P ac ice Pape
Recommended ci a ion: Syl es e, E., Ma hou, C., Lape ouza, M., & Lana ès, J.
(2025). Use o an 'Impo ance-Pe o mance' Tool o Iden i y Teache s' T aining
P io i ies. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie, G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI
53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI),
Tampe e, Finland. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17631523.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
USE OF AN "IMPORTANCE-PERFORMANCE” TOOL TO IDENTIFY
TEACHERS’ TRAINING PRIORITIES
E. Syl es e a,1, C. Ma hou b, M. Lape ouza c,
J. Lana ès d
a UNIL, Lausanne, Swi ze land, 0000-0003-4575-7755
b UNIL, Lausanne, Swi ze land, 0000-0002-9419-1682
c EPFL, Lausanne, Swi ze land, 0000-0001-6316-254X
d UNIL, Lausanne, Swi ze land, 0000-0002-9732-0611
Con e ence Key A eas: 14. Building he capaci y and s eng hening he educa ional
compe ences o enginee ing educa o s; 15. Imp o ing highe enginee ing educa ion
h ough esea ching enginee ing educa ion
Keywo ds: Facul y de elopmen , Teaching compe ences, Impo ance-Pe o mance
analysis, STEM, Sel -assessmen ool
ABSTRACT
This p ac ice pape p esen s he de elopmen and applica ion o a sel -assessmen
ool designed o iden i y eaching compe ences ha uni e si y ins uc o s conside
bo h impo an and in need o imp o emen . Roo ed in an analysis o nine
in e na ional compe ence amewo ks, he ool – IPTCHE (Impo ance–Pe o mance
o Teaching Compe ences in Highe Educa ion) – e alua es se en co e pedagogical
compe ences h ough a double-en y ques ionnai e based on Bes –Wo s Scaling
me hodology. Adminis e ed o ag icul u al enginee ing acul y membe s in Tunisia,
he ins umen cap u es pe cei ed pe o mance and impo ance o each
compe ence, allowing o a c oss-analysis o iden i y key de elopmen p io i ies. The
esul s highligh well-es ablished s eng hs, such as cou se design and e lec i e
p ac ice, alongside c i ical gaps in a eas like ac i e lea ning acili a ion and pee
collabo a ion. Gende - and ank-based analyses e eal di e en ia ed pe cep ions:
women place g ea e impo ance on con inuous imp o emen , while ea ly-ca ee
acul y membe s (assis an p o esso s) epo s onge pe o mance in
communica ing eaching in en ions bu g ea e needs in mas e ing cou se design.
The s udy demons a es how he IPTCHE ool o e s a obus amewo k o aligning
acul y de elopmen p og ams wi h he exp essed needs o educa o s, he eby
1 Co esponding Au ho
E. Syl es e
[email p o ec ed]
enhancing hei ele ance and impac . While p omising, he indings a e limi ed by
he ela i ely small sample size (n=27), unde lining he need o b oade
implemen a ion and u he esea ch. O e all, his wo k con ibu es o mo e con ex -
awa e and esponsi e app oaches o acul y de elopmen , pa icula ly in STEM
disciplines, by placing eache s' pe cep ions a he cen e o aining design.
1 INTRODUCTION
The de elopmen o he pedagogical compe ences o highe educa ion eache s is
one o he majo le e s o s eng hening he quali y o educa ion (Gibbs & Co ey,
2004), pa icula ly in enginee ing p og ams (Finelli e al., 2008). Se e al ecen
s udies con i m ha pedagogical de elopmen p og ams ha e a signi ican posi i e
impac , no only on he knowledge and compe ences o highe educa ion eache s
(Bilal e al., 2019; S eine e al., 2016), bu also on hei p o essional iden i y
(S eine e al., 2019) and on s uden lea ning (Condon e al., 2016). Mo e
speci ically in he ield o STEM subjec s, se e al esul s show ha he de elopmen
o pedagogical compe ences, pa icula ly h ough app oaches cen e ed on ac i e
lea ning ( lipped class ooms, p ojec s, p oblem-based lea ning, e c.), is an essen ial
elemen o he quali y o educa ion p o ided in enginee ing schools (McCa hy Hin z
e al., 2025; F ey e al., 2020).
