Effective Teaching for the Future

The Summer School is targeted for motivated students (Master and PhD) in education and related fields, as well as teachers, teacher educators, researchers, and educational practitioners with an academic Masters’ degree and some research experience from around the world. All applicants of the Summer School are required to have an academic Master’s degree, or at least in the process of obtaining it.

It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English.

The course of the summer school will be organized in three phases: Pre-Course, Residential (onsite in Groningen), and Post-Course. During the Pre-Course phase, participants will be provided with key and additional literature to read and prepare for the course. A pre-assignment will be given during this phase. In the second phase, participants will attend a 5-days course in Groningen (residential). A combination of lectures, discussions, workshops, and presentations will be conducted. Each day will be dedicated to addressing a specific topic. A potential school visit will be offered.

Topics addressed in the summer school will include:

• Conceptualizing effective teaching.

• Identifying effective teaching, including characteristics, antecedents, and correlates.

• Measuring effective teaching, including common methods for assessing effective teaching such as value-added models, peer evaluation, student, teacher, and parent ratings. Attention will also be paid to quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods for assessing effective teaching

• Promoting effective teaching, including research and practice on teacher professional development.

• Digital technology and artificial intelligence for effective teaching.

• Affordances and challenges related to conceptualizations, measurements, methodologies, and the integration of digital technology and artificial intelligence.

Upon completion of this Summer School, students will be able to:

Knowledge

1. distinguish between related terms in the field of effective teaching (quality and effectiveness, teaching and teacher effectiveness, teacher and teaching quality).
2. demonstrate understanding of the different conceptualizations of effective teaching. 
3. demonstrate understanding of the different frameworks and models proposed to conceptualize and operationalize effective teaching.
4. demonstrate understanding of the different approaches utilized to measure effective teaching and associate it with student learning (including classroom observations, student and teacher ratings, and classroom artifacts).
5. demonstrate understanding of the main advancements made in conceptualizing, operationalizing, and measuring effective teaching over the past four decades as well as the challenges faced in these areas.
6. demonstrate understanding of how the reliability and validity of effective teaching measures can be assessed and challenges faced over the past decades in measuring effective teaching accurately
7. recognize the potential of assessing effective teaching formatively for supporting teachers’ learning and growth.
8. understand the potential role of digital technology and artificial intelligence in studying effective teaching, including its affordances and challenges.   

Skills

1. participate in intellectual discussions about effective teaching taking into account the complexity of teaching.
2. critically assess the current affordances and challenges faced in conceptualizing, operationalizing, and measuring effective teaching.
3. identify strengths and weaknesses of different theoretical frameworks and models for studying effective teaching and explore possibilities for using them in a complementary manner.
4. compare different approaches for measuring effective teaching (classroom observations, student and teacher ratings, classroom artifacts) and explore ways of using them in complementary manners.
5. discuss findings from effective teaching studies in relation to student achievement, student engagement and student motivation.
6. explore ways in which digital technology and artificial intelligence can potentially support addressing challenges while also supporting the provision of timely feedback to teachers to support their professional development.  
7. explores ways to translate research findings into practical insights to support daily educational practice.

Values

1. underscore the value of the complex work of teachers in society.
2. value the collaboration with teachers to gain understanding of effective teaching.
3. develop sensitivity for cultural differences in effective teaching.
4. value the diverse talents of teachers beyond their effective teaching behaviours.
5. value and appreciate theoretical as well as practical perspectives of teaching.
6. respect and reflect on the role of all individuals involved in effective teaching quality research and practice.
7. value the international setting of the summer school.

Workload

Upon successful completion of the programme, the Summer School offers a Certificate of Attendance that mentions the workload of 84 hours (28 hours corresponds to 1 ECTS). Students can apply for recognition of these credits to the relevant authorities in their home institutions, therefore the final decision on awarding credits is at the discretion of their home institutions. We will be happy to provide any necessary information that might be requested in addition to the certificate of attendance.

• Prof. dr. Ridwan Maulana (Teacher Education, University of Groningen, the Netherlands)

• Prof. dr. Joana Duarte (Teacher Education, University of Groningen, the Netherlands)

• Prof. dr. Michelle Helms-Lorenz (Teacher Education, University of Groningen, the Netherlands)

• Prof. dr. George Azzopardi (Bernouli Institute, University of Groningen, the Netherlands)

• Prof. dr. Alison Kington (University of Worcester, England)

• Prof. dr. Heeok Heo (Sunchon National University, South Korea)

• Prof. dr. Sky Kang (Kongju National University, South Korea)    

• Dr. Marie-Christine Opdenakker (Teacher Education, University of Groningen)

• Dr. Natasha Grgurina (Teacher Education, University of Groningen)

• Dr. Charalambos Charalambous (University of Cyprus, Cyprus)

• Dr. Karen Blackmore (University of Worcester, England)

• Dr. Fransisco Castillo Hernandez (Centre for Learning and Teaching, University of Groningen)

• Dr. Miquel Perez (Centre for Learning and Teaching, University of Groningen)

• Drs. Geke Schuurman (Teacher Education, University of Groningen)

• Drs. Kim VanKoughnett (Teacher Education, University of Groningen)

To apply, please fill out the online application form. Please note that you will be asked to upload the following documents:

• Updated Curriculum Vitae (max. 2 pages).

• Motivation letter, stating the reasons why you want to participate in the Summer School, your research and teaching experiences, and what you hope to learn (max. 1 page).  

The deadline for application is 18 April 2025. Selected applicants will be notified by 2 May 2025.