BKO+ Track – Engaging with controversy and friction in teaching
Are you interested in exploring how to meaningfully engage with (social) controversies that intersect with your academic discipline?
How can classroom diversity serve as a foundation for the exploration of multiple perspectives in a safe and constructive learning environment?
How can you facilitate and harness challenging conversations in educational settings?
Track details
Controversy—whether academic or societal—is an integral aspect of scholarly work. Introducing students to such issues presents opportunities for the development of critical academic skills and can serve as a strong motivational factor. It also enables students to reflect on how they might contribute to societal transformation.
At the same time, addressing complex societal questions can pose challenges for both instructors and students.
This track examines various pedagogical strategies for engaging with societal controversies in higher education. Drawing on recent scholarly insights and connecting them to your own teaching practice, experiences, expertise, and positionality, you will develop the skills to design and facilitate dialogical learning activities that responsibly and constructively engage with these themes.
Intended learning outcome
Upon completion of the track, participants will be able to:
- Identify (societal) controversies or critical issues within their own academic discipline;
- Analyse the tensions and challenges students may encounter in relation to these issues;
- Create intellectually rigorous and psychologically safe learning environments that support the inclusion of diverse perspectives;
- Integrate recent theoretical and empirical insights into the development of dialogically oriented teaching practices;
- Engage in critical reflection on their own positionality and role as educators in the context of these issues;Share effective pedagogical approaches with peers to foster collegial exchange and professional growth.
Good to know
| Target audience | Teachers who have obtained their University Teaching Qualification (UTQ, BKO in Dutch) and wish to further develop their dialogue skills | |
| Time investment | 80 hours (40 hours workplace learning and 40 hours sessions and preparation) | |
| Trainers | Erjo Beitler and Geerte Savenije | |
| Participants | Minimum 6 – maximum 14 participants | |
| Dates | Intakes will be planned in the week of 27 October
Sessions: 3 November, 17 November, 8 December, 12 January, 2 March, 16 March (1:00 – 4:00 PM) |
|
| Language | English and Dutch | |
| Addendum | Upon successful completion of this track, you will receive a UvA addendum to your UTQ (BKO) certificate. |
Assignments and assessment
To complete the track successfully, participants are expected to:
- Iteratively design a teaching activity and present it to the peer group;
- Produce a concise teaching guide that explains and justifies the design, making it accessible to colleagues;
- Provide constructive feedback on the work of fellow participants and, where feasible, participate in peer classroom observations.
An external assessor will also be involved in this assessment.
Registration
- Registration button for employees with an @UvA.nl email address:
- For AUC, ACTA of FdG (AMC) employees: please send an email with your name and faculty to tlc-centraal@uva.nl
After registering, you will receive an automated invitation for your Outlook calendar for each of the sessions (please don’t forget to accept). If the location is not yet known at the time of registration, an update (for each date) will follow later.
More information?