What does a teacher ambassador actually do? “Being a teacher ambassador consists of three key aspects: itemising, connecting, and boosting. We keep an eye on teachers’ concerns, we help people to get into contact with the right people, and we boost initiatives,” Nienke explains. “It’s all about quality improvement, both from the perspective of the teacher and the student,” Lex adds.
Assessment
An important topic of discussion is assessment. “We are used to assessments at the end of a course, as a check to see if the student achieved all the learning goals,” Lex explains, “but a change is happening regarding this type of assessment, in particular the use of assessment to improve the learning process. Formative instead of summative action.”
While the view on assessment is changing, this is still not visible in practice. “A lot of teachers want to use this new method, but find it hard to take the first step. How do I do it? What modes of instruction will work? How does it fit in my course?” Nienke says.
Assessment is quite a complicated story!
“It isn’t easy,” Lex states. “Summative assessment is already hard enough. How do you make a good test that properly reflects the course contents? How do you make this test reliable, valid, and does it even connect to the realities of working life? And: how do you manage to keep it practical? Assessment is quite a complicated story.”
Regardless, formative action doesn’t necessarily have to lead to an increased workload. “Students can also give each other feedback, for instance. That way assessment isn’t a professional check, but a tool to make students learn better,” Lex says. “And to see where you’re at,” Nienke adds. “If you know where someone is supposed to be at, the summative element is present in the background. At the same time, the student sees: what am I good at, and what do I need to practise more.”
Ambassadors of the assessment revolution
How do they, as ambassadors, contribute to this assessment revolution? Lex: “I was very busy working on assessment for the past year, for instance with the faculty’s assessment policy.” That policy initiated a lot of things, according to Nienke: “We looked at it with a core team at Pedagogical Sciences. What do we think of the policy, what are we already doing well, what can be improved? The study programmes are more aware of this now. When colleagues come to me with a question, I’m also more easily able to tell them about the faculty’s vision.”
Maybe we don’t know the answer, but we’ll help you look for it.
“I hope that our colleagues come to us when they have questions or ideas, and that they say: ‘Well, what do you think?’ Not because we know the answer, but because we have the time to look for it with you. Maybe the TLC gives us the right connections to get something done!”