Focus AreasHESP Regional Seminar for Excellence in Teaching (ReSET)
The International Higher Education Support Program Regional Seminar for Excellence in Teaching (ReSET) aims to develop and support teaching excellence at the undergraduate university level. The program establishes a framework for the long-term regional and international collaboration in areas important to the region's undergraduate humanities and social sciences curricula. ReSET projects respond to diverse subjects, fields, and regional needs and share an approach based on:
- developing reflexive scholarly and innovative undergraduate teaching;
- critical rethinking of the subject, drawing on the most current international scholarship;
- a collaborative structure fostering peer exchange and learning among the regional and international faculty.
Rooted in the concept of continuous development and self-renewal of university academics, ReSET creates opportunities for qualified and dedicated regional and international faculty to make a substantial contribution to the revision and advancement of teaching and learning in their subjects and fosters their leadership in the process of educational change in the region.
Participants and Activities
ReSET projects involve groups of junior faculty participants from the region and international teams of resource faculty; all participating academics have current teaching positions at the university degree programs in the humanities and social sciences. Resource faculty are recruited for their qualities as “master teachers,” expertise on the subject and involvement in international scholarship. Long-term commitment of the participants and core resource faculty to the projects is essential.
The program activities focus on development and practice of scholarly teaching through critical and creative inquiry into the state of the art of the scholarship and curricula in the subject areas of particular importance to the undergraduate learning. Participants and resource faculty engage as academic peers in a continuous program which includes regular seminar sessions (typically summer sessions of 2-3 weeks in length, and shorter, more focused or smaller group meetings in the interim) and inter-session project activities tailored to the project's agenda and the needs and capacities of the involved colleagues.
ReSET projects inspire and enable immediate connection between the work within the project group and the teaching practice of the project participants and establish a framework for active academic collaboration, peer review and feedback among the participants and resource faculty.
HESP is currently considering Concept Proposals for ReSET Seminars and ReSET Challenges projects to start in the summer of 2010 or during the 2010-11 academic year.
For further information and an application form, please see the ReSET guidelines page.
