropriate
infrastructure, networks and computers.
? Develop creative ways to implant the educational model with the professors’
collaboration. It organizes local congresses where professors can show
and exchange their experiences and direct a project in their campuses to
take advantage of professors’efforts.
? Promote the appropriate professor training that will help them innovate and
evaluate the effectiveness of the process. It will also help them guarantee
the continuity of the educational change adjusting the process to the
campuses’different styles, forms and the time each campus requires to
respond.

Achievements

The effort made in five years to install the educational model in the teaching
practice has generated important experiences and knowledge. It has also lead
to meaningful achievements, in the inside of the Institution as well as in
international environments where Tec has achieved acknowledgments as a
university which is leader in educational innovation and in the use of
technological resources.
During the process of the educational change, professors have been an
active group which has required an organized workplace to carry out activities
and share them. They have also required support from their campus to
participate in these activities and different kind of rewards. Some of the
achievements are shown below.

Professor collaborative working culture

Professors’participation in the introduction process of the educational change

has generated knowledge of the process which has been documented and
made available for all the professors of the Institution. At present there are
collaborative data bases and virtual groups such as the following:

? Problem, cases and project bank used by professors. These banks have
been tested and validated. Each teaching tool includes the didactic
documentation, settings and its correct use in the course. There are also
data bases with approved and published courses which are available to
be transferred.
? Committees to check the quality of problems, cases and projects to
guarantee the quality of the courses where they are taught.
? Collaborative networks of professors who work together to unify criteria
on learning methods, evaluation, activities and other interesting matters
such as exchanging ideas about problems and solutions to implant their
courses with good results.

This collaborative working culture which has been developed in the Institution
is confirmed with the suggestions given by the professors in the polls:
 ? Form multidiscipline teams which evaluate the courses together with the
professors who developed them.
? Participate in collaborative teams with professors who teach the same
subject.
? Introduce the observation method to give specific feedback to the
professor.
? Keep in contact with experts to get feedback about the courses.

Achievements in the implementation of the educational model

Studies on the impact of the educational model in the classroom have been
made every semester. These studies show the level of the model
implementation. These are some of the achievements obtained which are
described in the detail in the figure 7.4:
? Professors are more reflexive and focus their attention in students
learning process. They make changes and adjustments to the process
in order to obtain better results for the students and achieve the
established goals.
? Students working form includes, in a balanced way, a high percentage
of collaborative activities. Professors’exposition has diminished and
students keep on working individually.
? Students’working load has increased in redesigned courses, and even
though they consider it excessive, it is getting closer to what has been
established by the Institution to encourage students’responsibility and
working culture.
? The development of abilities, attitudes and values has increased in a
high percentage. The most fomented HAV’s (acronyms in Spanish,
Abilities, Attitudes and Values) are: self-learning, collaborative learning,
the ability to analyze, synthesize and evaluate responsibility, honesty
and working culture.
? The use of technological tools has become a natural way of working
which students like and use efficiently. According to some of the
students’comment the consider them valuable because they allow them
to do homework, discuss with their classmates about some topics, carry
out projects and have access to informational resources, communicate
with the professor and his/her classmates at a different time, construct
models and role play.
? With respect to quality, most of the courses that offer this educational
model are in the ranges of good and excellent.

Tec in the university international context of the educational

innovation
Tec of Monterrey has always been in international forums and has been
acknowledged for the academic formation offered to their students and the
investigations done by the institution. In the last years, it has also
encouraged the student and professor interchange with innovative
universities that collaborate with the Institute. There is an interest in
searching for joint investigations, collaboration in publications and
academic programs, and more participation in congresses and international
forums.
On the other hand, Tec has gained international acknowledgement as a
university which is leader in educational innovations and in the use of
computer technology as support. At present it participates in international
associations that promote innovating teaching and learning methods.
These innovations guarantee the achievements of goals through the
internationalization.

