Teaching Fair: Getting to work on social issues with an external client
The Teaching Fair is coming up again. On Thursday afternoon, 20 June, you can be inspired by your colleagues about educational innovation. University lecturer Elpine de Boer will be at the information fair with her project on social issues and an external client.
For welfare organisation Incluzio, De Boer investigated with students what the possible role of religion and culture was in helping with poverty. Could it be that these factors made neighbourhood residents more or less likely to find the community centre that provided this help?
Layered assignment
'Compared to when I was a student myself (30 years ago), assignments for students are now very concrete, specific and detailed,' De Boer explains. 'In the Practising Religious Studies course, on the other hand, the issue students get to work on is not very specific. The client's question has several layers, it isn’t clear beforehand what products need to be delivered, and students have to work together with people in the field.'
This led to challenges for the students and teacher. ‘There were lots of times when we had to be flexible,' De Boer admits. 'In this kind of project, it’s important to reflect weekly on how things are going and to accept that not everything will be immediately successful or clear, that things sometimes go wrong and need to be adjusted.'
Preparation for practice
Yet for De Boer, the benefits far outweigh these negatives. Students learn through this approach what it is like in later professional practice, where it is often not immediately clear what is expected of you. Furthermore, working on a real-life issue can be motivating. It evokes a certain urgency and gets you more involved in solving issues, while it also calls on qualities that are not obviously visible in writing assignments. At the same time, as a teacher, it is also an adventure to overcome obstacles and make discoveries together with students during a project.'
At the annual Teaching Fair, you will find poster presentations on educational innovation and you can also take part in workshops. This year's theme is Social Issues. Entry is free. More information about the parade can be found here. You can register using this form.