How can we use AI to enrich our education? What opportunities does it offer, and what objections should we consider? And how can we prepare our students for a world in which AI is an everyday tool? Many initiatives and pilots are underway within the university to use AI tools ethically. To use AI properly, AI literacy is very important. This is the ability to understand and use AI applications. To increase this AI literacy of teachers, programme directors and faculty administrators, the AI Maturity in Education Scan (AIMES) is currently being developed. A joint initiative of the UvA and VU Amsterdam that has been running since January 2024. We speak to initiator and project leader Luuk Terbeek about AIMES.  

In academic year 2023-2024, the Assessment Track (‘BKE’) was offered for the first time, providing a unique opportunity for teachers to delve deep into the seven stages of the assessment cycle. Through interactive workshops, self-study, and collaborative projects, participants were encouraged to reflect on their current approach to assessment and provided with tools to enhance their assessment quality, ensuring constructive alignment with Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs).

Programme Director Leonie Schmidt and learning trajectory coordinator Balázs Boross share their experiences with ZLP.

On 28 March 2024, the very first FRIS Festival took place at Spui25. Read more about all the inspiring stories, interactive workshops and nourishing connections.

The rise of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is reshaping education. It offers opportunities but also challenges and food for thought. Within several faculties, AI tools are already being used in an ethically responsible way. Reason enough for the Special Interest Group (SIG) for Educational Use of AI to organize an event on 19 March 2024.

Hundreds of academics from around the world gathered to talk about the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). UvA TLC researcher Svenne Groeneweg hosted a session with three other panellists from different higher education institutions on the different SoTL programmes here.

In times of global conflict and an increasing sense of polarisation in our society, UvA teachers are increasingly confronted with ‘Hot moments’ in the classroom. That is why the Teaching & Learning Centre (TLC) and the Central Diversity Office (CDO) together organised a knowledge-sharing session for teachers.

Research Fellow Joost van Kordelaar (FMG, former FNWI) researched rubrics as an assessment tool within the theme of (Formative) assessment and feedback. The psychometric properties of rubrics and assessor satisfaction formed the core of his project. He developed a dashboard that allows assessors to analyze psychometric properties, such as validity and reliability, of their rubrics. In addition, he examined assessor satisfaction of rubrics with a questionnaire survey.

On 16 and 17 November, UvA teachers from different faculties gathered at the 24-hour education design retreat. In this recap, the teachers themselves tell you about rapping colleagues, valuable workshops and (re)designing your education.

Rosanne van Wieringen (IIS, former FMG) is 1 of the researchfellows who investigated her own teaching practice with the aim of better understanding and improving it. Rosanne investigated what Impact Learning and transformative learning mean to Placemaking students.

How do you actively involve your students in your teaching? The network of Teaching & Learning Centres (TLC) developed a new support tool that can help with this: the UvA card set.

Last year, the bachelor’s programme in Psychology took part in the Visible Learning Trajectories Programme. Programme director Ingmar Visser shares their experiences.