Figure 7.4 Results of Tec’s educational model

Tec of Monterrey is associated member of the European Consortium
of Innovative Universities (ECIU)

Tec is member of the ECIU since June 2001. The founding institutions of
the consortium have several characteristics in common, some of the most
relevant are that all of them are academically strong in Engineering and
Social Sciences. These institutions are young, enterprising and progressive
and keep a close relationship with the industry and the regions where they
are located. In addition, they develop and apply new methods for teaching,
learning and investigating. They also assure an innovative culture within
their boundaries, experiment new management ways and interchange
useful experiences.
 The strategic plan of this consortium in which Tec participates has as its
principle to promote joint activities to strengthen the innovative nature of its
members. This can be done cooperating in education to establish programs
with good results, establish innovative technologies and flexible educational
programs, students’progress and cooperation programs on the use of
computer technology and telecommunication.
During its development, the consortium expects to form solid
associations with the government, businesses and industries, with this it will
be possible to promote the cooperation among scientific groups and
strengthen spin-off companies which have international ranges. Likewise, it
expects to offer life formation beyond its national boarders and establish
certification and validation criteria of the ECIU courses and loan
interchange to generate resources to carry out joint programs and promote
the growth of their operations and influence out of Europe.

Tec de Monterrey is a founder member of the Problem Based Learning

Center (UCPBL)

The Aalborg Universitet in Denmark, the Tec of Monterrey and the

International Center for Engineering Education of the UNESCO (UICEE)
are interested in establishing a engineering educational center as a satellite
center of UICEE. The main goal of this center is to create and spread the
mechanisms for engineering education, using the Problem Based Learning
method. This will be done through a world network formed by different
universities which are distributed all over the world. Tec of Monterrey is
one of the universities who started the idea of funding this center, it will be a
member of the Administrative committee together with the universities
interested in this project. The figure 7.5 presents the strategic integration of
the founding members of the center.

Figure 7.5 Universities that integrate the Problem and Project Based
Learning Center.
Campus Guadalajara, head office of the International Congress of the
Educational Innovation in Economics and Business Network (EDINEB)

Tec of Monterrey participates with its professors expositions in the annual

congresses organized by EDINEB. This year – 2002- Campus Gualdalajara
was the head office of the annual congress. It was the first time, since its
foundation in 1993, that the congress was not carried out in Europe.
The international network EDINEB was founded to have a continuous
interchange of experiences and knowledge in the economy and business
area. Some of the activities done by this network are workshops to present
experiences with innovations, publications, international conferences and
other interchange form. The EDINEB plans to strengthen their members
experience in key factors related to innovative teaching and learning
methods, creation of knowledge, corporate training, course design and
technology, and the development of educational platforms. The network is
formed by members who belong to graduate schools, business schools,
consulting firms, corporate and industrial training centers and others.

Tec of Monterrey, representative and sponsor of the Latina American

Association of Cases (ALAC)

Tec was invited to become a member of the North American Research

Association (NACRA) as a representative of the Latin American Association
of Cases (ALAC). The relevance of this association is that Tec will be able
to promote not only case teaching, learning and investigation but it can also
carry out projects with other universities and share the authorship of
investigations and publications.
The initial effort has been to include the Institute professors that have
been trained in the case method as members of the association. These
professor will be producing cases form Mexican companies and
organizations.
The importance in participating in the ALAC is because the economic
relation between the United States and Mexico is growing and in the future,
these countries will make important decisions which could be good case
examples to be used by professors to improve the education in business
administration and other areas.
On the other hand, Tec’s coverage in Mexico and Latin America makes it
institution the ideal head office of the ALAC. Professors, who are members,
can use the association cases in their courses and validate their
investigations, cases and teaching methods with other members of the
association. They will also have the opportunity to work in projects with
professors form Mexico and Latin America who can be invited to enrich the
interchanges.

