The first edition of the CEL Academic Teaching Lab was a great success. On Thursday and Friday the 26th and 27th of November, 11 teachers from the universities of Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Rotterdam gathered in Dordrecht to improve university education. They were supported by a team of experts from the LDE universities and external specialists. The Carpe Diem methodology guided the participants in the design of their innovation projects. The method provided room to take different routes if needed, so each participant could learn and develop in his/her own way and pace.
The first day focused on creating a general overview of the improved course. This was achieved by specifying the learning objectives of the course, the look and feel and other important design components in a so-called Blueprint. Later, specific learning activities coupled to specific learning objectives were placed in chronologic order to create a Storyboard for the course.
I learned so much on the first day already! Not only from the experts, but it is also good to notice how colleagues learn from one another because issues I run into have already been solved by others and vice versa.” – Kristel Aalbers
The second day, participants chose a number of specific learning activities and elaborated on them in further detail. This provided the teachers with experience in how to develop other course materials. The achievements of the two intensive days were summarized and presented on Friday afternoon.
Participants experienced the two days as a privilege because they were not distracted by other tasks and could therefore fully focus on their courses. They were surrounded with expertise and knowledge that quickly helped them forward and got them completely captivated by their work.
I am going home with tips on a number of software applications that I can implement in my course. I will start implementing right away, so in spring the improved course can run for the first time.” – Bas Flipsen
