New year, new Initiative: TUnder helps teachers connect and learn together
By Heather Montague
For TU Delft educators looking to take their teaching to the next level, TUnder offers a unique opportunity. An initiative of the TU Delft Teaching Academy, the programme facilitates teacher-to-teacher growth by matching people from different faculties to learn from each other in a fun and safe environment. As participants in the pilot programme, Associate Professor İlke Ercan and Lecturer Tom van Woudenberg share what they learned from the experience and encourage others to give it a try.
It was very reassuring to see that we actually agreed on many of those topics.
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Ilke Ercan - Assistant Professor
Matchmaking
Teachers often face challenges for all kinds of reasons and might not know how to grow or improve on their own. Through TUnder, TU Delft educators have an opportunity to connect with peers from different faculties to observe each other, give feedback and learn together. After completing surveys on their preferences and goals, İlke and Tom were matched during the pilot edition of the initiative. Tom, a lecturer in Structural Mechanics (CEG), teaches mainly master’s level courses while İlke currently chairs the Electrical Engineering Education section at EEMCS, teaching mostly bachelor’s courses. During their first meeting, the pair got to know each other and discussed their visions on education. “We reflected on common challenges, some questions that we had, and some of the directions that we wanted to go with our work,” said İlke. “It was very reassuring to see that we actually agreed on many of those topics.”
Class exchange
Sitting in on a lecture in one of Tom’s project classes enabled İlke to have personal interaction with some of his students. Then Tom attended İlke’s course that involved an introduction to programming, with more than 250 students. “The hall where she taught was quite impressive,” he said. “It was well-purposed for the challenge the students had of making little robots, but I was constantly thinking about how I could use this type of environment for my education. Having the physical space available and all the tools would be very nice.” This is just one example of a lesson Tom said he still thinks about after the experience. İlke noted that she could see a real difference between hands-on learning and teaching something like programming, which inspired reflection on how to bring theory and practice together. “We learned a lot in terms of how different group sizes and different contexts like masters and bachelors can impact things,” she said.
Together we reflected on the whole process of our own education approaches.
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Tom Woudenberg - Lecturer
Lasting reflections
After the classroom experiences, İlke and Tom met to share feedback with each other. “Together we reflected on the whole process of our own education approaches,” said Tom. “We had some very nice discussions which are still part of what I see as my education vision.” He had such a good experience that he participated in TUnder a second time, gaining new perspectives after being matched with a colleague from Applied Sciences. “It’s a great opportunity,” said İlke. “I would love to reflect further with Tom, checking in about any new issues that come up or what new solutions we are able to develop. I think it can grow into a longer commitment that way.” The programme has the potential to be a starting point for further growth, collaboration, and new initiatives between the matches.
Lessons learned
One of the benefits İlke experienced is getting a fresh perspective from someone who might have the same problems, but might also have different tools to deal with them. “In that sense, it is a very eye-opening experience,” she said. Something that stayed with Tom after their first meeting was a discussion about formative and summative assessments. “We have quite strict definitions at TU Delft,” he said. “Because Ilke has experienced other systems, it was refreshing to realise that the TU Delft way of doing it is not the official way, it's just how we interpret it. And you can interpret it differently, which might be even better.” Having worked in four different countries, İlke said Tom helped with her integration to TU Delft. “It is such a large institution, which requires a unique educational framework. It is a very functional and effective educational framework, but certain things are put in boxes, which can be very limiting,” she said. “I think our conversations and the TUnder programme helped us break those boxes.”
The fact that both plan to continue participating in TUnder in the future reflects the value of the process. They noted that it doesn’t cost much extra time as some of the activities involve work that educators are already doing. For anyone interested in exploring TUnder, İlke said, “I would definitely encourage them to give it a chance.”
We have quite strict definitions at TU Delft.
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Tom Woudenberg - Lecturer
I think our conversations and the TUnder programme helped us break those boxes.
