But then there's teaching. Sometimes you don't even realise what an impact you're having. A student comes up to me in the Spar and says, 'Thank you for the lectures, ma'am. Last year, I got a big fat fail for this subject and I thought I was just too stupid for it. But thanks to your lectures, I understood it after all.' It was a course with hundreds of students, so I barely recognised her. But I walked out of the Spar with a smile on my face.
And sometimes you do notice your impact. You see the light go on in students’ eyes. You see them become enthusiastic. That gives me an energy boost that I take with me into the rest of my day. Or the impact works the other way around. A question asked by a student gives me ideas for my research. Teaching means seeing very directly that your work matters.
Teacher development and teacher wellbeing
I am the new theme leader for Teacher Development and Teacher Wellbeing at the Teaching and Learning Centre (TLC). Two themes, yet a perfectly logical combination. Because the satisfaction that teaching can bring and the energy that can be released in lecture halls and seminar rooms presuppose that good education is being provided. That a teacher is capable enough. Conversely, there is no teacher more unhappy than one who feels incapable. Teaching is a profession. Some may have more talent than others, but there is always room for development. And even if you have talent, you generally still have a lot to learn.
Teacher development saves time
Now I can hear you thinking: yes, that sounds great, developing yourself as a teacher and getting more energy and satisfaction from your teaching because of it. But who has time for that?
To which I would like to reply: do you have time not to do it?
When I first had to teach online during a coronavirus lockdown, I had small children at home and absolutely no time whatsoever for extra things. I immediately called an educationalist. After half an hour on the phone with her, I had my teaching method ready. A teaching method that allowed me to still get energy from teaching, even though it was online. That one phone call brought me so much.
Another example. As a mentor in the UTQ programme, I regularly observe talented colleagues working too hard. They want to be so helpful that they just keep giving and giving, for example when supervising theses. This is not good for their own well-being, because it takes too much time. Ironically, it's not good for students either. They learn more when they have to do more themselves, and that's often better for their self-confidence too. Teacher development in this area results in better education, but also in more time for teachers.
Intervision, i.e. structured peer group reflection, another thing. In the spring, I supervised a group of teachers. Some brought up cases that they continued to worry about outside of working hours. Cases that cost them a lot of time and energy. Reflecting on these in a confidential atmosphere provided relief, insight and possibilities for action. Again: if you regularly worry about your work, can you really afford not to participate in an intervision group or other form of teacher professionalisation?
Radboud Teaching and Learning Centre
The TLC is run by and for lecturers. The theme leaders and lecturer ambassadors are all people who teach at Radboud University. We organise our own activities and maintain an overview of educational initiatives across all faculties. The lines of communication with the educational experts are very short. Especially in these challenging times, we cannot afford to have everyone reinventing the wheel in their own faculty, let alone everyone sitting behind their own desk. Take your question to your Teaching Information Point (TIP) or contact the teacher ambassador of your faculty. And if you feel something is missing from the range of activities on offer, if you are interested in an intervision group, or if you know of a great initiative in the field of teacher development and/or teacher well-being, please contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.