Students of applied psychology demand a quality education

“Worthless”, “This makes no sense”, “Frustrating and exhausting”, “Very vague”, the reactions of the signatories – mostly students, but also parents – speak volumes. Unknown initiator in Petition It states that second-year applied psychology students are not receiving a quality education. For example, he (or she) does not agree that feedback from fellow students is as useful as that provided by teachers.

“Teacher feedback is valuable because it gives you an idea of ​​how reviewers view our products,” he writes. “But there is hardly any time for teachers to review our work, because the feedback sessions end quickly. Even if you are the lucky one, you will often hear something different from one expert from another. We students get frustrated and stressed about this. Study is expensive and we can “We expect nothing from our teachers. Where are the lessons?” He concludes his speech.

Cash
Last year, talent-oriented education was introduced for the first year of the Applied Psychology course, and this year also for the second year students. Students are expected to have greater control over their learning outcomes. They also work collaboratively on practical issues. Together, students form a learning community linked by a mix of expert or trained teachers.

Criticism of educational innovations within Fontys is not new. Recently, a number of teachers delivered a critical one Statement To the House of Representatives. And earlier I got collage of rights All the wind from the front after leaving many first years. The applied psychology course did not come this far. However, Olivia Kramers, director of the Fontes Institute for Human Resource Management and Psychology, is shocked.

“Students often don’t realize that filing an online petition can have negative consequences,” she says. “It can take on a life of its own. We prefer to talk to students about our teaching, because then we can help them faster and more constructively. And that’s what the coach did. During an open dialogue session, students’ objections and suggestions were heard, and Fontys was also able to Provide more clarity about the education system.

Improvements
“Students have a partial point of view,” Kramers points out. “There are a number of things that are not going well, it is true. We have previously received signals from teachers and students that they are not satisfied. Although we have developed and organized educational innovations as best as possible, we notice that the practice is more difficult. But this is part “It is innovative and we want to learn from it.”

According to Kramers, a lot of improvements are already being implemented. “In this way, we better explain at the front end what the new educational concept requires from students and what we expect from them. We also help students by teaching them how to gain more control over their educational process. At the same time, we are increasing the availability of teachers and an expert Our learning community is responsible for assessments.

According to Kramers, not only students, but also teachers can count on support so they can grow in their new role. The director of the institute confirms: “But none of this happens overnight.” “However, I am confident that we can make good improvements with our students and teachers.” [Marieke Verbiesen]