On Wednesday, October 23, EDLAB organized a Teach-Meet – an informal session in which staff from all UM faculties can come together to share experiences concerning innovative approaches in the classroom. This time, the new CPD (Continuing Professional Development) activities were presented. CPD aims to provide opportunities for UM teaching staff to develop new knowledge and skills relevant to their teaching.
During the event, four professionals (two teaching staff and two CPD coordinators) shared their perspectives on CPD at Maastricht University (UM):
While the speakers shared different sides of CPD at UM, at the end of the day, the four speakers had the same message: CPD is focused on the development needs of the individual teacher and therefore relies significantly on the self-directedness of teaching staff.
Consequently, it is the responsibility of the individual teacher to identify their own development needs and make plans for CPD with input from their line managers and CPD coordinators. A key question is then: How can a university-wide culture be created in order for teachers to feel that CPD is a validated means to improve one’s teaching?