This aises a cen al ques ion: how can we igo ously iden i y he eaching
compe ences deemed a p io i y by eache s and assess hei pe cei ed le el o
mas e y, in o de o guide mo e con ex ualized, a ge ed and e ec i e con inuing
educa ion p og ams? We p opose o use an “Impo ance-Pe o mance” ool o
add ess his ques ion. To his end we ha e de eloped a ques ionnai e based on
Bes –Wo s Scaling app oach as an ini ial s ep o adap a compe ence amewo k
based on a benchma king o exis ing compe ence amewo ks.
2 LITERATURE REVIEW : TOWARDS MORE CONTEXTUALIZED FACULTY
DEVELOPMENT - IDENTIFYING TEACHING PRIORITIES AND PERCEIVED
COMPETENCE
Wi h he aim o iden i ying he ac o s ha de e mine he e ec i eness o hese
measu es, S eine and his colleagues (S eine & McLeod, 2006; S eine e al.,
2016) analyzed mo e han a hund ed a icles e alua ing a ious p og ams. They
highligh ed se e al key elemen s such as he ele ance and con ex ualiza ion o he
con en p esen ed, he mobiliza ion o expe ien ial lea ning ac i i ies and
oppo uni ies o p ac ical applica ion and e lec i e momen s. Howe e , some
s udies emphasize ha many p og ams a e s ill oo gene ic and insu icien ly oo ed
in disciplina y o con ex ual eali ies, which limi s hei ele ance in he eyes o
eache s (Zwolińska-Glądys e al., 2024).
Wi h his in mind, se e al au ho s (Poumay, 2016; Demougeo -Lebel & Pe e , 2011)
emphasize he impo ance o conduc ing a de ailed needs analysis o design and
adjus p o essional de elopmen p og ams. I is wi hin his amewo k ha we a e
con ibu ing o he de elopmen o he pedagogical compe ences o eache s o
ag icul u al enginee ing in Tunisia, based on he p io i ies exp essed by he eache s
hemsel es.
This esea ch is pa o a p ocess o local app op ia ion o he issues o eache
p o essionaliza ion by mobilizing a me hodological app oach combining impo ance
(pe cep ion o wha is essen ial o e ec i e eaching) and pe cei ed pe o mance
(pe cep ion o one's own mas e y) inspi ed by he wo k o Huybe s (2014).
3 METHODOLOGY
3.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
To design a ool o ga he ing eache s' pe cep ions o hei p o essional
de elopmen p io i ies, we i s conduc ed an in-dep h compa a i e analysis o nine
pedagogical compe ence amewo ks1 om a ious F ench-speaking con ex s
(F ance, Belgium, Swi ze land, Quebec, in e na ional ne wo ks). This e iew
iden i ied he compe ences mos equen ly men ioned and conside ed cen al o he
uni e si y eaching p o ession.
Fou main a eas o compe ence eme ge, wi h a high deg ee o cong uence be ween
he e e ence amewo ks:
• Teaching design and planning;
• Pedagogical implemen a ion and lea ning suppo ;
• Lea ning assessmen ;
• P o essional de elopmen and ins i u ional commi men .
Some complemen a y compe ences, such as he use o echnology o con ex -
app op ia e communica ion, a e men ioned mo e ma ginally. Con e sely, c oss-
disciplina y dimensions such as e lec i e pos u e, in e - eache collabo a ion o
con inuous imp o emen o p ac ices appea in he majo i y o he e e ence
amewo ks, al hough o mula ed di e en ly depending on he sou ce.
