September, 2011‐May, 2012

The Palestinian Faculty development Program (PFDP) is pleased to announce a series of monthly
Roundtables on key issues in higher education for members of the faculty and administration of Palestine’s major universities. The Roundtables will occur each month from September, 2011 through May, 2012. Each will involve a review and discussion of international best practices in critical areas of interest identified by PFDP alumni and higher education leaders in Palestine. International experts and specialists from Palestinian universities will collaborate to adapt international best practices to the Palestinian context. Central European University, Northwestern University, Portland State University have already agreed to participate as co‐sponsors).

Goals

The National Roundtables series has four major goals:

  TERMS OF REFERENCE

External Evaluator
Palestinian Faculty Development Program
Centers for Teaching Excellence 

Résumé du programme

Lancé en 2005, le Palestinian Faculty Development Program (PFDP) est une initiative qui vise à accroître la capacité dans le secteur de l'enseignement supérieur palestinien et régler les problèmes à long terme de la réforme de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage dans les écoles supérieures et les universités en Cisjordanie et à Gaza. Financé par USAID et Open Society Institute, le programme de 25,7 millions de dollars encouragera le développement professionnel de jeunes universitaires prometteurs qui enseignent les sciences sociales et humaines; Il permettra également de revitaliser et réformer l'enseignement dans ces domaines tout en promouvant une culture institutionnelle de l'enseignement et de l'apprentissage afin d'assurer que l'impact du PFDP perdurera au-delà de sa durée de vie de sept ans.

 العربية

2011 Academic Colloquium (click here for background info)

CALL FOR PRESENTATION ABSTRACTS

The Palestinian Faculty Development Program (PFDP) will hold its fifth annual colloquium on July 2 and 3, 2011in Ramallah. As the PFDP enters its 6^th year, we must begin to address the essential issues of impact and sustainability: what will be PFDP’s legacy, and how can we and our partners maintain the momentum and impact of our shared commitment to improving teaching and learning across a wide spectrum of universities and programs? How can we not just stimulate and support needed reforms and improvements—but how can we institutionalize them? How can we work together to inspire a continuing passion for innovation among individual faculty members as well as entire departments, schools and universities? What policy issues must we identify and debate in order to create an environment that will support continuous improvement of Palestine’s higher education system in the years ahead?

The answers to such questions will require discussion and collaboration among all PFDP stakeholders: professors, administrators, community leaders and define the theme of PFDP’s fifth annual academic colloquium: Teaching and Learning for the Future: Leadership, Innovation and Sustainability. Below is a list of themes for papers and presentations for the colloquium. We encourage all PFDP stakeholders and alumni to submit proposals that address specific aspects of these general topics.

العربية

 PFDP Academic Colloquium

July 2-3, 2011

Since 2005, the Palestinian Faculty Development Program (PFDP) has collaborated with USAID, the Open Society Institute (OSI) and 14 universities in the West Bank and Gaza to design and support a rich variety of programs and activities that focused on improving the quality and effectiveness of teaching and learning at universities in Palestinian higher education.  

Our major emphasis has been upon university faculty members as the obvious and critical factor in creating and sustaining a culture of teaching and learning: supporting advanced study abroad, funding special projects in curriculum development, assisting with the design of collaborative projects in teaching; recognizing excellent teachers; promoting faculty development through seminars, conferences and colloquia; producing research studies, and sponsoring seminars for excellence in teaching. More recently, PDFP has invested in two model Centers for Teaching Excellence at An-Najah University and Bethlehem University. 

All of these activities focus on the broader goal of promoting an institutional culture of teaching and learning, whether in specific academic programs on one campus or at the university level, perhaps involving many campuses working together to address a common need or problem.