FOCI-XXII @ SABANCI UNIVERSITY

9am to 5pm Friday 16^th December & 9am to 4pm Saturday 17^th December 2022

Venue: Sabancı University School of Languages, Orta Mahalle, Üniversite Caddesi No:27, Orhanli-Tuzla 34956 İstanbul. Click here for link to google maps

Theme: Balancing the Scales: Building a Curriculum Team for a Successful Curriculum 

For over ten years now, every six months we have come together as representatives of curriculum teams in different universities and discussed a wide range of issues, but maybe we have not yet examined ourselves closely enough! This time the focus will be turned on us- the curriculum developers: Who are we? How do we operate in our own institutions? How do we find the right equilibrium?

There seems to be a wide variety of different contexts: some institutions have established teams devoted to curriculum development (sometimes integrating assessment too); in some institutions this responsibility may fall on just one person and may not be that person’s only responsibility; some universities might wish to set up such a team.

How do we create the “ideal team”? What should be the actual roles and responsibilities of this Team? How do we balance this against the work of other stakeholders?

How should its members be chosen and what training do they need? How should it operate in practice and how do we achieve a harmonious working relationship within the team and with others in the institution?

This FOCI event will be an opportunity for participants to share their experience of, and discuss ideas related to these issues. The intention is that participants will come away with some concrete ideas of how to set up and how to ensure the smooth operation of a curriculum team. 

EXPECTED OUTCOME

The forum will take an informal and hands-on approach to the “nitty-gritty” of curriculum work aiming to complement the formal presentation of papers or workshops to be found at other professional gatherings such as conferences, seminars and workshops. It is intended that participants will come away from the Forum with concrete examples of how other institutions have responded to the challenges raised by the theme. This will involve whole-group discussion and smaller groups focusing on particular areas who will then share the issues they discussed with participants from the other groups. The topics for the smaller focus groups’ discussion will be decided from suggestions made by participants on the registration form.

PARTICIPANTS

• In order to ensure efficient and focused discussion and an informal atmosphere, places are limited to ONE representative from each institution. We hope that you will understand the necessity for this.
• The representative should be a member of a syllabus or curriculum team, or other teacher who is actively involved in curricular development, rather than an administrator.
• If interest exceeds capacity, places are allocated randomly from applications received by the closing date, maintaining a range of different types of universities and geographical spread in order to ensure the widest variety of perspectives.
• There is no registration fee. Refreshments and lunches are also provided free of charge.
• The language of the forum is English.

To register: The deadline for registration is Friday 4^th November 2022. To register complete this form and send to fociturkey@gmail by the deadline.

For enquiries contact: fociturkey@gmail.com

TRANSPORT: 

For information about transport to the campus click here.

Please note that Sabiha Gökçen Airport is very near to the campus and an approximately 20 minute taxi ride. 

If you are arriving at Istanbul Airport please bear in mind that this will involve an airport bus (Havaist  IST-5) to 4. Levent from where you can take the university shuttle. 

When planning your travel please remember the start and finish times are as follows: 9am to 5pm Friday 16^th December & 9am- 4pm Saturday 17^th December.

ACCOMMODATION: 

Unfortunately we are not able to organise accommodation. 

There are hotels around Kurtköy/Sabiha Gokcen airport. However, this would involve a taxi ride to the campus. 

The best locations to stay are within easy reach of the university shuttle bus stops in 4.Levent on the European side and Kadıköy or Kozyatağı on the Asian side.

FOCI-XXI Online

9:30am – 5pm Saturday 11th December 2021

Venue: Online via Zoom

Theme: Whither the Curriculum?

It is a full two years since FOCI last got together in Izmir University of Economics in December 2019 and since then the situation in which we as curriculum developers have been working has changed beyond recognition. Many of us will have attended workshops and developmental sessions focusing on the methodological and technological implications of our new teaching environments, but maybe it is high time we meet again in the context of a FOCI event, if only remotely, to share our experiences to discuss the current state of the curricular development in our context.

What changes have happened to our curricula as a result of online and hybrid education? What about work of the curriculum team – how has that been affected? What have been the experiences of different institutions? Where do we go from here?

This FOCI event will be an opportunity for participants to share their experience of, and discuss ideas related to these issues. The intention is that participants will come away with some concrete ideas of how to set up and how to ensure the smooth operation of a curriculum team.

EXPECTED OUTCOME

The forum will take an informal and hands-on approach to the “nitty-gritty” of curriculum work aiming to complement the formal presentation of papers or workshops to be found at other professional gatherings such as conferences, seminars and workshops. It is intended that participants will come away from the Forum with concrete examples of how other institutions have responded to the challenges raised by the theme. This will involve whole-group discussion and smaller groups focusing on particular areas who will then share the issues they discussed with participants from the other groups. The topics for the smaller focus groups’ discussion will be decided from suggestions made by participants on the registration form.

FOCI events depend on the full and active participation of the participants, and in this online context all the more so. It is not a conference where speakers deliver input, but a practical round-table event to share experiences.

PARTICIPANTS

To register: The deadline for registration is Friday 12^th November 2021. To register download and complete this form and send to fociturkey@gmail by the deadline.

For enquiries contact: fociturkey@gmail.com

FOCI-XXI @ SABANCI UNIVERSITY

Given the current situation, unfortunately we have had to postpone the event at Sabanci in June to a later date which we will inform you of in due course. Many thanks to all of those who registered for the event for your continued support for the FOCI project; we hope to welcome you to the event at Sabanci in happier times.

