Case Study: Reflecting on Our Teaching Journey

Teaching has always been an intrinsic part of me. My journey started at the age of 15 in Kolkata, India, when I began  teaching younger school-going children, mostly from disadvantaged backgrounds. Thinking back, its perhaps then that I started understanding the value of knowledge.

Currently, I work as an Assistant Professor within the Faculty of Medicine at Utrecht University. I coordinate and teach pharmacology-related courses. Next to this, I am involved in curriculum development and teach-the-teacher programs. After completing my PhD, I started as a lecturer within the medical faculty. During these early teaching years, I enrolled in a Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) training programme.  My initial experience with SoTL was discouraging as I was still getting acquainted with the educational and cultural system of The Netherlands. Not only did I struggle to come up with a research topic, given my  background in biomedical sciences, but I was also skeptical about the research approaches used in SoTL. The situation however changed in a year or two. Growing into my role as a teacher, I had questions on the effectiveness of teaching methodologies and on understanding how students approach certain problems. It was then when I had applied for a SoTL grant at Utrecht University. My SoTL journey had officially begun. Receiving this grant helped me to understand educational research igniting my passion to delve into this new world.

In the past years, I have worked on several projects and have supervised students in the field of educational research. Multiple factors – receiving educational grants, publishing educational articles, attending educational congresses – have all enthused me to continue this journey. The nature of my SoTL projects have also diversified. While initially I worked strictly within my own discipline, successfully completing a few SoTL projects enabled me to experiment with diverse research methodologies and diversify my field of research interest.

When I ask myself the question, what do I enjoy about SoTL? I think for me it’s the applicability of SoTL, as research questions here are often closely connected to one’s daily teaching practices. I also value the multidisciplinary community we are slowly building within the university through the SoTL advocate project. As a group we come together, share ideas, exchange views, collaborate on projects, making the community of practice varied and dynamic. In recent years, I’ve become more involved in faculty-level educational projects, and my SoTL background has been invaluable in understanding the intricacies of curriculum development. That being said, challenges do exist. Juggling teaching and SoTL with limited assistance remains a pressing issue. Currently, I’m enrolled in the Utrecht Teaching Scholars Program to deepen my expertise in educational research and looking ahead, I aim to focus on shared learning and collaboration, both locally and internationally, believing that together we can foster an equitable society through education.

Bo van Leeuwen

In 2019, I started my teaching career as a junior teacher in anatomy and physiology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Utrecht University (UU). Like many early-career academics, I navigated the uncertainty of temporary contracts while striving to balance my passion for teaching with my interest in research. The challenge was finding a way to integrate these two interests.

My journey into the SoTL began when I joined the Utrecht University’s  Special Interest Group for SoTL. This group connected me with like-minded individuals who encouraged me to explore how SoTL could enhance both my teaching practice and academic career. At the same time, I was developing a teaching innovation: a smartphone app using flashcards to help students acquire foundational veterinary anatomy knowledge in preparation for dissection classes. My supervisors suggested linking a research project to this innovation, and SoTL seemed a perfect fit. It allowed me to expand my understanding of educational research while producing valuable output for my department. I applied for a €5,000 SoTL grant from Utrecht University, which provided expert feedback on my proposal and boosted its credibility with my supervisors. The grant also funded my participation in the EuroSoTL 2022 Conference in Manchester, where I shared my findings and connected with the international SoTL community.

Shortly after, the UU established the SoTL Advocate Program. When I was invited to apply to become an advocate for my Faculty, I seized the opportunity. It was a chance to inspire early career colleagues to engage with SoTL and enhance their academic teaching CVs. Within this formal role, it was also easier for me to spend time on SoTL activities that were not directly connected to research. With the support from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, I founded a Community of Practice (CoP) aimed at early career (clinical)teachers. However, the initial meetings had low participation.  It became evident that a focus on sharing teaching experiences was more relevant for most participants than launching their own SoTL projects. At first, I struggled to accept this – why were my peers not as enthusiastic as I was? After reflecting, I realized that starting a SoTL project was challenging. It required adapting to new research methods and relying on intrinsic motivation, as my efforts often went unrecognized by my supervisors. Therefore, I teamed up with fellow junior teachers to reshape the CoP. We centered the meetings on three key themes: innovation, professional development, and educational research. This new approach almost immediately increased participation, with an average of 15 attendees per meeting covering topics such as “the hidden curriculum”.

I recognize that I’ve benefited greatly from opportunities, support, and mentoring, particularly from role models. My involvement in SoTL not only developed my interest and skills in classroom-based education research but also ignited my enthusiasm to pursue a PhD. Since 2023, I have  been working as a PhD candidate, with my research partly based on my first SoTL project.