New project helps psychology students with academic skills
In August 2024 a project to support first-year undergraduate psychology students in developing their academic skills launched. The project, called Doe eens (e-)Module Academische Vaardigheden (Doe eens MAV!), focuses on improving research skills such as searching literature, formulating a research question and interpreting research results. Project leader, Maarten van der Smagt, and teacher and e-module developer, Leonie Brummer, play a central role in this.
These skills are often challenging for new students, who do not always have sufficient time and guidance to fully master them. ‘In psychology, we are developing online modules aimed at teaching academic skills such as searching the right literature, formulating a meaningful research question and interpreting research results. This gives students the opportunity to practice these extra at a time of their own choosing,’ explains project leader Prof Maarten van der Smagt.
The project is not only about learning techniques, but also about building confidence in one's own academic competences. ‘We naturally want to know to what extent this extra practice can contribute to their study results and feelings of competence,’ Maarten adds. The study runs until February 2026 and is funded by the NRO.
Submit your own proposal for your educational research (SoTL)?
Do you want to gain more insight into how your students learn? Would you like to try out a possible solution to a problem you encounter when teaching? Would you also like to share these insights with your colleagues? Then the SoTL Grant is probably for you. Submit your application by 25 October at the latest!