Based on he compa a i e analysis, we selec ed se en eaching compe ences ha
appea ed consis en ly ac oss amewo ks and we e conside ed pa icula ly ele an
o he Tunisian ag icul u al enginee ing con ex . The selec ion was guided by hei
equency, alignmen wi h s a egic educa ional goals, and hei cla i y o non-
specialis acul y membe s.
3.2 DEVELOPMENT OF THE SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL: THE IPTCHE
(IMPORTANCE–PERFORMANCE OF TEACHING COMPETENCES IN
HIGHER EDUCATION) QUESTIONNAIRE
The ool hus cons uc ed, he IPTCHE ques ionnai e, is based on a me hodology
inspi ed by Bes –Wo s Scaling (Huybe s, 2014), a o ced choice app oach ha
allows pe cei ed p io i ies o eme ge in a mo e e ined way han adi ional Like -
ype scales, which a e o en subjec o bias (neu ali y, acquiescence, e c.)
(Baumga ne & S eenkamp, 2001).
The ool is composed o wo main pa s, each based on a se ies o 7 blocks o 5
i ems (each i em ep esen ing a cen al pedagogical compe ence):
Pa 1: Pe cei ed pe o mance
Responden s a e in i ed o e alua e hei own eaching p ac ice.
Fo each block, hey mus :
• Selec he s a emen ha bes ep esen s hei cu en p ac ice,
• and he one ha ep esen s i he leas well.
1 MESRI – F ench Minis y o Highe Educa ion and Resea ch, 2019; Aix-Ma seille Uni e si y
amewo k, 2020; Uni e si é ca holique de Lou ain – UCLou ain, 2018; Uni e si é de Liège – ULiège,
2016; Uni e si é de She b ooke, 2017; Uni e si y o Lausanne – UNIL, 2022; EPFL – École
Poly echnique Fédé ale de Lausanne, 2021; AUF – Agence Uni e si ai e de la F ancophonie
amewo k, 2020; RIFPES – In e na ional F ancophone Ne wo k o he P o essionaliza ion o
Uni e si y Teache s, 2021.
This pa allows he iden i ica ion o pe cei ed s eng hs and a eas o pe sonal
imp o emen in ela ion o he a ge ed pedagogical compe ences.
Pa 2: Pe cei ed impo ance
• The eache s hen e alua e, acco ding o he same o ced choice logic, he
impo ance hey a ach o each compe ence o ensu ing quali y eaching.
They indica e:
• The i em hey conside mos impo an o p omo ing s uden lea ning,
• and he one hey conside leas impo an .
The ques ionnai e is based on se en pedagogical compe ences iden i ied om he
compa a i e analysis o nine in e na ional benchma ks p esen ed abo e. These
compe ences ha e been eph ased in clea and con ex ualized s a emen s. They
co e he ollowing a eas:
• Designing and planning one’s eaching: alignmen be ween objec i es,
ac i i ies and assessmen s.
• Communica ing wi h and o s uden s: clea explana ion o eaching
in en ions.
• Facili a ing eaching and lea ning ac i i ies: use o a ied s a egies o
encou age s uden engagemen .
• Suppo ing and guiding s uden lea ning: eedback o s uden s h oughou he
lea ning p ocess.
• Assessing s uden lea ning: ele an measu emen o s uden achie emen .
• Collabo a ing wi hin he eaching eam: eamwo k wi h colleagues on he
p og am.
• Re lec ing on and imp o ing one’s eaching: e ision and e olu ion o eaching
p ac ices.
Table 1. T ansla ed e sion ( om F ench) o he compe ences and co esponding
s a emen s used in he IPTCHE ques ionnai e
Compe ences
Pe o mance
Impo ance
1. Designing and
planning one's
eaching
P1 – I design my cou ses
ensu ing ha lea ning
objec i es, eaching ac i i ies,
and assessmen s a e
cohe en ly aligned.
I1 – Cou ses should be
designed so ha lea ning
objec i es, eaching ac i i ies,
and assessmen s a e
cohe en ly aligned.
2. Communica ing
wi h and o
s uden s
P2 – I clea ly communica e my
eaching in en ions o s uden s.
