Where do you get your educational passion from?
I enjoy guiding students in their development and stimulating them to think critically. I also derive a great deal of energy from innovating my teaching: how can it be improved, made more efficient or more interactive? Another source of motivation for me is the impact that our programme has on youth care and care for people with disabilities. I am proud that we are contributing to the development of a new generation of (ortho)pedagogues. In my lectures, I like to work with practical cases. Guest lectures, in which students engage in conversation with clients and professionals, are particularly valuable to me. I try not only to impart knowledge to students, but above all to get them thinking: why is something important? How would you approach this? It gives me satisfaction when this succeeds.
What teaching moment has always stayed with you?
A defining moment came during my own studies in Pedagogical Sciences at Radboud University. When I started focusing on people with intellectual disabilities, I was taught by lecturers who were active in both practice and research. They showed me how science and practice can reinforce each other. A few years later, when I was working on my PhD thesis at the same department, one of my former lecturers said to me: 'A good clinician or researcher spends as little time as possible at the computer.' That statement has stayed with me. It reminds me how important it is to stay connected to clinical practice. I also really enjoy it when an expert in a field can explain something very complicated in a simple way with passion, whether during a lecture, at a conference or on television. I always try to pay close attention to how someone does this and think about whether I can use it in my teaching.
What do you hope your students take away from your education?
Every now and then I hear people quote Pippi Langkous: "I've never done it before, so I think I can do it."
Although I also like to try new things, it is a pity that many students assume that you should be able to do something immediately and that you should know everything during your internship. I hope to teach students that even as a professional, you cannot know everything, but that it is much more important to be curious. To (new) insights in the literature, developments in the field and to the perspective of the people you support and work with as a remedial educationalist. I hope that students can see the challenge in the complex issues that arise in disability and youth care. That they do not become uncertain or frustrated by these issues, but instead seek answers with the help of literature, clinical expertise and in connection with others. But that also means that as a professional, you must continue to develop throughout your career.
What did you learn from your students?
For the past five years, I have been a member and chair of the programme committee. There, students always give very good tips for improving education. Often, it's about making explicit what is self-evident to lecturers, or there are minor annoyances or uncertainties that prevent education from running smoothly. Nevertheless, it is often a big step to approach a lecturer. Even for me, it can sometimes be nerve-wracking to actively ask for feedback. However, I have learned that it is important to take that first step yourself and actively ask students for tips during the lecture and involve them in the development of education. My teaching has improved as a result.
What are you proud of as a lecturer?
My teaching and research often focus on people with intellectual disabilities. For many students, disability care is something that seems far removed from their own lives. In my teaching, I always try to make the connection with the students' own lives and experiences. When discussing a particular topic, I ask students: how does that apply to you? And how would it apply to someone with a disability? We often discover that the needs are similar, but that someone with an intellectual disability is often dependent on others to meet those needs. This is where professionals have an important role to play. I am satisfied when students conclude that there are often more similarities than differences between them and the people they will support as care providers. I also think it is important for students to consider the impact they can have as remedial educationalists on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities.
Sometimes, in postgraduate education, at an internship institution or at a conference, I bump into a former student who refers to something I once said during a lecture or who tells me that one of my lectures contributed to their decision to work as a remedial educationalist in disability care. That always makes me feel good.