Use of an 'Importance-Performance' Tool to Identify Teachers' Training Priorities

This practice paper presents the development and application of a self-assessment tool designed to identify teaching competences that university instructors consider both important and in need of improvement. Rooted in an analysis of nine international competence frameworks, the tool – IPTCHE (Importance–Performance of Teaching Competences in Higher Education) – evaluates seven core pedagogical competences through a double-entry questionnaire based on Best–Worst Scaling methodology. Administered to agricultural engineering faculty members in Tunisia, the instrument captures perceived performance and importance for each competence, allowing for a cross-analysis to identify key development priorities. The results highlight well-established strengths, such as course design and reflective practice, alongside critical gaps in areas like active learning facilitation and peer collaboration. Gender- and rank-based analyses reveal differentiated perceptions: women place greater importance on continuous improvement, while early-career faculty members (assistant professors) report stronger performance in communicating teaching intentions but greater needs in mastering course design. The study demonstrates how the IPTCHE tool offers a robust framework for aligning faculty development programs with the expressed needs of educators, thereby enhancing their relevance and impact. While promising, the findings are limited by the relatively small sample size (n=27), underlining the need for broader implementation and further research. Overall, this work contributes to more contextaware and responsive approaches to faculty development, particularly in STEM disciplines, by placing teachers' perceptions at the center of training design.