Teaching and Learning in Higher Education

This course serves various individual learning trajectories in the field of education and learning sciences i.e. (1) students can follow the course as part of the Orientation Programme on Teaching and Training, (2) the development of tutoring/teaching skills to use when assisting groups of learners and/or for facilitating (individual) learning processes, and (3) an individual learning ambition regarding education practice and/or research.
Ad (1) Students who like to complete the Orientation Programme for Teaching and Training (see continuation courses) can take this course to deepen their own teaching/training skills (scheduled sessions in P6 only; topic in consultation with the coordinator of the Orientation Programme).

Ad (2) In higher education, working and learning in groups, including multidisciplinary and/or intercultural teams, has become more and more important. This has led to an increasing demand for tutors in all types of learning settings, who can facilitate and encourage the learning processes at both the team and the individual level. Students explore the basic skills of tutoring/teaching both on content and process. Students learn about and practice how to deliver content, support interaction and give and receive feedback.

Ad (3) Students who teach and/or conduct educational research in higher education can take this course to arrange for a supervised learning trajectory either on theory and/or practice (reflection). Please contact the education coordinator of ELS (carla.oonk@wur.nl) to discuss content and activities.

After successful completion of this course students are expected to be able to:

• Understand the tasks of a tutor/teacher (in a specific context) and guidelines for the corresponding skills
• Understand important elements of educational learning processes, like group dynamics and learning styles
• Deliver content, by involving their audience and dealing with resistance
• Guide interactive processes, by applying techniques to stimulate interaction
• Give and receive feedback according to the guidelines
• Formulate a vision on their role and future development as a tutor
• Design and/or evaluate educational material
• Conduct a small educational study and report this study

Assumed Knowledge:

Basic knowledge on teaching and/or learning acquired in (BSc) courses and/or previous educational experiences.