The Faculty of Science believes it is important that you are stimulated, inspired and supported in your development as a teacher. In this section, you can find out more about the support and opportunities to work on your teaching skills.

Leiden University considers good education to be of paramount importance. That is why we invest in our teachers’ professional development, to ensure that their teaching methods continue to match the needs of individual students.

How do you teach? Every teacher has their own style, and often an arsenal of tricks, lessons learned and insights. In every Education Newsletter, a teacher shares a personal tip. Here's an overview.

In 2014, Leiden University launched the Teachers’ Academy to reward top talents in education and stimulate educational innovation.

Welcome to the platform for lecturers of the Faculty Governance and Global Affairs. This platform is intended to provide you with information and inspiration for teaching and course development.

Welcome to the teacher platform of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences (FSW). Here you will find information on everything related to teaching at FSW: from the practical issues you need to take care of to innovating your course.

Welcome to the Science Teacher Platform. Here you will find information about everything related to teaching within this faculty: from the practical matters you need to arrange, to innovating your course.

Teachers at Leiden University are experts in their field and passionate about educating students in their discipline. It is also important that they can work effectively as a member of a team, together with colleagues and students, and that they feel committed to our organisation. We will therefore…

Conference

Didactics

In secondary education, teacher collaboration is used to further teachers’ professional development. In her dissertation, Loes de Jong (PhD candidate at ICLON) examines how various collaborative initiatives stimulate teacher learning. Her thesis defence is on 20 May 2021.

On the brand-new Leiden Teachers Blog, Leiden teachers share their experiences with educational innovation. They show colleagues, students, and everyone else who is interested the different facets of creating university education.

Education, ICT

What can we expect from the teacher coaches in the coming year? University lecturers Astrid Van Weyenberg and Maarten van Leeuwen talk about their plans.

That one handy little tool to do a quiz with students: can you use that or will you inadvertently put their privacy at risk? New privacy guidelines offers a solution.

Na Zhou (PhD at ICLON) researched how vocational teachers’ learning takes place in a work placement programme and how their learning supports their teaching in school. Defence on 1 March.

Good education starts with good educators. The university has taken various steps in recent years to help our teaching staff develop. But new teaching staff require particular attention, say staff who work on teacher professionalisation.

For many teachers, they are a lifesaver: the people at the Science Teacher Support Desk. When a teacher has technical problems, they come to the rescue immediately. Veerle Warnders is one of them and she tells us what is so great about her job.

On 21 March 2024, the ‘learners’ at Wolfert Bilingual in Rotterdam were not teenagers, but some 180 teachers and teacher educators from around the Netherlands and beyond. Those delegates were bound by a common interest in exploring and engaging with teaching and learning in linguistically and culturally…

Teacher training should do more to prepare teachers for the pedagogical aspects of teaching, Professor of Educational Sciences Tim Mainhard will argue in his inaugural lecture. ‘Children who find learning difficult particularly benefit from a close relationship with their teacher.’

This month, ten teachers received a Senior Qualification Education (SKO), including Marcellus Ubbink and Daan van der Es from our faculty. Why did they go through the process of getting qualified, and should all teachers have an SKO?

In this bilingual profile, you follow university teacher training with a special focus on language, culture and diversity in bilingual and international education. Student Lauren Rutherford and educator Tessa Mearns talk about this programme.

Leiden Teachers’ Academy is proud to welcome six new fellows. They will share their expertise with the rest of the university and launch innovative education projects.

On Thursday 19 June, the sun-drenched garden of the Huizinga Building was the setting for the Education Market. Over snacks and drinks, colleagues inspired each other with educational innovations.

Maarten Schrama (CML) has won the Teacher of the Year Award 2021. During a lunch with fellow nominees, Schrama received a cheque worth 5,000 euros from student assessor Joost Barendse to spend on educational activities.

But how do you do it? At the annual Education Showcase, lecturers at the Faculty of Humanities could talk to their colleagues about teaching methods and teaching. Plenty of tips were exchanged during the information fair, workshops and drinks. Five participants talk about they learned.

Ayo Adedokun, Assistant Professor at Leiden University College The Hague (LUC), was one of the four finalists for the National Teacher of the Year Prize for 2022. The National Prize is an annual event organized by the Dutch National Students Association (Interstedelijk Studenten Overleg, ISO), and the…

Find the answers to all your teaching questions on the Science Teacher Platform by SEEDS.

Markus Altena Davidsen was 'extremely happy' when he heard that he and his colleagues had been awarded a grant from the KNAW pilot fund for science communication. Together with partners from all over the country, they are working on a book that should inspire secondary schools to renew their education…

The Faculty of Humanities has two new teaching coaches. On 1 September, Karin Nijenhuis and Paz González took over from Maarten van Leeuwen and Astrid Van Weyenberg. New: the focus on more advanced teachers.

Education

ECOLe is expanding. From 4 November, you can also contact them for questions about BKO (University Teaching Qualification), didactics, educational innovation, and teacher development.

Education is more than just knowledge transfer: students also develop numerous important skills. But which skills are addressed in which courses? And how can we help students train these skills? The Science Skills team is actively engaging with teachers to answer these questions for all courses. Want…

Anyone who knows Aris Politopoulos will be aware of his passion for teaching. Almost winning the Leiden University Teaching Award in 2020, he is known for his use of digital tools to improve his classes. Now he has been accepted to the Leiden Teacher’s Academy. ‘Here I can meet people with innovative…

Share experiences, gain inspiration or catch up with colleagues: you can do all of these at the Teaching Fair on 30 June. Co-organiser Anna Benjamins explains what the afternoon has in store.

The Faculty of Humanities (FGW) considers it important that both its teachers and teaching methods continue to evolve. Especially in times of budget cuts and decreasing student numbers, it is crucial to keep investing in contemporary and appealing education. The workshops created by ECOLe (in collaboration…

Transdisciplinary education, in which students work with external parties, is getting more popular. How do you start such a programme as a teacher? The Honours Academy and the Leiden Learning Innovation Centre have written a guide for all Leiden colleagues.

Assistant professor Joost Willemse firmly believes that as a teacher, you’re never done learning. ‘Students ask questions about things you’ve never thought of yourself. Ultimately, that makes you better at your job.’ That’s why he always encourages his students to ask questions. And it’s appreciated:…

Education

Ayo Adedokun, Assistant Professor at Leiden University College (LUC) in The Hague, is one of the four finalists in the running for the title ‘Teacher of the Year 2022’. The yearly election is organized by the Interstedelijk Student Overleg, the largest national student organization in the Netherlands,…

Students of the Biology minor course Molecular Design have successfully boosted their skills in collaboration, research and writing with the recently developed E-learning Skills Platform. The biology students and their teachers greatly value the initiative. ‘Sometimes I couldn’t believe what progress…