Lecturer professionalisation by means of blended learning.

Kim Beerden, lecturer of History and winner of the LUS Teaching Prize for Best Lecturer in 2016, wants the courses PhD candidates follow before they start teaching to be enriched by ‘blended learning.’

Name: Kim Beerden
Function: University Lecturer
Education: History
Winner of the LUS Teaching Prize for Best Lecturer of Leiden University in 2016
Member of the Leiden Teachers’ Academy since 2016

Project: Lecturer professionalisation by means of blended learning

At the Faculty of Humanities, Kim Beerden (History department) is working on lecturer professionalisation by means of blended learning. The didactic courses that senior lecturers teach to PhD candidates before they try their own hand at teaching have been a great success in the History department for years.

However, there is room for improvement. PhD candidates and lecturers are busy, which causes valuable topics to be overlooked. Now, those topics are receiving attention: this LTA blended learning project will strengthen the courses. Think about online interactive videos, structured discussions and other online elements that lead to extra preparation. Blended learning leads to a more effective use of meetings and an expansion of topics that could be dealt with. Beerden wants to share the materials that have yet to be developed with other programmes: first of all at the Faculty of Humanities, then beyond Humanities.

The project is in the starting phase.

Leiden Teachers’ Academy

The Teachers’ Academy enables me to meet colleagues from other faculties. They, too, are working on education development and by talking to each other (in a formal or casual way!) you inspire each other. The value of a platform such as the LTA cannot be overrated in that sense. The fact that the university (literally) invests in education reform and members of the academic teaching staff shows a clear long-term vision on the future’s education.

Teaching Philosophy

‘My contribution to the development of students is that I want to teach each and every individual to look at the world in a critical manner; whether it be ancient times or our society today. Historians are good at source criticism, which is immensely valuable. If I can stimulate students to keep on asking, my teaching is successful.’