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The best teacher
How do you become the best teacher?
10 februari 2020
Kennistags: Teacher development
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10 februari 2020
9
Off course, that depends on what you mean with ‘the best teacher’! If you would like to be the most popular teacher or the best teacher in the eyes of your students: ask your students! They will tell you what they value in a teacher and you could behave as the best teacher ever.
Last year, we asked Meindert Flikkema (Vrije Universiteit) to share how he became the best teacher of the VU (he won the VU teacher award). What I thought was most striking, was that when he began to focus more on learning conditions instead of teaching itself, his course evaluations dropped. Still, this focus on student learning is in my opinion what matters most in academic teaching.
And there is a lot of support for that within Utrecht University! You could follow a course to learn more about teaching or ask for professional consultation.
Or join the Peer Observation programme and learn form your colleagues! The programme consists of three plenary meetings and starts op Tuesday February 18th 2020. You can still register!
I’d say ’the best’ is not necessarily a relevant criterium. After all, there can only be one ‘best’ in the world. However, being the best teacher you can be is a way more attainable and thus more motivating goal.
The way I decide whether I’m doing the best I can, is by comparing my day to day work to my teaching philosophy (onderwijsvisie). So I’d suggest developping a clear teaching philosopy of your own. Tips for valuable input to consider: Start with your own experieces, talk to other teachters about their ideas, and combine this what you read in literature about the subject.
These were the reasons most frequently mentioned by students to nominate their teachers for the Teaching Awards:
+ Creates a safe learning environment
+ Academic reflection
+ Great commitment