I2 – Teaching in en ions should
be clea ly communica ed o
s uden s.
3. Facili a ing
eaching and
lea ning ac i i ies
P3 – I o e a a ie y o eaching
ac i i ies o os e s uden
engagemen .
I3 – Teaching ac i i ies should
be a ied o os e s uden
engagemen .
4. Suppo ing and
guiding s uden
lea ning
P4 – I p o ide eedback o
s uden s h oughou hei
lea ning p ocess.
I4 – Feedback should be
p o ided o s uden s
h oughou hei lea ning
p ocess.
5. Assessing
s uden lea ning
P5 – I design assessmen s ha
e ec i ely measu e s uden s’
lea ning ou comes.
I5 – Assessmen s should be
designed o e ec i ely
measu e s uden s’ lea ning
ou comes.
6. Collabo a ing
wi hin he
eaching eam
P6 – I ac i ely collabo a e wi h
o he ins uc o s in he s udy
p og am.
I6 – The e should be ac i e
collabo a ion among ins uc o s
wi hin he s udy p og am.
7. Re lec ing on
and imp o ing
one’s eaching
P7 – I con inuously imp o e my
eaching p ac ices.
I7 – Teaching p ac ices should
be con inuously imp o ed.
In addi ion o he compulso y choice blocks, wo open ques ions in i e eache s o:
• Iden i y hei s eng hs in e ms o eaching,
• and he aspec s ha need imp o emen .
A inal open ques ion in i es hem o sugges o he elemen s conside ed impo an
o ensu ing he quali y o eaching, hus o e ing a space o ee exp ession o
en ich he analysis.
4 RESULTS AND INSIGHTS
The su ey was conduc ed among a sample o STEM eache s o Ins i u ion o
Ag icul u al Resea ch and Highe Educa ion in Tunisia in o de o explo e eache s'
pe cep ions o he impo ance o and hei own pe o mance in ela ion o se en key
pedagogical compe ences iden i ied in he p e ious wo k o benchma king
compe ence amewo ks.
4.1 Popula ion su eyed
A o al o 62 eache s comple ed he ques ionnai e. The gende dis ibu ion was
ela i ely balanced, wi h 60% women (n=36) and 40% men (n=25). In e ms o
academic s a us, he majo i y o he popula ion we e assis an eache s (n=33, o
53%), ollowed by p o esso s (n=14, o 23%) and lec u e s (n=10, o 16%). The
popula ion is also a he expe ienced, wi h:
• 32% (n=20) ha ing be ween 11 and 15 yea s o se ice,
• 29% (n=18) wi h mo e han 20 yea s o expe ience,
• 15% (n=9) be ween 16 and 20 yea s,
• 13% (n=8) be ween 7 and 10 yea s.
Howe e , only 27 esponses we e conside ed usable o he c oss-analysis
“Impo ance/Pe o mance”, due o incomple e o non-complian esponses in he
o he cases, which makes his su ey a i s explo a o y phase o ou s udy.
4.2 C oss-analysis o Impo ance–Pe o mance o Teaching Compe ences
Based on he mean sco es and s anda d de ia ions p esen ed in Table 2, we
posi ioned he se en eaching compe ences in a ou -quad an Impo ance–
Pe o mance ma ix p esen ed in Figu e 1.
Table 2. Mean sco es and s anda d de ia ions o each compe ence (Pe o mance and
Impo ance)
Pe o mance
Impo ance
Mean
S d. De .
Mean
S d. De .
1. Designing and planning one's
eaching
2.30
2.02
2.19
1.96
2. Communica ing wi h and o s uden s
0.52
1.99
–0.19
2.22
3. Facili a ing eaching and lea ning
ac i i ies
0.37
2.13
1.00
2.06
4. Suppo ing and guiding s uden
lea ning
–1.00
1.52
–1.15
1.59
5. Assessing s uden lea ning
–0.30
1.64
–0.37
1.74
6. Collabo a ing wi hin he eaching
eam
–3.30
1.94
–2.30
2.46
7. Re lec ing on and imp o ing one's
eaching
1.41
1.65
0.81
1.18
Fig. 1. C oss-analysis o Impo ance–Pe o mance o eaching compe ences.
