An educational approach that uses the body as a source of knowledge and a programme that helps first-generation students find their place at university. For these two educational innovations, VU projects have been awarded a Comenius Teaching Fellow grant of €50,000 each by the Nationaal Kennisinstituut Onderwijs (NKO).
The Body as Teacher: Social Presencing Theater as Embodied Pedagogy for Transdisciplinary Learning
Frederique Demeijer & Eduardo Urias
To better prepare students for their role as change agents inside complex societal transitions, Demeijer and Urias integrate Social Presencing Theater (SPT) in the VU course interdisciplinary CSL2. Whereas current education focuses primarily on theory and practice, SPT adds an embodied, affective dimensions through movement and non-verbal exercises to reveal hidden social dynamics and encourages a deeper awareness of individual and collective patterns.
This innovation stimulates skills like empathy, system thinking and reflection, with this students will be educated to become even better holistic, involved and competent change agents who can navigate complexity by integrating critical thinking and body awareness into their approach.
Stay Prepared: Structural support for first-generation students in their first year of study
Jorine Geertsema & Kati Cousijn
The university-wide Stay Prepared programme supports first-year, first-generation students at VU throughout their entire first year with workshops and coaching to enhance their academic success. Former participants and VU staff are actively involved in designing and facilitating workshops as part of the community. supports first-year, first-generation students at VU throughout their entire first year with workshops and coaching to enhance their academic success. Former participants and VU staff are actively involved in designing and facilitating workshops as part of the community.
With help from the Comenius grant the initiative will be further developed didactically into a full-fledged, transferable educational concept and expanded into an intergenerational community of VU students, VU alumni and VU staff.
Rector Magnificus Jeroen Geurts about the winning projects:
“What appeals to me about these projects is that they all pose the same important question: how do we prepare students for an increasingly complex world and for their role in it as global citizens? The Comenius Teaching Fellows are developing education that contributes to equal opportunities, personal development and new ways of learning. The Community Service Learning projects demonstrate how global citizenship can be made tangible by connecting education with societal challenges and collaboration beyond the university. Together, these initiatives make clear that good education goes far beyond the transfer of knowledge: it helps students take responsibility and actively shape their role in society. I warmly congratulate all the winners on this recognition and am incredibly proud of them and of VU.”