Tips for Teachers
Welcome to our archive of tips for teachers!
Many of the tips discussed below are from the card set “Active Learning in the Classroom”. The set is designed for new, as well as experienced, teachers. As many as 30 different techniques are covered to suit a particular didactic purpose. Whether you want to teach students how to discuss or collaborate or have them solve problems, there is a wide range of inspiring and educational activities. Browse the set and decide which activities to use during your classes: you can download the PDF version here or email the TLC-FMG (tlc-fmg@uva.nl) to get a hard copy.
Engaging your students through active learning
Connecting the abstract to the concrete |
Take Aways |
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| Presenting information in the abstract can sometimes lead to a disconnect or lack of engagement. As you cover a particular theory or concept, introduce a case study that demonstrates its application or challenges associated with it. You can even use videos, podcasts, or other media that showcase real-world situations. After presenting a case, pose open-ended questions to stimulate critical thinking. For instance: “Given what we’ve learned, how might you have approached this situation differently?” or “What do you think were the key factors that led to this outcome?” | Want to know what’s clicking with your students? After a busy class, take five minutes. Ask them to write down the biggest thing they learned or noticed that day – anything from the lesson counts. Do it for yourself too. Later, look over their notes and share some in the next class. It’s a simple way to see what’s working, spark new discussions, and make sure you’re on the same page. Give it a shot and see the difference! | |||||
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Cliffhanger Lecturing |
Show them how it’s not done |
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| Rather than making each topic fit neatly within one day’s class period, intentionally structure topics to end three-fourths of the way through the time, leaving one quarter of the time to start the next module/topic. This generates an automatic bridge between sessions and better meets learning science principles of the spacing effect and interleaving topics. | The use of good examples, e.g., of an assignment, assumes that students can learn from them how to perform tasks correctly. However, it can be challenging for students to identify what is good about them or apply them effectively. To address this, instead show students the wrong example. This helps them not only to learn the correct application of certain principles but also to recognize mistakes. After all, students should not only know how to do something correctly, but also recognizing when it is done incorrectly. | |||||
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Feedback Loop |
Open Questions |
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| Conduct quick in-class polls or quizzes to gauge students’ understanding in real-time. Use tools such as Wooclap, online forms, or hand-raising to gather immediate responses on specific questions or concepts. After collecting the responses, review and discuss the results openly with the class. Highlight key areas for improvement, and provide clarity on topics where confusion arose. Don’t forget to follow-up with a second round of questions to determine whether understanding has improved. This approach fosters an interactive learning environment, encouraging students to engage actively in the lesson. Additionally, it creates a continuous feedback loop. This gives you, but most importantly, the students insight in where they are at in terms of reaching the learning goals (and thus identify potential gaps) and fosters students’ learning process. | Students learn by doing. One way of activating them is by asking open-ended questions. Don’t answer those questions for them, but give them some time to come up with an answer and share it with the group. You can combine this with a think-share-pair method in which students first think about the answer, then share this with their neighbour and lastly share it with the group. | |||||
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An image is worth a thousand words |
Chunk your lectures |
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| You can use this learning activity to activate your students at home and in class. Ask students to find an image related to the topic you want to discuss in the next meeting. Students share the image with you before class so that you can present them during the meeting. Let students first brainstorm in pairs what themes, common patterns, missing links they find. Then discuss this plenary and provide a clear take-home message. | Long lectures can be hard to follow. Try breaking your class into shorter, focused segments with activities in between. An ideal time for a segment is 15-20 minutes. You could, for example, have mini-breaks in which students can ask questions, activate students with quiz questions, or continue teaching but in a different way (e.g., by applying the subject matter to real world examples). Breaking up the lecture in segments allows students to digest information, ask questions, and stay engaged. Think of it like episodes in a series, making each one count! | |||||
LEGO Serious Play in class |
The Jigsaw Method |
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| Did you know that you can use LEGO in your courses? It’s called LEGO Serious Play and it is intended to build concepts, collaboration and processes. Instead of letting students merely discuss a topic, you can ask them to visualize it with LEGO. In an episode of The Learning Curve Fam and Sharon discuss the use of LEGO Serious Play in higher education with Ruth-Martine Huijs, trainer at TLC-FMG. The TLC-FMG also hosts LEGO Serious Play workshops to provide you with a hands-on introduction to this teaching method. | The Jigsaw method sparks dynamic collaboration by turning students into experts on different sub-topics. In specialization groups, they master and plan how to teach their sub-topic. Then, in mixed groups, they share their knowledge, creating an engaging peer-learning experience where everyone contributes to the overall understanding. Find out more about the Jigsaw method on | |||||
Switch methods |
Think-Pair-Share |
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| Switching up your teaching methods regularly will keep students interested and involved. Our advice is to not lecture for more than 20 minutes straight. Use group activities, questions, discussions, and videos to activate your students. | How can you activate at least 50% of the students in your class, instead of only the usual suspects? Use the think-pair-share method! You pose a (not too easy) question, give students (half a) minute time to think about an answer (THINK), then let them discuss their answers with a student next to them (PAIR). Give them a few minutes to do so, depending on the complexity of the question you asked. Students get feedback on their initial thoughts and analyse the question/problem with another student. Finally, ask students to share their answer/ideas with the group, or with a small group of other students (SHARE) and start a follow-up discussion. This activity works in both tutorial groups and lectures.
