Last July, the Education Research Days (ORD) 2024 took place in Tilburg, with the theme: Education of Value(s). TLC policy researchers Nynke, Lotte, Jet, Marije and Svenne were there and are happy to tell you more about it!

First of all, what do the Education Research Days (ORD) entail?

During the ORD, education researchers, teachers and policymakers from the Netherlands and Belgium come together to share insights on the value of education. Meanwhile, a recurring theme emerges: the need to invest in innovation, our teachers and educational institutions.

How did our TLC researchers experience the ORD? What are their insights?

Among the highlights of the ORD is the opportunity to engage with a diverse audience: teachers, researchers, education directors, policymakers, they are all there! The different positions and backgrounds of attendees lead to interesting conversations and new perspectives.
Furthermore, there was a workshop on the Narrative Case Portrait method. This method can encourage co-creation and serve as a form of reflection. Contact Nynke if you want to know more about this!
Besides, there were also other interesting activities! Such as a Symposium on Teacher Agency and a Symposium on how school leaders deal with tensions.

Insights

Nynke focuses on innovations that contribute to educational renewal. Her question: What strategies can we use to scale up bottom-up innovations in higher education?

For the ORD, Nynke prepared a case study of a bottom-up innovation at the university. With this, she found that ‘innovators’ appeared to constantly seek commitment from those with a lot of authority (such as education directors, senior lecturers and course coordinators). As innovators involve those individuals in the innovation process, the innovation can be spread more rapidly and made more sustainable. Because of this, Nynke thought: Who do I involve when I have a good idea and want to move it forward?

Lotte is concerned with the pedagogical reasoning of university teachers regarding technology integration. Her question: What exactly is pedagogical reasoning? And how is it measured?

During the ORD, Lotte spoke with multiple fellow researchers. One of them argued that pedagogical reasoning should underpin teacher training, since it encourages teachers to make more conscious, informed decisions about their teaching practice. In contrast, another argued: Does pedagogical reasoning always take place, or is it just one of the ways to arrive at a decision? Lotte’s insight: pedagogical reasoning may be important for our practice, but we first need to know what it means and how to measure it.

Jet is particularly interested in the question: In what ways do teachers and students use learning environments that facilitate active learning?

Jet held a poster presentation about her research at the ORD. She also interacted with fellow researchers about the selection process, different educational institutions and the informal learning landscape, among other things. To her, the ORD is a moment where you can contemplate as well as engage in conversation with like-minded people about the most beautiful topic there is: education!

Marije deals with the question: What tensions do novice university teachers experience, and what and how do they learn from those tensions?

Like the other researchers, Marije presented her research and initial findings. What stood out to her? Novice university teachers can experience different types of tension, which may be related to similar themes (such as lack of knowledge or skills). After this, Marije engaged in conversation with several fellow researchers. The discussions showed, among other things, that other universities also consider the target group of novice teachers.

Svenne explores the question: What value do teachers assign to their participation in the Education Research Fellows programme?

Svenne addresses the Education Research Fellows programme, in which UvA teachers conduct practice-based research on their own teaching. This allows them to explore issues such as what makes that a certain teaching method works well. Or: How can AI contribute to my teaching? In this way, teachers gain a better understanding of the mechanisms behind student learning and can improve their teaching. But how do teachers experience this programme? According to Svenne, the value teachers attribute to it is the driving force for further dissemination and sustainability of their efforts. She discovered that teachers can have different motivations. Whereas some mostly value gaining new insights, others value personal growth more. Strengthening or expanding social networks, further development of education, and increased job satisfaction are also frequently mentioned. This means that educational institutions can respond to different motivations among teachers. They can also count on different types of results when they encourage teachers to research their own teaching.

Policy- and practice-oriented research by TLC

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