Educational Scholarship
Scientific education also requires a scientific approach of our own education. The Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning of Utrecht University encourages academics to develop themselves and continuously improve their own education in a scientifically sound way.
Utrecht University encourages educational scholarship to enlarge the knowledge-base on academic teaching. Academics are stimulated to use a research-informed approach for their teaching: disciplinary knowledge, practical knowledge and scientific knowledge are combined to enhance student learning.
When the aim of educational scholarship is primarily to inform the teaching practice in the teacher’s own classroom, we refer to Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL). When the aim is to contribute to the theoretical knowledge base of academic teaching within a discipline, we refer to Discipline-Based Education Research (DBER). Both SoTL and DBER are research-informed approaches to teaching. There is no rigorous division between these approaches, rather they form a continuum of decreasing context-specificity.
The Centre for Academic Teaching and Learning supports the cultural change by showcasing good examples and making them available to fellow academics and by bringing them in contact with each other by means of communities and meetings. In a wide range of programmes and funds of the centre, Educational Scholarship is a part of the mission. For example, teacher-driven SoTL and DBER projects are accessed, activities are organized, educational advice is offered, and projects are funded through the SoTL grants. More about these opportunities can be found through the links on the left side of this page.
