Aafke provides the courses Academische Vaardigheden 1 en Academische Vaardigheden 2 (Academic Skills courses) for first- and second-year students of Pedagogical Sciences. Besides, she helps with the coordination of these courses and she supervises Bachelor’s theses. Aafke: “In AV1 students learn to look for scientific literature, but also to evaluate and use it for a literature review. In AV2 second-year students develop the skills needed to perform an empirical study. They develop a questionnaire, perform analyses, and independently write a final report.”
It's Aafke’s fifth time teaching these two courses. “At first I found AV2 particularly challenging to teach, but by now I have a lot more insight into how everything is related to each other. I know what things to put emphasis on, which components I can add, and what I can leave out if necessary.” It is appealing to Aafke that the course is never the same: “Each group is different, with their own unique dynamic. I really enjoy the contact I have with the students; it’s very interactive and it gives me a lot of energy.”
The mentor conversations allow you to understand that behaviours that appear to be unenthusiastic often have a cause
In AV1 Aafke also takes on the role of mentor. “There is something special about the mentor conversations that occur on a personal level. They provide you with a better understanding of the student behind the work and they allow you to understand that behaviours that appear to be unenthusiastic often have a cause. Oftentimes it is not a question of unwillingness or a lack of motivation, even if that seems to be the case. It is great to see how students grow during the course, and how they become more and more skilled at what they’re doing. That is what makes this work so worthwhile.”
When Aafke started teaching, she struggled with class management. “I didn’t really know how to make a class go quiet. Now I know that it helps to just stay quiet yourself, look into the class, and say nothing for a bit. You don’t always have to be strict. I have found an approach that allows me to be friendly while also getting everyone’s attention.” Another challenge for Aafke is finding a balance between education and research. “Some courses create a heavy workload in the form of assessments at certain moments, and combining such moments with my research can be difficult. Sometimes I simply have to postpone my research because I need a lot of time to provide thorough assessments. I want to provide students with feedback that is actually useful for them.”
You don’t always have to be strict. I have found an approach that allows me to be friendly while also getting everyone’s attention
Besides her educational activities, Aafke is investigating the relationship between the use of the internet and social media and students’ mental well-being. She is currently finishing her first paper. “This research shows that students that use the internet frequently in a problematic manner are those that also experience more symptoms of depression, loneliness and FoMO. However, if a student only temporarily uses the internet in a more problematic manner than they normally would, symptoms of depression, loneliness and FoMO do not necessarily increase within (half) a year. In further research I want to focus on the use of social media, for instance the difference between active and passive use, and the effects this can have on mental well-being. I really enjoy the fact that my research is connected to students, just like my education is.”