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The bottleneck

Van Niftrik started with saying that one of the most important bottlenecks is that we hire people almost solely on the basis of their research. It would therefore be a good idea if looking at the teaching quality of the candidates would become a part of the hiring process. Van der Wal added that we indeed usually look at research output only, but this is also caused by the fact that there are no clear measures for teaching. What is good teaching, what is good education? 

The quality of teaching

When asked for the indicators of good teaching, Van Niftrik answers that they are largely domain specific. But it is important that it doesn’t only depend on student evaluations. It’s also how the teacher works in the team of other teachers and the understanding of the curriculum; they should be aware of specializations and the place of the course in the program. Teaching is not something that happens on an individual basis, it’s you and the course and the curriculum and the students. But this has already changed substantially, especially in the field of science, argues Van Niftrik. What helped is that program directors have become more mandate to stimulate this. It promotes the awareness. 

Separate professions?

It remains a struggle, however. If you are a very strong researcher, you will be hired anyway and be advised to take a course. We should also change the definition of teaching: it’s not only talking in front of a class, delivering information. The teacher is a coach, an expert and part of a team. Is teaching a separate profession?, asked Van Woerkum-Rooker. Van Niftrik answered that there can be no fixed boundary between teaching and research, because you teach about your research. But at the same time we divide them in your contract, for example 80% teaching and 20% research, as if they were very different areas. Many people who teach at university envision to create enthusiasm with the students, to make a profession out of that same topic. So it can’t be fully disintegrated. 

In the ideal world

There are universities who have PI’s focused on teaching only, although they are embedded in the research group. But Van Niftrik is not sure if she would want it here, too because it might have risks: PI’s are sometimes not very much valued by their colleagues. But this might also be caused by the fact that they form a minority. Van der Wal added that most people like the mix of teaching and research, but looking at it from a team level, it might in fact be a great idea if some people were able to invest all their energy into education and other into teaching. It might also be a way of valuing the talents of people more. Van Niftrik: “If you make those decisions on an individual level, it may mean you lose touch with the research of your colleagues. So if you want to change it, it should be done on team-level. In the ideal world, it would be nice if you were allowed to spend some years focusing more on teaching or management, and then go back to research. Now, it will count as a career gap and cause problems for funding.” 

Changing the system

How to change the system? Both speakers agree that this is the task of institute, not of the individual teachers. More attention should be paid to teaching, for example in the annual interviews. Van Niftrik explained that the accompanying appraisal form contains a long list of tasks to be discussed, leading to the thing top of mind – research - to be mentioned primarily and the other tasks disappearing to the background. 

�ʳ��’s

�ʳ��’s spend 10% of their time on teaching, which is not much. Educational �ʳ��’s are given more time for teaching and an extra year, this also puts more value on teaching. Van der Wal mentioned that we teach without any didactical background, and this can be very uncomfortable. There should be something like a mentorship for �ʳ��’s when it comes to teaching, so they can feel comfortable and supported. Fortunately, there are a lot of tools available, offered by the TIPs and TLC. Unfortunately, these are often found only by the people who don’t necessarily need them. It might work to couple each new teacher to a more experienced one. And �ʳ��’s should feel free to discuss their teaching with your supervisors too, not only their research. 

Announcement

Academics are praised primarily for their research results. What would it mean to value them equally for their teaching? Of course, there are teaching awards and certificates and you can voluntarily improve your teaching skills, but in terms of prestige, attention and career development, teaching lags behind. How can we do this differently? Come and listen to TLC theme leader Education Research Merel van der Wal and vice dean of education Laura van Niftrik and join the discussion on valuing education at universities.

Valuing teaching

Is there too little appreciation for teaching tasks within academia? If so, what is needed to elevate teaching to the same level as research? Should academics be given the opportunity to focus on teaching, without the pressure of publications and the constant search for funding? What resources and support do teachers need for this? And should we value teaching even more in the current financial climate?

What makes ‘good’ education?

The appreciation of education is connected to the question: what is the purpose of university education? Primary school teachers undergo a four-year training, and secondary school teachers follow an educational master's program, in which they develop didactic skills alongside subject knowledge. Should academic education primarily focus on transferring substantive knowledge, or more explicitly on developing skills? Does a good researcher always make a good teacher? And, not unimportant, what is the role of students in creating good education?

This is an English event.

About the speaker

Merel van der Wal is the program leader of educational research at the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC) of uu77 and an assistant professor in Methods at the university. She primarily focuses on promoting a research-oriented perspective on the university's own teaching. She also conducted postdoctoral research on the professional development of teachers at the Radboud Teachers Academy.

Laura van Niftrik is vice dean of education at the Faculty of Science. From 2016 to 2021, she served on the board of the Biosciences Education Institute. As professor of Microbiology, she studies how we can clean up messes with bacteria, such as converting nitrogen into a harmless substance.