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Educational excursions Q1-2025

• SpringLab VU: Students as Partners

  SpringLab VU is the Students as Partners platform of the VU Faculty of Medicine where medical students develop and teach extracurricular lessons and co-create education in collaboration with teachers and experts.

  SpringLab VU arose from the need among medical students to train more practice-oriented skills and is a unique learning and education model. Students have the freedom to develop their own education, which stimulates their intrinsic motivation and curiosity.

  During the excursion you will experience Springlab in practice and hear more about the important preconditions and organizational steps that contribute to the success of Springlab.

  By joining our excursion, you will:

  • experience the daily practice of SpringLab;
  • discover one of the ways in which you can improve your education by partnering up with students;
  • become familiar with the various steps required to set up a SpringLab within your own faculty.

  How to participate?

  Step 1: Don't come alone!

  • Are you a teacher/training director or training coordinator? Then look for one or more students to visit SpringLab together.
  • If you are a student, find your teachers or program director to visit SpringLab together.

  Step 2: Contact Aäron Spapens to express your interest in this excursion as a duo (or larger group) and to arrange a suitable time

  The excursion will take place with a minimum of 2 registrations (of which one is a student – because the student’s perspective is of great added value during this excursion).

• Practicing collaboration skills through an AI-powered avatar

  In the Bachelor of Communication Science students collaborate in teamwork in the project-based courses. Teamwork can cause challenges that require more time and guidance than is currently feasible for the teacher. We have therefore introduced an AI-powered application for practicing peer-to-peer feedback on collaboration.

  We welcome you to our department to experience at firsthand how this tool works, how we have implemented this in our teaching and to learn from our students how they experience practicing with this tool.

  By joining this excursion, you will gain:

  • knowledge on challenges in team collaboration;
  • tips on implementing technology in your courses;
  • firsthand experience in practicing with an AI avatar.

  To make an appointment, please send an e-mail to Esther Schagen (e.r.schagen@vu.nl). Maximum number of participants is 10 at a time.

• Successful and efficient thesis supervision

  Are you looking for a new and efficient way to guide students during writing the bachelor's and/or master's thesis within the allotted time? Then visit your colleagues at the bachelor's degree in Public Administration and Organizational Science!

  During the excursion, Renée Hartog and Hillie Aaldering, share the three newly designed assessment rubrics that are used to guide students in writing their thesis. You will immediately experience the benefits of these rubrics during the excursion.

  By joining our excursion, you will:

  • experience how formative assessment helps to structure student’s thesis process;
  • experience how formative assessment helps teachers to clarify expectations and feedback;
  • have a sneak peek at the new assessment forms used by all supervisors for the bachelor's thesis of Public Administration and Organization Science;
  • practice a guidance conversation with a student using formative assessment.

  Please send an e-mail to Hilde Remmers to sign up for this excursion. The excursion will take place with a minimum of 2 registrations.

• Virtual Reality and collaborative learning in anatomy courses

  This excursion is organized in Dutch only

  With the course coordinator of the Functional Anatomy course, you will attend a work-study class in which students engage in collaborative learning. Using VR glasses, anatomical atlases and specially designed assignments, students examine the musculoskeletal system in preparation for the dissection room.

  You will learn about the Virtual Reality application and in particular the anatomical programme 3D Organon, the added value of collaborative learning and you will gain insight into the organization and management of VR glasses and VR software.

  This excursion is for anyone interested in using technologies in active learning with VR glasses.

  Registration
  Email your participation request to Geert Buijtenweg. The maximum group size is 6 people ( allowing for personal experience of working together using VR glasses).

  Didactic tip
  Check out the didactic tip on how to increase the learning effect of VR in your teaching.

• Take the first step towards CSL in your education

  Community Service Learning often sounds like a big adjustment within your own education, but it doesn't have to be! Laura Schaap and Anouk Vaes teach the Dutch course ‘Geriatrics and Aging’ within the Bachelor's program in Health Sciences. They have been using components of Community Service Learning (CSL) for several years now.

  On this excursion Laura and Anouk will share their own experiences and provide you with practical tips and ideas to make CSL a success within your own education.

  By joining our excursion, you will:

  • receive practical tools on how to implement Community Service Learning;
  • gain a comprehensive understanding of the benefits and challenges of Community Service Learning within your course;
  • learn from teachers’ personal experiences.

  Sign up
  This excursion will be available upon request. Schedule your visit by sending an e-mail to Laura Schaap.

• How many steps does it take to enter the lecture hall?

  Discover the layers of accessibility in education by getting started with origami, the Japanese art of folding.

  The workshop, led by Aalt Smienk, teacher anthropology and organization sciences invites you to discover the possibilities to make education more accessible.

  By joining this excursion, you will:

  • broaden your horizons and your understanding of accessibility in education;
  • become aware of your own influence on accessibility in education.

  Please send a mail for your group from 5-10 persons to Aalt Smienk to sign up for this excursion.

• Drilling in Virtual Reality

  This excursion is organized in Dutch only

  Are you looking for a new way for students to follow a personalized learning track or are you looking for new ways to guide students toward the end result through technology? Then visit ACTA for inspiration.

  Within the Dentistry program, Dirk Bakker, dentist-teacher (digital dentistry section), uses Virtual Reality. During his teaching, students learn to use a drill in a simulator on a patient's virtual teeth. The students later carry out treatment on that patient in the clinic.  This allows students to learn the necessary skills within the specific context of the patient, independently and at their own pace. During the excursion, Dirk shares his experiences, you'll get practical tips and advice on VR education and learn to drill in the simulator at ACTA yourself!

  By joining this excursion, you will:

  • experience how the practical application of VR technology in education can bridge the gap between theory and practice for students;
  • learn more about the VR technology used in this course.

  Sign up
  The excursion will be on request from 6 applications, with a maximum of 12 participants. You are required to register due to access to ACTA. For more information, contact Esther Schagen.