“How can we boost learning effects of ‘outdoor’ teaching?”

Veronique Schutjens works on research projects on student self-regulation and, more specifically, learning from ‘outdoor’ experiences in Geosciences. In particular, she focuses on 'distant learning spaces' (such as fieldwork, excursions, exchange programs) and on 'expert learning spaces' (such as internships, the field, society). She also want to inspire and support lecturers faculty-wide to investigate the learning processes in these 'outdoor' learning environments, understand the mechanisms behind them, develop interventions, and adapt support accordingly (scaffolding). Her aim is to increase the learning effects for students in this way.

For over 30 years, Veronique's human geographical research has centered around determinants of spatial variations in entrepreneurial attitude and activities, and conditions for new firm creation, performance, and development of spatial entrepreneurial strategies. Recently, she shifted to analyzing effect of outdoor teaching on young adults' transferable skill development and the professional competencies needed in the ‘outside’ world, under varied reflective and interactive teaching conditions. While this shift seems a big step, in a sense, following entrepreneurs and students over their life course is rather similar as both groups encounter barriers and drivers along the way. Furthermore, both entrepreneurs and students need to identify, evaluate, and ultimately seize opportunities to respectively thrive and to learn. In Geosciences higher education settings however, the challenge is to investigate to what extent students' learning from outdoor experiences can benefit from evaluative and reflective teaching practices. Veronique therefore strongly supports Educational Scholarship and in particular Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.

With two colleagues from Social and Behavioural Sciences, Veronique chairs the UU Dynamics of Youth research community “Youth Education and Life Skills” Dynamics of Youth community platform | Youth Education & Life Skills.