Impact of (METHODS)

The Modernization of Teaching Methodologies in Higher Education: EU Experience For Jordan and Palestinian Territory (METHODS) project aims to raise the competencies of individual learners by making them active participants in 21-century knowledge societies. At a high level, this will be achieved by incorporating technological tools within the teaching and learning process at Birzeit University along with three other Palestinian universities (An-Najah National University, Palestine Polytechnic University, and Bethlehem University) and four Jordanian higher education institutions (University of Jordan, Hashemite University, Jordan University of Science and Technology, and Al Zaytoonah University of Jordan). 

To facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise, the three-year project, funded by Erasmus+, will establish connections between faculty, staff members, and students at partner country universities and European institutions, such as University of Wolver Hampton, Hochschule Für Technik Wirtschaft Und Kultur Leipzig, University of Deusto, University of Plovdiv, University of Girona, and Aalborg University Copenhagen. Additionally, the project includes key staff members from the World University Service of the Mediterranean, an association that focuses on promoting and advancing education in the Mediterranean Basin.

At its core, METHODS will help partner country universities develop e-curricula and a portal through which the e-modules can be shared, integrate and utilize information and communications technology within teaching and learning activities, implement smart classrooms, and build the capacities of faculty and staff in educational technology.

With the help of the European higher education institutions, the Jordanian and Palestinian universities will develop and design massive open online courses, flipped learning activities, and project-based learning strategies for several undergraduate and graduate programs. Additionally, several workshops will be held in which students from the partner country universities will be able to trial and present their feedback on the new educational tools and strategies.

To achieve these objectives, the project will support establishing a national center in Palestine (the Academic Development Unit at Birzeit University) and Jordan (the Blended Learning Station at the University of Jordan) to function as a hub for utilizing best practices in information and communications technology education in both countries.

These centers will facilitate establishing diverse clusters consisting of staff members from target disciplines in engineering and science faculties together with multimedia and educational specialists interested in the same disciplines. As part of these clusters, the educational specialists  will review the proposed learning material in order to ensure compatibility with the standards, while the multimedia experts will design the interfaces, activities, presentation, layout, and animation included in the e-curricula.