Panelists included Prof. Dr. Semih Aktekin –Rector, Nevşehir Hacı Bektaş Veli University, Nevşehir, Turkey and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohammad Amiryousefi, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, I.R. Iran.
In his seminar, titled “Can We Transfer General Teaching Competencies into Higher Education: The Case of Turkey” Prof. Aktekin drew on his experience as a director at the Turkish Ministry of National Education in updating and publishing it in 2017. Aktekin was responsible to revise, edit, and finalize the Competency document. Aktekin argues that this document sets an important framework for the development of policies for teacher education. It is also considered to be a guide to the teachers in terms of their personal and professional development. Aktekin also shared the main details of the Teacher Competency document and his experiences during the preparation of this document. His seminar addressed the following questions: What kind of competencies are needed for teaching at higher education? Do academics need a separate ‘Teaching Competency’ document? Which part of general teacher competencies can be transferred to higher education? How applicable is the Turkish experience in Iranian schools/universities?
In the second part of the seminar, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohammad Amiryousefi, University of Isfahan took the stage and gave his talk titled “Teaching Excellence: The Case of University of Isfahan.” Dr. Amiryousefi discussed the developments regarding improving the teaching competencies of university academics in Iranian universities in general and at the University of Isfahan in particular. The 3-hour virtual event hosted around 50 academics and young researchers from all around the world.
