Largest-ever ceremony of the University Teaching Qualification reflects an evolving programme

Over fifty UG teachers received their University Teaching Qualification certificates from Rector Jacquelien Scherpen during a recent ceremony to celebrate the achievement. After a short speech highlighting the importance of reflecting on one’s teaching practice by the Rector, everyone received their certificates accompanied by photos, flowers, and followed by post-ceremony drinks. The first of three ceremonies in 2024, and the largest ceremony of the UTQ to-date, represents a growth of participants and a clear sign of a shifting emphasis on teacher development at the University of Groningen.

To the team members of Educational Staff Development (CIT-ESI), who are responsible for the programme, seeing such a large group of teachers in a ceremonial setting felt like a culmination of several years of work transitioning the UTQ programme to focus more on teacher education and development. With four hundred plus teachers participating in any given year and almost one thousand completions in the last five years alone, ‘’this was no easy transition’’ said Esther Arrindell, UTQ Coordinator. 

The UTQ is a national qualification in all Dutch universities and each institution is able to carry out the programme differently. In Groningen, the early years of the programme focused on ‘’doing more with less’’, aiming to hit national targets of 85% of teachers obtaining their certificate with, at that time, fewer instructional coaches in support. ‘’Many current teachers at the UG will remember the individual portfolios they had to write,’’ says Rick Huizinga, an instructional coach in the UTQ programme. ‘’This allowed our university to increase quickly the amount of teachers who could reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching… but in recent years we have been able to focus much more on university teacher education and impacting student learning, rather than assessing portfolios.’’

The result of this evolving approach was a module-based system where teachers could learn and interact with their peer colleagues on the UTQ skills of teaching/supervising, designing, and assessing. Since the UTQ is designed for early to mid-career teachers, all activities are “designed for teachers who are often looking for evidence-informed ideas in all these areas,’’ says Arrindell. “The fact that the ceremony is gaining in numbers is hopefully a sign that UG teachers of all faculties are feeling a bit more connected to each other and sharing teaching ideas across courses.” 

“The UG and the Netherlands in general are quite lucky, actually, to have this provided training for all instructors, which we know influences teacher confidence, ability, and ultimately, educational quality for students’’ says Marlies Venhuizen-ter Beek, team lead of Educational Staff Development.  

“Of course, there will always be challenges--workload and dedicated time for professional development being main concerns, but we are excited for the ongoing and future development of teaching and learning development at our University,’’ explains Venhuizen-ter Beek. But still, the work continues: ongoing “learning community” pilot programmes are currently in progress. But, whatever the future process may look like,  ‘’a UTQ teacher education focused on student learning, collegial discussions, and instructional coaching is the right direction we will continue,’’ concluded Huizinga.

To learn more about the UTQ and other courses Educational Support and Innovation offers, visit the ESI website. UG teachers can also view the communities and events offered by the Teaching Academy Groningen.