There is nothing more difficult to manage, risky to guide and uncertain to have success
than to lead the introduction of a new order of things. Macchiaveli

A retrospective regard of the educational change

The change in the educational model did not happen in a moment, and it
was not the work of a single person. It has extended through out the time
and it has been group work. This is a comment of a professor (2002): I think
we are learning little by little about the educational model and the platform,
and at the same time we are improving them. This is a process that takes
time.
The complexity of the educational model and the results of the studies
done to the educational changes show that in order to have them operate
normally, they have to go over certain stages. Using a retrospective look to
Tec’s experience, it is possible to identify four stages which Tec has passed
during these five years of constant effort: the definition stage, the initiation
stage, the implementation stage and the institutionalization stage.

The definition stage

This stage considers the time spent to figure out which direction the
Institutions’efforts should have in these years. This process took shape in
the mission 2005 in which the goals, directions, programs and strategies to
carry out the educational model were established. The initial impulse
towards the educational change was done by the Institute’s Council and the
team of rectors. This initial impulse was a good strategy since it assured the
supply of resources needed in the process and opened a permanent
dialogue which allowed to check continuously the fulfillment of the
objectives, and at the same time it helped to feel more secure about the
feasibility of the project, a confidence environment and a space where
problems and solutions could be discussed. This stage was known and
accepted by the Institution’s personnel.

Initiation stage

This stage was carried out with the participation of the professors of all the
campuses and of all the levels and disciplines who decided to be part of the
process. The first part of the stage changed the professors’schemes and
also the teaching schemes. In this stage, there were more barriers,
resistance and obstacles, it was possible to advance living together with
conflicts and constant effort and negotiations. These are some of the
reasons that explain this situation:
? A great number of professors who have passed through educational
innovative cycles showed indifference and considered the change
 as the latest educational fashion. Others inferred it as a hidden
message about something they were not doing correctly and those
who had been working with professionalism and dedication were
surprised about the change and asked themselves: Why do we have
to change if we are doing things the right way?
? The educational change demands more form the professor. They
have to participate intensively in training activities, in the didactic as
well in the technological area. These activities alter their working
pace and require time, disposition and support. In addition to this,
there were fears about incorporating abilities, attitudes and value.
They considered that professors’attention would divert from
learning contents which are necessary for students’formation.
? There was no experience, neither models to follow and everybody
had to learn through the process. The Program for the Development
Teaching Abilities (PDHD) was being adjusted to the professor’s
needs, eliminating or reducing some of the activities that were not
considered useful and other activities were incorporated. In this way,
it was possible to identify the need to offer the professors more
training in teaching methodologies and techniques, and give them a
more specific orientation in their course design.
? There was a distrust environment when it was observed that the
results did not occur as fast as they were expected and because the
students did not have the desired conditions, there were technology
failures and the school organization and spaces were not prepared
for the new educational model. These situations were considered
barriers and obstacles to implant the educational model, instead of
an opportunity to improve it.
? An educational change which is so complex required time to be able
to understand it completely. At the beginning, it was just seen
partially which lead to define the educational model form isolated
aspects which were given an absolute value. This erroneous opinion
became an obstacle to comprehend the relevance of the whole
change and also interfered in the communication of the participants.
This partial perception of the educational model started a series of
prejudgments and myths which are described in Figure 7.4.

Due to this situation, it was necessary to promote and keep in the

professors a favorable attitude to the change. An important factor was
to value and reward professors’efforts. It is difficult to have a professor
value what he/she does if he/she is not given a reward, and if this is
done, he/she takes risks and makes the necessary changes. During
this process, this aspect was taken into account and professors were
offered different incentives according to the specific context of each
campus, for instance, there was a salary increase for the professors
who were certified in the PDHD, the professors’workload was reduced
in order to dedicate time to the process, and it was also included as an
 indicator in the professors classification. For some other professors,
the incentive was to keep their jobs in the Institution. Besides what has
been mentioned before it can be assured that in these professors there
were intrinsic reasons and personal interests in contributing to improve
the education.
By the time this phase was finished , it was accepted the error as an
experience to learn and to improve, it was fostered the interchange of
experiences with positive results, it got to a more global understanding
of which the educative change supposed, educative models were
created with excellent results and the initial group became leader of the
change.

