First University of Twente-CEE Teaching & Learning Fellowships completed with a CBL symposium
The first Teaching & Learning Fellowships, made possible by 4TU.CEE at the UT, have been concluded with a CBL symposium in October 2023. The UT T&L Fellowship programme started in 2021, with the aim of stimulating staff in pioneering in educational R&D activities to both advance their own professional development but also help improve education. The T&L Fellowship is a programme for recognizing, furthering and rewarding teaching excellence. In October, the first T&L Fellows, Tracy Craig, Janneke Ettema, Raymond Loohuis, Robin de Graaf, Anna Bos-Nehles, and Léon Olde Scholtenhuis completed their fellowship with a concluding CBL symposium, for a large audience of scientific staff, policy-makers, educational experts and students.
Through dedicated teamwork, the T&L Fellows implemented CBL at the course, programme and inter-programme level. Researching and sharing experiences from practice among each other and with others was central throughout their fellowship. They focused on CBL design principles and what it takes to work on these levels to integrate the CBL framework in education. They organized and participated in conferences and workshops (including some of the 4TU.CEE CBL webinars), won grants and awards, and gained valuable insights in CBL implementation at the UT.
According to rector Tom Veldkamp, the input of the Fellows was valued in the faculties and in the programmes. The majority of students are very positive about CBL, though some are also critical. However, for the relevance of what they are doing in their education in relation to what they are doing after their graduation, CBL can be very important. We should continue to explore CBL as a learning experience for learning by doing, creativity and pushing one's limits. It is an important development that fits the university's vision, though not all education has to become CBL.
The rector received the fellows’ ‘fifteen commandments’ of CBL capturing everything the fellows learnt in the past two years in a condensed way. These are categorized in recommendations for students, teachers, educational management and society. Examples of these commandments are:
· Student: CBL Places you in the driver’s seat of your learning process. Your ability to accept this responsibility determines the joy of your learning.
· Teacher: CBL Can be overwhelming. To implement it quickly you should start small and proceed step-by-step.
The “Challenge-up” tool was presented at the symposium to support teaching in taking steps towards more intensive CBL modules.
· Educational management: CBL is new and evolving. Faculties need ambassadors to support its institutional integration.
· Society: CBL supports the creation of societal impact through thesis projects. Professionals, students, and supervisors from different disciplines and programmes need to collaborate to achieve this.
These recommendations are meant to support further CBL implementation. The fellows continue working on related tools, programmes, and recommendations, in roles and activities inspired by their fellowship. The evaluation of the programme showed that continuing the T&L fellowship is worthwhile, and the second group will complete their fellowship next year.
