Teacher Stories
Teacher Stories are inspiring stories by UvA teachers. These stories on various topics cover not only the teacher perspective, but also the student perspective. Expand your knowledge and get inspired by fellow teachers!
Would you also like to share a Teacher Story? Let us know via tlc-science@uva.nl.
Recap: ‘What if There Were No Grades?’
Following our Let’s Read & Discuss session, we look back on an engaging and thought-provoking conversation with colleagues from across the UvA.
Rethinking the Bachelor’s Thesis in the Age of AI
What should a Bachelor’s thesis assess in a world where AI can write one? For Moss Shukla, this became the start for a fundamental redesign proposal of the thesis process.
A social and educational activity - Fishing and exploring diversity in the Waddenzee
Read in this story how a fishing trip at the Wadden Sea gave BSc Biology students a unique insight into the biodiversity of this ecosystem, whilst having a great ‘gezellige’ time together
LEGO at the University: building blocks for creative and active learning
Lecturer Caitrín Crudden (SILS) recently introduced LEGO® Serious Play into her new course ‘Engineering Mammalian Systems’ to help students make complex biomedical systems more tangible.
Teaching with AI: UvA AI Chat Sparks Independent Learning
Psychology lecturer Christa van der Heijden asked her students to actively use the UvA AI chat to look for new possibilities.
Oral examinations: good practices
Oral exams used to be frequent. In higher education, this assessment method has become less popular because of concerns about efficiency and reliability.
AI Pilot: BSc Science, Technology & Innovation
Morten Strømme, Mimi den Uijl and Pim Linnenbank created a Makerspace bot, which the students could use to ask questions about the Biomimicry minor, to brainstorm on their project, and to find tools and materials in the Makerspace.
AI Pilot: IIS honours course
Coyan Tromp let her students use ChatGPT for all kinds of purposes, for example to visualise the future educational landscape or to generate content for the course they had to design.
AI Pilot: BSc Scheikunde
Anika Jonker let her students use ChatGPT to prepare their laboratory experiment and she created a Custom GPT which her students could use to receive feedback on their practicum report.
AI Pilot: BSc Bèta-Gamma
Jasper ter Schegget, Charlotte de Beijer and Daniël Kooij focused on improving the students’ digital literacy. The students discussed the functioning and risks of GenAI, used ChatGPT for a writing assignment, and tested their GenAI knowledge in a Canvas quiz.
FRIS project: including neurodivergent students
Autistic voices are missing from both research and (research-based) education. UvA lecturer Dr Ileana Grama found this striking. Therefore, she wanted to develop a course on neurodiversity research. This became Neurodiversity: Participatory Action in Research and Education.