Application stage

It was in this stage where the implementation of the educational model

was done. Professors’attitude was open to incorporate new
methodologies and working forms. In this moment, there were
educational models, and it became natural to use technology and
appropriate infrastructure and the resistance disappeared.
During the application process professors have been an active
group which has had to work collaboratively to negotiate and construct
common meanings. They have also had to work to create organized
spaces where they can carry out their activities and chare them, and
they have had to find support form their campuses to participate in
these activities and in other responsibility.

Table 7.4 Ten myths about the educational model

Myths Correct approach

1. The educational change 1. The redesign develops the

consists in letting the student ability to use the self-learning
learn by him/here self. method under professors’
2. In the redesigned courses guidance.
professors do not teach 2. In the redesign the professor
anymore. teaches and facilitates the
3. In the redesigned courses, learning process.
knowledge is not important; 3. In the redesign, its main
now it is more important to objective is to develop an
develop abilities, attitudes ample, deep and relevant
and values. learning in the student and at
4. The redesign means to work the same time develop their
in teams. abilities, attitudes and
5. In the redesign, students values.
evaluate themselves. 4. The redesign incorporates
 6. The redesign is the collaborative learning
incorporation of technology activities.
to the education. 5. In the redesign, the student
7. The redesign takes us to evaluates his/her learning
work virtually and eliminates process to make
the human interaction. improvements.
8. The redesign is a fashion. 6. The redesign uses a
9. Redesign is to put on paper technological platform to
every single detail done by support the teaching
the student. processes.
10. The redesign standardizes 7. The redesign takes
everything and eliminates advantage of the technology
professor’s creativity. to increase the human
interaction.
8. The redesign is an world-
wide educational change
which is the result of the new
social and technological
context.
9. The redesign is, above all, a
restatement the professor
does about his/her teaching
activities. The professor
documents the results of this
reflection and the
experiences he/has had in
the praxis of the redesigned
course.
10. The redesign is an
educational proposal which
each professor creates
individually, as a result of
his/her reflection, taking into
account the context of the
campus, the students and
their social environment.

The campus directors, division directors and department directors participated

more actively and assumed the leadership of the process.

Institutionalization stage

After five years of having stated the educational change, it can be assured that the
Tec of Monterrey has entered an institutionalization stage, although, it is done at
different levels, according to each campus. It is possible to get to this stage when
the educational model is not an innovation anymore and the institution assimilates
it as a structure. It considers the collective approval and the global comprehension
of the change. It is distinguished because all the entities of the Institution are
engaged in the process, efforts are coordinated, the processes are defined, the
required infrastructure is created as well as a working structure. In addition, all the
campuses have human, academic and technological resources to work
independently. At this level, it is possible to develop a strategic plan and control
risks. In this stage, professors use a common language which allows them to share
ideas and experiences.
The director’s role in this process is very important because he/she directs the
plan and incorporates the innovation to the campuses operation. To assume this
leadership implies to pay attention to the ideas, experiences and contents each
professor has and it is through the exploration of the different experiences, ideas,
values and abilities that directors and professors can negotiate their point of view
of these changes and its implications and carry out the implementation
successfully. (See Figure 7.6)
The institutionalization is not a final stage because it will always be innovative
and it is based in a continuous improvement process.
It is expected that in the year 2005, the institution will be defined as a university
where the educational models is applied with quality to all the courses.

Figure 7.6 Stages in the changing process of Tec’s new educational model.

Institutionalization

Application

? The educational
model is a normal
Established operation.
model ? Experiences are ? The professors
shared with improve
Initiation Reflection colleges. permanently.
? The models are ? The innovation is
constructed. continuous.
? Stability ? Positive results are ? The organization
? organizational obtained. adapts itself.
? Acceptance
structure. ? There is permanent ? Directors
? Comprehension
? Professors’domain.? Partial active participation. participate.
Comprehension ? Positive
? Satisfied in the ? There is continuous ? There is a
? Myths and attitude.
operation improvement. permanent
prejudices ? Open
? Value improvement
? Administrative ? Interest
barriers.
? Academic conflict
? Distrust
? Professor and
students
resistance