A four-day Scholarship of Teaching and Learning programme for educators in higher education (6–9 July 2026, Utrecht)
There is often one course that stays with you.
Not because it fails.
But because it almost works.
Students participate — yet something remains superficial.
Results are acceptable — yet not convincing.
You sense there is more possible here.
So you adjust.
You refine assignments.
You restructure sessions.
You experiment.
And still, the same question quietly returns.
What is actually happening in my students’ learning?
This is often where the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) begins — a structured, evidence-informed, approach to teaching and learning inquiry in higher education.
Why recurring problems persist
In my experience, recurring teaching issues rarely persist because educators lack commitment. Most colleagues think deeply about their teaching and try out improvements continuously.
What is usually missing is not effort, but structure.
Without:
- protected time
- conceptual precision
- methodological clarity
- and critical sparring
questions remain broad. Adjustments are made, but the underlying learning process remains insufficiently understood.
A well-designed SoTL project plan helps you narrow that question and translate it into a feasible SoTL project within your own teaching context. It connects your disciplinary thinking with evidence about student learning and makes inquiry part of your professional practice.
That narrowing requires concentration.
Why four days matter
Four consecutive days may appear intensive.
In practice, they often replace months of fragmented thinking, postponed writing and half-developed ideas.
Participants frequently arrive with a broad interest and leave with a more focused question than they initially expected.
That sharpening is usually the most important outcome.
The SoTL Summer School
The four-day SoTL Summer School in Utrecht (6–9 July 2026) is a focused professional development programme in Scholarship of Teaching and Learning for educators in higher education.
During that week, you move from a recurring teaching concern to a written, feasible SoTL project plan.
By the end, you will have:
- a sharply defined teaching and learning question
- clarity about what you want to understand or improve
- an evidence-informed and realistic project design
- a structured outline suitable for implementation, portfolio use or grant development
The emphasis is not on ambition, but on feasibility.
Experience and guidance
Over more than two decades in higher education, I have worked with educators and institutions developing SoTL initiatives across disciplines. As co-author of the Utrecht University Roadmap for SoTL and Chair of EuroSoTL, I have repeatedly seen where projects become either too large or too vague — and how disciplined guidance helps keep them rigorous and manageable.
During this Summer School, that experience is applied directly to your project: refining your question, testing its focus, and ensuring that what you design can actually be carried out within your context.
The group is deliberately small (maximum 10 participants), allowing sustained thinking and careful feedback.
If you recognise that “almost working” course and would value dedicated time to examine it carefully, further details about the SoTL Summer School can be found on the programme page.