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Course syllabus annotation |
More coming soon… |
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| As you begin a course, asking students to annotate the syllabus (note questions they have, topics they’re particularly excited about, clarifications they’d like) can be a useful way to ensure they’ve read the document and are aware of what’s coming up. And as you end a course, asking students to revisit the syllabus and point out readings they particularly liked (or not), assignments that were particularly effective (or not), etc. can be a useful way to get detailed feedback on the structure & content of your course. Both of these would work better in smaller rather than larger classes, of course, but it’s an interesting idea and you can even use a common tool to do this in a shared space where others can also see the comments/questions and provide feedback. A bit scary but also potentially really useful with the right group of students! | ||||||
Maintaining student wellbeing
Learning vs. personal learning objectives |
Short term academic goals |
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Setting well-defined goals is crucial for guiding student learning. The first step is to differentiate between course learning objectives and personal learning objectives. Encouraging students to bridge the gap between course objectives and their personal aspirations fosters greater engagement and motivation. Teachers can support this by guiding students to:
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Consider helping your students establish short-term academic goals that are both ambitious and achievable. One approach could be to review a set of goals with the class that are expected to be completed within the next few weeks. Once those goals are discussed, encourage your students to create their own objectives related to a specific subject. Have them outline the steps they need to take to reach these goals and determine what support or resources they require from you. This process encourages students to take ownership of their learning and understand how their actions contribute to their success. | |||||
Setting explicit learning objectives |
Mastery goals vs. performance goals |
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| Explicit instruction goes beyond stating learning objectives—it provides students with the tools to achieve them.
What: clearly define the learning objective (e.g., retrieval practice). Why: explain its relevance to the course or lesson. When: specify when and how students will be formatively assessed (e.g., while studying or at the end of a class. Or as a separate moment between classes, e.g., formative midterm assessment). How: provide concrete guidance on how to practice or apply the knowledge (e.g., practice questions that reflect the learning objectives and that match the summative assessment) |
Encourage your students to set mastery goals—focused on learning, growth, and skill development—rather than performance goals that emphasize grades or outdoing peers. Research shows that students who pursue mastery goals are more motivated, resilient, and engaged in learning. You can support this by framing assignments as opportunities to improve understanding, providing feedback that highlights progress, and celebrating effort and strategy over just results. This shift helps foster a growth mindset and life long learning.
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Podcast Series on Self-Regulated Learning |
More coming soon… |
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| Want to learn more about how we can support students in developing self-regulated learning skills? Listen to this podcast series! In this series, Brigitte ten Brink (lecturer at UvA and affiliated with TLC-FMG) and Sjirk Zijlstra (VU) interview experts from academia and practice on this topic.
The podcasts have been developed within SELFLEX, an NRO-funded research consortium. The first episode, “Self-Regulation in Flexible Education: Teachers as Facilitators of Self-Regulated Learning,” is now available on Spotify. As students in higher education gain more freedom in how, when, where, and what they learn, taking ownership of their learning process becomes crucial. How can educators integrate self-regulated learning into their teaching and support students in developing these essential skills? This episode delves into these questions with insights from experts. The podcast is in Dutch, but English summaries are available for non-Dutch-speaking listeners here.
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Guide classroom (or colleague) conversation on demonstrations |
An inclusive learning environment for students with physical disabilities |
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| We understand that you may find it important to address demonstrations with your students (and/or colleagues). And maybe you’re unsure how to do so.
In our role as educators, we can serve as a point of contact for students and initiate a conversation. This may feel uncomfortable and difficult. The events may personally affect you, or you may feel uncertain about facilitating an open discussion. It’s not about whether you agree or disagree with students, but about creating a safe environment where they feel comfortable expressing themselves (and where you do too!). On this page, we present you with a step-by-step plan that can assist in (choosing to have) a conversation. Check our website for more support resources. |
For many teachers, it can be challenging to effectively facilitate students with disabilities in the classroom setting.