This c oss-analysis e eals well-es ablished s eng hs, a eas equi ing a ge ed
imp o emen , and unde app ecia ed dimensions ha can in o m he s a egic
o ien a ion o u u e acul y de elopmen p og ams. Howe e , due o he ela i ely
high s anda d de ia ions, only wo o he ou quad an s show s a is ically obus
pa e ns. This limi a ion is acknowledged in ou analysis.
Quad an 1 – High Impo ance / High Pe o mance (Compe ences o main ain)
• Compe ence 1 – Designing and planning one’s eaching: This compe ence is
bo h highly alued and well-mas e ed by he esponden s. I e lec s a s ong
ounda ion in cou se design and alignmen , and should be ein o ced and
suppo ed in aining ini ia i es.
• Compe ence 7 – Re lec ing on and imp o ing one’s eaching: Also pe cei ed
posi i ely, his compe ence indica es a p oac i e engagemen in pedagogical
de elopmen , e en i i is less cen al han cou se design.
Quad an 2 – High Impo ance / Low Pe o mance (P io i y o de elopmen )
• Compe ence 3 – Facili a ing eaching and lea ning ac i i ies: The gap
be ween impo ance and sel - epo ed pe o mance sugges s his is a clea
a ea o g ow h. Teache s see he alue in di e si ying hei me hods bu may
lack con idence o ools o do so e ec i ely. This makes i a key a ge o
p o essional de elopmen .
Quad an 3 – Low Impo ance / Low Pe o mance (Compe ences o moni o )
• Compe ence 4 – Suppo ing and guiding s uden lea ning & Compe ence 5 –
Assessing s uden lea ning: These compe ences a e bo h unde -p io i ized
and unde -de eloped. While hey may no be immedia e p io i ies, hey a e
co e o e ec i e eaching and me i u he explo a ion pe haps h ough
quali a i e inqui y in o local pe cep ions o ins i u ional cons ain s.
• Compe ence 6 – Collabo a ing wi hin he eaching eam: This is he leas
alued and leas p ac iced compe ence. I may e lec s uc u al o cul u al
ba ie s o collabo a ion bu also poin s o an oppo uni y o p omo e collec i e
eaching p ac ices o e ime.
Quad an 4 – Low Impo ance / High Pe o mance (Po en ial o e in es men )
• Compe ence 2 – Communica ing wi h and o s uden s: While well mas e ed,
his compe ence is pe cei ed as less c i ical han o he s. I may ep esen a
ou ine s eng h no longe seen as a p io i y, o one ha could be ebalanced
in a o o eme ging pedagogical needs.
The gende -based analysis (n=27) e ealed bo h signi ican and eme ging ends. A
s a is ically signi ican di e ence (p < 0.05) was obse ed o Compe ence 7 –
Re lec ing on and imp o ing one's eaching: emale esponden s a ed his
compe ence as mo e impo an (M=1.17) han hei male coun e pa s (M=0.11). This
sugges s a s onge emphasis among women on sel - e lec ion and con inuous
imp o emen as key elemen s o e ec i e eaching. In addi ion, a end (p < 0.10)
was iden i ied o Compe ence 3 – Facili a ing eaching and lea ning ac i i ies, whe e
women epo ed sligh ly highe le els o sel -pe cei ed pe o mance (M=0.89) han
men (M=-0.67). Al hough no s a is ically signi ican , his endency may poin o
g ea e con idence o expe ience among women in deploying di e se eaching
s a egies, and me i s u he in es iga ion. These gende - ela ed nuances, hough
limi ed in scope, highligh po en ial di e ences in pedagogical alues and p ac ices
ha could be explo ed in g ea e dep h in u u e esea ch o aining ini ia i es.
