University Teaching Qualification (UTQ/ BKO) | EB

The University Teaching Qualification (BKO) enables you to lay a solid didactic foundation for your role as a lecturer in university education. You will develop your own teaching style, make your teaching engaging, and learn how to structure a course in a systematic way, from learning objectives to teaching methods and assessment. You will follow the programme alongside colleagues and work on your own teaching practice.

Core competencies

The 5 UTQ competencies form the basis of the UTQ programme. Throughout the programme, you will work specifically on further developing each of these 5 competencies. They help you to focus on your development and show what the assessors are looking for. In your portfolio and during the assessment, you will demonstrate that you have mastered these competencies.

1. Course design

This task area involves designing a robust learning environment. When designing (blended) education, a lecturer will focus on a contact moment or series of contact moments and the corresponding teaching methods, study activities, teaching material and ICT applications in education.

As a lecturer, you will be able to:

• align your course component with the vision of the institution (or faculty or degree program), the curriculum as a whole and related course components;
• design or redesign (blended) courses based on recent academic literature and studies that pertain to the field of study;
• formulate clear learning objectives, keeping in mind the level of the course and the exit qualifications of the degree programme. When doing so, you will consider learning objectives, teaching methods and tests in relation to each other (constructive alignment);
• design a robust learning environment, focusing on the creation of an active learning process for students, involving varied, effective and activating teaching methods, teaching materials, course materials, ICT and multimedia;
• design an inclusive and socially-safe learning environment in which students feel at home and are given equal opportunities;
• consider contextual factors like students’ prior knowledge, background and motivation in your educational design;
• collaborate with others in the educational organisation in a professional manner, both within the educational team and with students.

2. Teaching

This task area relates to the proper delivery of teaching, which focuses mainly on groups of students.

As a lecturer, you will be able to:

• clearly explain the subject matter or skills to be learned at a level appropriate to students, focusing on the learning objectives and on making the importance of the subject matter to be learned clear;
• use teaching methods and teaching material (including ICT) that are relevant and also motivating, activating and educationally-sound;
• respond to students’ (baseline) situations and their interests, taking inherent differences into consideration, so that an inclusive and socially-safe learning climate is created;
• supervise and optimise interaction within group processes;
• have an interest in and respect and appreciate the individual student’s input and respond to it;
• communicate with students enthusiastically, clearly and in the language of instruction;
• promote the critical academic approach and problem-solving skills of students;
• schedule your activities such that you are able to perform your teaching duties in a responsible manner.

3. Testing and assessing students

The testing and/or assessment of results is an essential task area, whether teaching groups or providing individual supervision. Testing and assessment can be either formative or summative.

As a lecturer, you are able:

• to choose assessment formats that are appropriate for the educational learning objectives at hand and the exit qualifications for the degree program and that also reflect the assessment policy of the institution (or faculty or study program) and the relevant regulations, such as the Teaching and Examination Regulations and the Rules and Guidelines of the Examinations Board;
• to design examinations and assessment tools (or components thereof) that reflect the desired learning outcome and meet the applicable quality criteria;
• after a test has been administered, to evaluate the test material and update it where necessary;
• while teaching, to regularly assess whether students are developing the desired knowledge, skills and attitudes and then give them feedback on this;
• to give students constructive feedback on the content and process (including the academic integrity) of their work.

Throughout their studies, students are supervised both in and outside of class. As a supervisor, you will adapt your supervision style to individual students, know how to motivate them and maintain a balance between your role as a supervisor and assessor.

As a lecturer, you will be able to:

• employ different styles of supervision, depending on the needs that students have;
• supervise individual student projects. These could be work placements, theses, research, a part of supervision at the workplace or other individual student projects;
• give students constructive feedback on the content of and process underlying their work;
• reserve enough time to supervise students and be approachable for students;
• have an interest in, respect and appreciate the individual student’s input;
• refer students appropriately in the event of problems or stagnation;
• strike the right balance between being a supervisor and an assessor.

5. Evaluating one’s own teaching

The professional approach required of a lecturer will form the basis of your performance as a subject specialist. This professional approach will largely be informed by a positive attitude towards teaching and students. This includes evaluating one’s own teaching and one’s own role as a lecturer.

As a lecturer, you will be able to:

• formulate and communicate your own vision on teaching and learning, in line with the vision of the UvA and your faculty/degree programme;
• improve your teaching, based on evaluation data and your experience of teaching;
• proactively ask colleagues, coordinators, teaching support staff, students and others for feedback on the design, implementation and testing of teaching and individual supervision and then incorporate this feedback into your teaching;
• reflect on your actions as a lecturer in every aspect of your teaching and also on your awareness of inclusiveness and social safety;
• continue to develop yourself, further to innovations in academic education and your own field of study;
• reflect on and discuss teaching activities and your growth and development as a lecturer, based on evaluations and results. You are able to set achievable and measurable goals for yourself in respect of the above too.