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9am to 5pm Friday 5^th June & 9am- 4pm Saturday 6^th June 2020

Venue: Sabancı University School of Languages, Orta Mahalle, Üniversite Caddesi No:27, Orhanli-Tuzla 34956 İstanbul. Click here for link to google maps

Theme: Balancing the Scales: Building a Curriculum Team for a Successful Curriculum

For ten years now, every six months we have come together as representatives of curriculum teams in different universities and discussed a wide range of issues, but maybe we have not yet examined ourselves closely enough! This time the focus will be turned on us- the curriculum developers: Who are we? How do we operate in our own institutions? How do we find the right equilibrium?

There seems to be a wide variety of different contexts: some institutions have established teams devoted to curriculum development (sometimes integrating assessment too); in some institutions this responsibility may fall on just one person and may not be that person’s only responsibility; some universities might wish to set up such a team.

How do we create the “ideal team”? What should be the actual roles and responsibilities of this Team? How do we balance this against the work of other stakeholders?

How should its members be chosen and what training do they need? How should it operate in practice and how do we achieve a harmonious working relationship within the team and with others in the institution?

This FOCI event will be an opportunity for participants to share their experience of, and discuss ideas related to these issues. The intention is that participants will come away with some concrete ideas of how to set up and how to ensure the smooth operation of a curriculum team.

EXPECTED OUTCOME

The forum will take an informal and hands-on approach to the “nitty-gritty” of curriculum work aiming to complement the formal presentation of papers or workshops to be found at other professional gatherings such as conferences, seminars and workshops. It is intended that participants will come away from the Forum with concrete examples of how other institutions have responded to the challenges raised by the theme. This will involve whole-group discussion and smaller groups focusing on particular areas who will then share the issues they discussed with participants from the other groups. The topics for the smaller focus groups’ discussion will be decided from suggestions made by participants on the registration form.

PARTICIPANTS

• In order to ensure efficient and focused discussion and an informal atmosphere, places are limited to ONE representative from each institution. We hope that you will understand the necessity for this.
• The representative should be a member of a syllabus or curriculum team, or other teacher who is actively involved in curricular development, rather than an administrator.
• If interest exceeds capacity, places are allocated randomly from applications received by the closing date, maintaining a range of different types of universities and geographical spread in order to ensure the widest variety of perspectives.
• There is no registration fee. Refreshments and lunches are also provided free of charge.
• The language of the forum is English.

To register: The deadline for registration is Tuesday 31^st March 2020.

For enquiries contact: fociturkey@gmail.com

TRANSPORT:

For information about transport to the campus click here 

Please note that Sabiha Gökçen is very near to the campus and the journey would cost about 45 lira in a taxi.

If you are arriving at Istanbul Airport please bear in mind that this will involve an airport bus (Havaist  IST-5: you need an Istanbulcard or bank card for the airport bus- cash is not taken) to 4. Levent from where you can take the university shuttle.

When planning your travel please remember the start and finish times are as follows: 9am to 5pm Friday 5^th June & 9am- 4pm Saturday 6^th June.

 

ACCOMMODATION:

Unfortunately we are not able to organise accommodation.

There are hotels around Kurtköy/Sabiha Gokcen airport. However, this would involve a taxi ride to the campus.

The best locations to stay are within easy reach of the university shuttle bus stops in 4.Levent on the European side and Kadıköy or Kozyatağı on the Asian side.

FOCI-XX @ İZMİR UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS

FOCI-XX @ İZMİR UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS

To register: The deadline for registration is now closed. If you wish to receive notifications about the future events please email fociturkey@gmail.com

9am to 5pm Thursday 19 December & 9am- 4pm Friday 20 December, 2019

Venue: İzmir University of Economics, Sakarya Caddesi, No: 156 35330 Balçova – İzmir 

Theme: 

• Integrated vs Discrete Skills Curriculum: Are we who we say we are? 

There seems to be some variety in the extent to which different preparatory programmes take an integrated-skills approach to the development of their curriculum. Some programmes have completely separate courses for each skill with different course books and teachers. Others have teachers sharing the teaching load of a class and teaching all four skills. Between these two positions, there seems to be a variety of different levels of integration, such as integrating speaking and listening but having a separate reading and writing strand to the curriculum.

What are the pros and cons of different approaches that we take in different institutions? What implications does the approach to this issue have on choice of course materials? To what extent do practical implications such as timetabling affect decisions about this issue?

This FOCI event will be an opportunity for participants to share their experience of, and discuss issues related to these issues. The intention is that participants will come away with some concrete ideas of how to achieve clear and realistic overall goals for their programmes

EXPECTED OUTCOME
The forum will take an informal and hands-on approach to the practical “nitty-gritty” of curriculum work aiming to complement the formal presentation of papers or workshops to be found at other professional gatherings such as conferences, seminars and workshops. It is intended that participants will come away from the Forum with concrete examples of how other institutions have responded to the challenges raised by the theme. This will involve whole-group discussion and smaller groups focusing on particular areas who will then present to the whole group. The topics for the smaller focus groups’ discussion will be decided from suggestions made by participants on the registration form.

PARTICIPANTS

• In order to ensure efficient and focused discussion and an informal atmosphere, places are limited to ONE representative from each institution. We hope that you will understand the necessity for this.
• The representative should be a member of a syllabus or curriculum team, or other teacher who is actively involved in curricular development, rather than an administrator.
• If interest exceeds capacity, places are allocated randomly from applications received by the closing date, maintaining a range of different types of university and geographical spread in order to ensure the widest variety of perspectives.
• There is no fee. Refreshments and lunch are provided free of charge.
• The language of the forum is English.
• The deadline for registration is Friday 11th October 2019.
  For enquiries contact: fociturkey@gmail.com

TRANSPORT: For more info click here to transport document 

ACCOMMODATION: Unfortunately we are not able to organize accommodation, but these are some possibilities close to the campus: Click here to see the accomodation suggestion