The analysis by academic ank e ealed se e al no able di e ences in he
pe cep ion o eaching compe ences. A s a is ically signi ican di e ence (p < 0.05)
was ound o Compe ence 2 – Communica ing wi h and o s uden s: assis an
p o esso s epo ed a highe le el o sel -pe cei ed pe o mance (M= 1.21)
compa ed o senio academic s a (p o esso s and associa e p o esso s, M= –0.23).
This esul may sugges ha ea ly-ca ee acul y eel mo e con iden in
communica ing hei pedagogical in en ions, possibly due o mo e ecen exposu e o
s uden -cen e ed app oaches o pedagogical aining. A end (p < 0.10) was also
obse ed o Compe ence 1 – Designing and planning one's eaching: assis an
p o esso s a ed his compe ence as mo e impo an (M= 2.79) han senio academic
s a (M= 1.54). This could e lec a heigh ened conce n among ea ly-ca ee acul y
o mas e ing he undamen als o cou se design, pa icula ly in con ex s whe e
eaching esponsibili ies a e aken on ea ly in hei academic ajec o y.
These di e en ia ed pe cep ions and pe o mance le els—ac oss bo h gende and
academic ank—may also con ibu e o he obse ed lack o emphasis on ce ain
compe ences, such as in e - eache collabo a ion o assessmen p ac ices. This
limi ed emphasis could s em om s uc u al cons ain s, he absence o ins i u ional
incen i es, o he pe sis ence o a eaching cul u e ha unde alues collec i e
pedagogical engagemen . Add essing hese issues may equi e no only ailo ed
aining, bu also a shi in o ganiza ional no ms and ecogni ion s uc u es.
These indings poin o di e en ia ed needs ac oss academic anks, unde lining he
alue o ailo ed p o essional de elopmen p og ams ha ake in o accoun bo h he
ca ee s age and pedagogical p io i ies o acul y membe s.
5 CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
This explo a o y s udy demons a es he ele ance o using a c oss-analysis o
pe cei ed impo ance and pe o mance o iden i y eaching de elopmen p io i ies
om he pe spec i e o uni e si y s a . By g ounding ou app oach in a benchma k
o in e na ionally ecognized pedagogical compe ences and using a Bes –Wo s
Scaling me hodology, we we e able o highligh bo h well-es ablished s eng hs and
a eas equi ing a ge ed suppo .
The esul s sugges ha while some compe ences - such as cou se design and
e lec i e p ac ice - a e well mas e ed and alued, o he s - such as ac i e lea ning
acili a ion and collabo a ion among pee s - ep esen signi ican oppo uni ies o
de elopmen . Mo eo e , gende - and ank-based di e ences poin o he need o
di e en ia ed aining pa hs ha conside he di e si y o expe iences, pe cep ions,
and p o essional con ex s among acul y membe s.
These indings di ec ly add ess ou ini ial esea ch ques ion by p o iding a
s uc u ed, pe cep ion-based amewo k o iden i ying and p io i izing pedagogical
compe ences, he eby suppo ing he design o acul y de elopmen p og ams ha
a e bo h a ge ed and con ex -sensi i e.
Howe e , his s udy p esen s ce ain limi a ions. In pa icula , he ela i ely small
numbe o alid esponses limi s he gene alizabili y o he indings. Fu u e s udies
should in ol e la ge and mo e di e se samples, possibly complemen ed by
quali a i e da a, o deepen he in e p e a ion o ends and be e ailo acul y
de elopmen s a egies o ins i u ional con ex s.
6 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The de elopmen o he ool is pa o a esea ch p ojec suppo ed by he HES-SO
MENA (RPG 2023-5). The au ho s would like o acknowledge he con ibu ions o he
colleagues om INAT and IRESA who suppo ed a ious aspec s o his esea ch
p ojec . We hank P o . Aziza Boubake and P o . Thou aya Souissi o hei inpu
du ing he design, dissemina ion and da a collec ion phases.
