Continuing professional development
For All UTq - Certified Teaching Staff
What is the continuing Professional development (CPD) programme?
Maastricht University supports all staff involved in designing and delivering education in developing and further improving their teaching competences. This is achieved by helping out UTQ – qualified teaching staff to make time for reflection, learning, and skills development by taking part in both formal and informal CPD activities.
The aim of CPD is to further promote the quality of UM education, stimulate education innovation, and increase support for the UM teaching community. This is achieved through fostering an inspiring environment where staff can learn from experts as well as each other, from and during their work in order to apply new knowledge and skills to the teaching tasks at hand.
By engaging in CPD, teaching staff have the opportunity to:
- Be supported in identifying areas for development bu their managers and CPD coordinators (or in some faculties, also CPD coaches);
- Reflect upon and further develop their teaching competences;
- Take part in different CPD activities each year;
- Learn from experience, as well as from the experiences of other (UM) colleagues;
- Apply new knowledge and skills in the educational setting.
Who is CPD for?
CPD provides opportunities to learn from and get inspired by the experiences of others and is specifically designed for UM staff who:
- have completed the UM PBL & Tutor Trainings;
- have already been awarded with their University Teaching Qualification (UTQ / BKO);
- have a teaching appointment of greater than 10% of a full-time equivalent (i.e. those delover than 160 hours of education per academic year, irrespective of their individual FTE).
Each eligible employee is allocated 16 hours per year to invest in their CPD, independent of the exact teaching appointment. Eligible teaching staff are themselves ultimately responsible for reflecting on their own development goals and discussing (and recording) these together with their line-manager during appraisals and making a plan for the year ahead. This is a formal requirement in the annual HP appraisal process for all CPD-eligible staff. Development goals should relate directly to the teaching competences outlined in the appendix.
Charactheristics of CPD
Examples of CPD activities
The University Library offers various education support for teachers including support on the usage of video in education (VideUM)
The Learning Academy offers support on Blended PBL, as well as workshops for SBE staff
EDLAB offers a range of activties that may be of interest to you
Goodhabitz offers diverse training courses (e.g., giving feedback), from short to longer, interactive, fun and with inspiring videos
Engaging in informal dialogues with colleagues plays a developmental role in learning about teaching. These dialogues will support you to learn how to manage and improve your teaching practices in unique ways.
You can draw on the knowledge and/or experience of your colleagues to get assistance in improving teaching and student learning, specific course component(s), the interest and engagement of students, as well as strategically enhancing teaching by building on the strategies that worked for your colleagues.
What are some examples of informal dialogues?
A talk with your CPD mentor;
Learning from colleagues;
Contact the Learning Academy for coaching on demand, no matter how big or small.
Immerse yourself in the world of education at top-notch conferences and seminars. Discover cutting-edge trends in education technology, innovative teaching methods, and practical solutions to challenges faced by education professionals. Experience engaging presentations, workshops, and thought-provoking discussions with like-minded individuals. It’s an opportunity to gain fresh insights and enrich your learning journey!
No idea what conference to attend? Here are some examples !
SBE’s Education Festival
European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction (EARLI) conference
EARLI’s Special Interest Groups (SIG) conferences
American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference
European Association of Work and Organizational Psychology (EAWOP) conference
Educational Pioneers and Innovators (EPIC) Conference
Harness the power of networking and forge meaningful connections with fellow teachers in your field. Keep in touch, reach out, and utilize this network to exchange valuable information and expertise. By tapping into the collective wisdom of others, you’ll gain insights into different teaching methods, find inspiration for fresh approaches in your own courses, and learn from both successful strategies and lessons learned from failures. It’s a powerful resource to expand your knowledge and grow as an educator.
Professional development network at UM?
Check out EDLAB’s Professional Development Book Club !
Have you conducted research on a teaching competence like developing education, teaching delivery, or student assessment? Have you made valuable discoveries, found useful tools, or successfully innovated your course to enhance learning outcomes?
Do you believe your colleagues can benefit from your experience?
Share your expertise and insights by hosting a dynamic webinar or workshop. Teach your fellow colleagues about what you’ve discovered and demonstrate how they can apply this knowledge and skill in their own teaching. It’s an opportunity to inspire and empower others in the field of education.
Need any help to plan or promote your webinar or workshop? Contact us !
Unlock the potential within you to become an exceptional tutor! There are countless competencies that contribute to greatness, and the exciting part is that they can all be learned. Embrace the power of mentoring and peer observations as catalysts for self-reflection, enabling you to sharpen your tutor skills and elevate yourself to new heights.
The SBE Learning Academy guides you to becoming a more effective tutor. Step into a world of growth where you’ll not only enhance your teaching skills but also gain fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to tackle the challenges you face in the classroom. It’s time to embark on a transformative journey that will empower you to inspire and engage your students like never before.
Within the mentoring programme, you can choose either a peer mentor or an expert mentor. Coaching on demand is available in forms of inspiration meetings, sparring sessions, observations, and coaching meetings for your educational success. To find out more, head to The Mentoring Programme
Observation visits to other schools or teacher network are powerful means to gain professional development. Specifically, to gain insights into what other schools and teachers find important for students’ learning.
Teacher externships will broaden your content knowledge, familiarise you with the trends, and bring awareness of discrepancy between theory and practice. You can draw on the knowledge and/or experience of other schools/teachers to get assistance in improving your curriculum, specific course component(s), the interest and engagement of students, as well as design learning tasks as close as possible to the real world.
Discover more about teacher externships in Developing Connectivity between Education and Work, section 2
TO BE DEVELOPED
Try out something new in your programme or course. For example, try a new didactical set-up, include technology !
We can help you find time and space to innovate your courses, try out new things, and learn from it!
Examples of innovation projects at SBE
Increasing the employability of students with coaching from the professional field (Dutch)
Find inspiration by watching the videos series on creative PBL practices at UM, where teaching staff explain their creative approaches to PBL
CPD Mentors
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
As of AY 2021- 2022, all eligible employees should devote 16 hours to CPD activities (independent of your teaching load). The hours undertaken in CPD are compensated for financially, in teaching hours, thus providing you with the opportunity to focus on development during ‘teaching time’ and allowing department to hire additional staff or make other arrangements as necessary.
YES !
As long as they meet requirement of CPD! Check the alignment of the activity with the teaching competences and your specific needs, and engage in discussion with your CPD mentor.
YES!
CPD mentors provide you with support when it comes to recommending appropriate CPD activities and advise in planning what you want to learn, develop, and achieve.
To support your reflection, you can use the following questions to start the reflection process:
- What CPD activity or activities have you completed in the last year?
- Why have you selected these activities? Refer to the three teaching competences.
- How will/ have you applied the learning ot the workplace?
- Would you recommend this activity to other colleagues and why?
There is no formal assessment for CPD activities. During your annual appraisal talks, you will reflect on your CPD goals and activities as well as plan for the fututre with your line-manager. You should keep an overview of the CPD activities you have undertaken and recod these with your line-manager during appraisals.
Activities that are a requirement for usual work task or commitment ( such as course development or maintenance, staff meetings, training for specific roles such as mentors and board of examiners, or any other compulsory training courses) do not count as CPD.
