Research Acceleration Plan

What was the main goal of your project?
VU Amsterdam has chosen a concept of Active Blended Learning. But is that truly reflected in our teaching now? We wanted to investigate this because if policy doesn't translate into didactics, what benefit does it have for the student?

What concrete results have you achieved with your project?
We achieved a lot in our project. We developed a method to objectively assess how activating and blended a course is by analyzing elements from Canvas, the course catalogue, and study guides, and by counting activities. We examined about 130 bachelor's courses from 2019, 2022, and 2023. Interviews with lecturers confirmed our observations. Results show that VU's education is activating, but blended learning can still grow. Despite digital skills gained during the COVID-19 pandemic, many lecturers returned to traditional teaching.

What did you personally find the most beautiful or special moment during this project? 
How do you assess whether a course is activating and blended without fully following it yourself? We designed a system that did this based on Canvas and the timetable. The most special moment was when, after initial interviews with lecturers, it turned out the system worked. It can therefore be used more widely.

How has this project contributed to the improvement of education at VU Amsterdam?
It's important for policy making to honestly investigate whether your policies work. As an institution, you should feel obliged to do so. The fact that we could carry out this project within the framework of the Quality Plan is valuable in itself and can contribute significantly to long-term improvements in education at VU Amsterdam.