Policy- and practice-oriented research

What is being researched? 
In most universities a development can be noticed from traditional learning, in which the teacher has a central role, to active learning which is more student-centered. This development is in line with theory and research indicating that students learn better when they have an active role in class. Therefore, many universities have designed active learning classrooms, in which the layout (and often technology) facilitates students’ participation and collaboration. Research shows that learning spaces can contribute to active learning.  However, it is not yet clear how they support active learning. This research explores this in more detail. Furthermore, this research will provide insight into how informal learning spaces are used on campus and how they contribute to active learning.  

Why is this research important for the UvA? 
This research project contributes to the understanding of what happens in formal, as well as informal learning spaces, that potentially facilitate active learning, by focusing on teachers and students as the users of these spaces. Their experiences can help clarify the complex relationships between pedagogy, space and technology, which in turn will reveal factors in these spaces that support or hinder active learning. In addition, findings from this research project will inform policymakers, managers and teachers at universities who aim to facilitate and stimulate active learning within learning spaces.  

Involved researchers
Jet Bierman (TLC Central), Els Kuiper (TLC Central), Monique Volman (CDE) and Frank Cornelissen (CDE) 

What is being researched? 
Digital technologies are rapidly evolving, presenting teachers with various opportunities and challenges when integrating technology into their teaching practice. This research project focuses on university teachers’ pedagogical reasoning about technology integration, that is, the thinking process underlying the pedagogical decisions teachers make. By examining the association between teachers’ pedagogical reasoning and their technology integration practices, this project aims to shed light on the complex and dynamic process of technology integration in higher education. 

Why is this research important for the UvA? 
This research project provides insights into how university teachers make decisions regarding the use of technology in their own teaching practices, which is valuable for reflecting on their decisions regarding technology integration. These insights can also be valuable for teacher trainers, policymakers, and other stakeholders dedicated to professional development concerning teachers’ use of technology in higher education. 

Involved researchers
Lotte Schreuders (TLC Central), Natalie Pareja Roblin (TLC Central/CDE), Bieke Schreurs (CDE) and Frank Cornelissen (CDE) 

What is being researched? 
Universities need innovations to secure and strengthen the quality of their education and keep up with societal, educational, and technological changes. One approach to achieve this is by promoting small-scale bottom-up innovations, through, for example, teaching grants offered by the UvA Teaching & Learning Centre. To enhance the impact of these bottom-up innovations, it is important that they scale up. This research project aims to contribute empirical insights into the factors and processes that foster the successful scale of bottom-up innovations in higher education. It does so by investigating how these innovations achieve scale from the perspective of the innovators and of key stakeholders in their network.  

Why is this research important for the UvA? 
The results of this project will contribute to identifying suitable support strategies for stimulating the scale of bottom-up innovations in higher education. Further, insights into the role of the innovators and their social networks can be used to develop targeted knowledge-sharing initiatives that contribute to the effective use of social networks in the scale-up process.  

Involved researchers
Nynke van Ketel-de Wit (TLC Central/CDE), Natalie Pareja Roblin (TLC Central/CDE), Bieke Schreurs (CDE) and Frank Cornelissen (CDE) 

What is being researched? 
Novice university teachers face many challenges and often have to perform new tasks, without any formal education or preparation in teaching. The initial period can therefore be experienced as uncertain and stressful, but it can also offer learning opportunities. Previous research in primary and secondary education suggests that (novice) teachers experience several tensions. However, research on tensions in higher education is scarce and little is known about how teachers learn from tensions. This research project explores tensions experienced by novice university teachers and what role those tensions play in their professional learning.  

Why is this research important for the UvA? 
Results from this research project are relevant for policymakers and Teaching and Learning Centers who are responsible for providing support and professional development to novice university teachers. Specifically, insights from this study contribute to better align professional learning activities to the needs and concerns of novice university teachers. 

Involved researchers
Marije Eradus (TLC Central), Natalie Pareja Roblin (TLC Central/CDE), Loes de Jong (CDE), Monique Volman (CDE) 

What is being researched? 
Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) represents an area of scholarship in which university teachers aim to better understand and improve teaching and learning through systematic inquiry into their own educational practices. SoTL is seen as a powerful professional development strategy and a promising avenue to raise the status of teaching in higher education. Yet, empirical knowledge of the actual impact of SoTL remains rather limited. This research project aims to contribute to the existing body of knowledge by studying the impact of SoTL practices from different perspectives, including the perspective of teachers who are engaged in it and their direct social networks.  

Why is this research important for the UvA? 
Insights resulting from this research project contribute to improving existing SoTL initiatives at the UvA, such as the Education Research Fellows Program. Moreover, results may inform future policymaking within the UvA to further support and encourage SoTL. 

Involved researchers
Svenne Groeneweg (TLC Central), Natalie Pareja Roblin (TLC Central/CDE), Daphne van Weijen (CDE) and Monique Volman (CDE)