Most important things to keep in mind:
This is an ongoing topic of discussion within the UvA, and it’s important to recognize when you need guidance to support your students to the best of your abilitiy. Feel free to send the TLC-FMG an email with your concerns and our trainers can help you! |
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Setting explicit learning objectives |
Mastery goals vs. performance goals |
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| Explicit instruction goes beyond stating learning objectives—it provides students with the tools to achieve them.
What: clearly define the learning objective (e.g., retrieval practice). Why: explain its relevance to the course or lesson. When: specify when and how students will be formatively assessed (e.g., while studying or at the end of a class. Or as a separate moment between classes, e.g., formative midterm assessment). How: provide concrete guidance on how to practice or apply the knowledge (e.g., practice questions that reflect the learning objectives and that match the summative assessment) |
Encourage your students to set mastery goals—focused on learning, growth, and skill development—rather than performance goals that emphasize grades or outdoing peers. Research shows that students who pursue mastery goals are more motivated, resilient, and engaged in learning. You can support this by framing assignments as opportunities to improve understanding, providing feedback that highlights progress, and celebrating effort and strategy over just results. This shift helps foster a growth mindset and life long learning.
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Podcast Series on Self-Regulated Learning |
More coming soon… |
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| Want to learn more about how we can support students in developing self-regulated learning skills? Listen to this podcast series! In this series, Brigitte ten Brink (lecturer at UvA and affiliated with TLC-FMG) and Sjirk Zijlstra (VU) interview experts from academia and practice on this topic.
The podcasts have been developed within SELFLEX, an NRO-funded research consortium. The first episode, “Self-Regulation in Flexible Education: Teachers as Facilitators of Self-Regulated Learning,” is now available on Spotify. As students in higher education gain more freedom in how, when, where, and what they learn, taking ownership of their learning process becomes crucial. How can educators integrate self-regulated learning into their teaching and support students in developing these essential skills? This episode delves into these questions with insights from experts. The podcast is in Dutch, but English summaries are available for non-Dutch-speaking listeners here.
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Outside of the classroom
Explore the E-learning on Assessment |
Feedback energy saver |
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| Want to (re)design your assessments with more structure and clarity? The “Assessment” e-learning is designed for teachers who want to strengthen their approach to testing — from setting clear learning objectives to writing good questions, grading fairly, and evaluating results. Whether you’re preparing for a BKO session or looking for a practical refresher, this course offers clear explanations, reflection prompts, and examples to support your teaching practice.
The course covers:
Follow the full course or pick what fits your needs. Start Learning Now! or check out the other E-learnings here. |
When providing feedback on written assignments you might be inclined to write a lot in comments or with track changes. It can feel very energy draining to voice your thoughts about a student’s work. By providing audio feedback you can easily voice your thoughts without having to think about concise writing and without being tricked into improving the text yourself. It’s a win-win situation, because you save energy and at the same time you activate the student in a personal way, instead of doing all the work for him | |||||
5 grading tips |
How efficient is your grading? |
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Check this link for tips and tricks to optimally use your time as a teacher when providing feedback and grading student work. Check the keynote from Stephanie Welten about the use of rubrics and more useful tips from Penny Sheets-Thibaut, Irene van Driel, Jeroen Jonkman and Jessica Pietrowski.
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E-module on generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) |
Make your assignment less AI-friendly! |
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| At TLC we offer an e-module aimed at teachers who want to learn more about the responsible use of GenAI in higher education and the impact it can have on your teaching.
UvA policy currently does not allow students and teachers to use GenAI tools such as ChatGPT for teaching and assessment purposes due to privacy and security issues. Nonetheless, it is good to educate yourself on how GenAI systems work, how they affect your teaching, and how they can be used responsibly in education. It will take you approximately two hours to complete the whole e-module. You can choose whether you want to work your way through the material chronologically or move back and forth between chapters. After following this e-module, you will be able to:
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Refrain from naming specific theories or other specific content. Instead, you can, for example, connect the question to a certain class discussion or tutorial meeting/lecture. ChatGPT does not ‘know’ what you covered in the course or what you discussed in a certain meeting. Moreover, the simpler the task, the better the generated output by ChatGPT. Leaving out details or subquestions makes the assignment more generic. Thus, producing a high-quality answer requires more reasoning and critical reflection by students. Watch this video for a detailed example. | |||||
GPTime Savers Event Recap |
More coming soon… |
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| In July 2024, the TLC-FMG hosted the GPTime Savers event, exploring how AI tools can streamline educational tasks. Attendees learned to create lesson plans, assessment questions, and presentations using AI, with insights on UvA’s GenAI policy. Key takeaways included refining AI outputs by using specific prompts and enhancing multiple-choice questions with structured examples. You can read a full recap of the event here. https://tlc.uva.nl/en/article/gptime-savers |
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