TeachMeet: Well-being in turbulent times
Exchange, inspiration & meeting
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A TeachMeet is an informal mini-conference where UvA teachers meet and exchange good practices to inspire each other. It is a popular concept used worldwide for and by teachers with the aim to learn from and with each other. During each TeachMeet, a specific theme is highlighted and four to five short presentations are given, followed by drinks together. Exchange, inspiration and encounters are the key ingredients.
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Next Up – CANCELLED
Well-being in turbulent times: 5 December 2025
Location: Spui25
Time: 10.00-12.00h
Language: English
Speakers: Jelger Kroese, Joline Peters, Ileana Grama, Mieke Lopes Cardozo and Hülya Altinyelken
TeachMeet: Well-Being in Turbulent Times - CANCELLED
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THE TEACHMEET ON 5 DECEMBER IS CANCELLED AND WILL BE RESCHEDULED FOR A NEW DATE IN JANUARY.
Globally, studies indicate that the education sector is significantly impacted by factors that can cause long-term stress and reduced well-being. Recent studies have even shown that teachers experience increased stress and burnout almost twice as often as other professions. This development highlights how challenging the current educational context can be and the importance of focusing on supporting a healthy and resilient learning environment. In a world of constant change, how can we create and maintain learning environments where both teachers and students thrive? And how do we ensure that the needs of neurodivergent students are meaningfully met? |
Learning goals
In collaboration with the special interest groups FRIS (Fair, Resilient, Inclusive Societies) and International Classrooms, TLC Central will be hosting a transformative session where we’ll explore:
- Strategies to protect and strengthen teacher and student well-being in today’s uncertain climate.
- Practical tools to support neurodivergent students.
- Real-world stories and solutions for building resilient, inclusive classrooms
Whether you’re feeling some strain yourself and/ or you’re passionate about fostering healthier learning and teaching communities, this event is your chance to recharge, rethink, and reimagine what well-being looks like—for everyone in your classroom. Let’s take care of the people who take care of the future.
Programme
Programme
- 10:00 – 10:30h: Waking up to the theme of Well-being by Mieke Lopes Cardozo and a presentation Meeting the crisis inside out, by Jelger Kroese
- 10:30 – 11:15h: Neurodiversity: presentations and exercise by Ileana Grama and Joline Peters.
- 11:15 – 12:00h: Short break + reflective exercise and closing by Hülya Altinyelken
Speakers
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Dr Mieke Lopes Cardozo is Associate Professor in Regenerative Education and Development at the Amsterdam Institute of Social Science Research, and part of UvA’s Governance and Inclusive Development Research Group. She is chair of the Fair, Resilient and Inclusive Societies (FRIS) education innovation scholarship programme, based within UvA’s Teaching and Learning Centre and the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies. | |
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Dr Ileana Grama (Faculty of Humanities, Linguistics Capacity Group) is among a minority of researchers working on neurodiversity as a linguist and interested in autism and language development. She developed a new topic-related course at the UvA with the FRIS grant. For this, she collaborated with external lecturers Jonathan Evans MSc and Dr Kirandeep Kaur. | |
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Dr Hülya Altinyelken Dr Hülya Altinyelken is an Associate Professor at the Department of Child Development and Education (FMG), specialising in curricular and pedagogical reforms, internationalisation in higher education, and inclusion and diversity. Furthermore, she has been awarded the NWO Veni, Comenius Senior Fellow, and TLC Research Fellowship to conduct in-depth analyses on these themes. | |
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Jelger Kroese is co-lead of the minor Collective Futures within the UvA. With a specialisation in transdisciplinary research, he studied Liberal Arts and Sciences at the UvA and graduated with a master’s degree in Media Technology at Universiteit Leiden. He is also currently active as a trauma-sensitive coach. | |
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Joline Peters is currently employed as a student psychologist within the UvA. In this role, she also coordinates the ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) study-support programme offered by the UvA’s Student Services. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and with a master’s degree in Clinical and Developmental Psychology from the University of Groningen, specialised in cognitive behavioural therapy. After graduating, she began working as a practitioner in mental health care and teaching for several years at Berkeley College in New York City. |
What were the previous TeachMeets about?
Fellow teachers shared their experience and good practices with genAI in higher education. Couldn’t attend and want to know more about the presentations? Feel free to contact the teachers who shared their experiences.
| Subject | Teacher | |
| GenAI for class preparation | Martin Duchac | PPLE | |
| Energy savers | Ivana Bušljeta Banks | FMG | |
| GenAI for brainstorming and as virtual stakeholders | Morten Strømme | Science | |
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Teaching and Assessing Academic Writing in Times of GenAI |
Joost Krijnen | AUC |
Fellow teachers shared their experience and good practices with Gamification in higher education. Couldn’t attend and want to know more about the presentations? Feel free to contact the teachers who shared their experiences.
| Subject | Teacher | |
| How to escape a boring lecture: an educative escape game | Pieter Walstock | Amsterdam UMC | |
| Building Theory: Utilizing LEGO Serious Play for In-Depth Discussions
on Theoretical Concepts with Students |
Agnes Akkerman | Law Faculty | |
| Escaping the communication gap | Adriana Zoutman | Amsterdam UMC | |
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Game of Traits: a cardgame to explain trait-based ecology |
Dedmer van de Waal | Science Faculty | |
| The Call’: Engaging Students Through Interactive Video Experiences | Jeroen Lemmens | Faculty of Social and Behavioural Science
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| Game theory experienced: speedy online games for large classrooms | Aljaz Ule | Faculty of Economics and Business
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Fellow teachers shared their experience and good practices with Storytelling in higher education. Couldn’t attend and want to know more about the presentations? Feel free to contact the teachers who shared their experiences.
| Subject | Teacher | |
| Story Telling: On Being Imperfect | Gabor Linthorst | Faculty of Medicine | |
| Including stories to histories | Jouke Turpijn | Faculty of Humanities | |
| Building imaginative ‘muscle’ through sensory storytelling: a designathon workshop for Higher Education | Ydwine Zanstra | Amsterdam University College (AUC) | |
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On Videographic Criticism: Audiovisual Essays in Teaching and Research |
Jaap Kooijman | Faculty of Humanities |
Fellow teachers shared their experience and good practices with Community Engaged Learning (CEL) in higher education. Couldn’t attend and want to know more about the presentations? Feel free to contact the teachers who shared their experiences.
| Subject | Teacher | |
| Community Archaeology in Rural Environments on the Island of Terschelling | Heleen van Londen | Faculty of Humanities | |
| Amsterdam Living Case Lab: where theory meets practic | Marina Khoroujenko | Economics and Business | |
| Holy Shit: Using Community-Engaged Learning to Close the Food Cycl | Claire Paulissen | Faculty of Science | |
| Placemaking | Rosanne van Wieringen | Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences |
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Participant TeachMeet 23 October: ‘I learnt more about genAI in this meeting than in the past six months.’ |