ELAN, the group focusing on Teacher Development within the Learning, Data Analytics, and Technology department (LDT) at the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences, is involved in research and education with regard to (technology-supported) teacher professional development. We provide pre-service and in-service education to teachers, and develop, evaluate and implement theory-based interventions that influence the quality of teaching and learning in primary, secondary and tertiary education. We leverage tools from the educational sciences and take an engineering perspective in our work. To enrich our research and development, both on campus and beyond, we seek an enthusiastic assistant/associate professor in the area of teacher professional development.

The challenge

Teachers are bombarded with information about technological innovation for their students, yet they receive far less guidance on the use of technologies that can support their own learning and performance (McKenney & Visscher, 2019). At the same time, modern advancements ranging from ubiquitous computing to sensor technologies to artificial intelligence and machine learning bring new possibilities to support teacher work in many ways. For example, tools could help teachers prepare for class through virtual reality simulations, or machine-driven checks on how lesson plans display alignment between aims, learning activities, and assessment. During lesson enactment, technologies could provide real-time information, e.g., through bug-in-ear coaching, formative assessment dashboards, or biometric sensor data on affective state. After class, technology can be used to understand student thinking or portray classroom interactions, both of which can help teachers to evaluate and reflect on their own performance. While such new technologies hold promise to bring powerful tools closer to the everyday life of teachers and schools, they bring along engineering and design challenges, as well as new types of data, which require new approaches to analysis.

We invite you to contribute to education and research in this exciting new field. As a teacher, you will contribute actively to modules in the UT Teacher Education program as well as the Master Program, Educational Science and Technology. Furthermore, we expect you to supervise (graduate) student work. In your research, you contribute to the interdisciplinary research domain ‘Learning’ in the faculty of Behavioral, Management, and Social Sciences and you establish partnerships with teachers in other faculties. You will contribute to the design of technologies to promote teacher learning and well-being and/or the use of technology in advancing research on change processes as a result of such interventions. You will carry out research in close cooperation with teachers at the UT and in (local) schools. Applying for research grants, publishing in peer-reviewed journals, and PhD supervision belong to your tasks.

Candidates we seek:

• show vision and a results-oriented drive (seeing opportunities and possibilities, showing ambition);
• hold a PhD degree preferably in educational sciences;
• have a track record in researching and supporting teacher development (experience in higher education is preferred);
• demonstrate curiosity and experience in designing and researching innovative technologies in education, through relevant from publications in reputable academic journals, presentations in international scientific conferences, and other academic activities;
• have an excellent command of both qualitative and quantitative methods;
• enjoy interdisciplinary team workers, collaborating with scholars from different backgrounds in social sciences and technology;
• have teaching experience (lecturing, tutoring, thesis mentoring);
• enjoy teaching in both degree programs and outreach/professional development settings;
• possess good communication skills, including an excellent command of English and good command of Dutch.
• hold a (equivalent of) University Teaching Qualification certificate, or be willing to obtain this, and have a real passion for, and the ambition to become a creative and effective teacher.
• are excited about establishing collaborations with STEM teachers at this university (e.g. to support their engineering education, beta-didactical research).

We offer an appointment (0,8 fte) for two years with the prospect of a tenured position after a positive evaluation. The starting salary, depending on your experience, ranges between € 3.746 to € 6.940 gross per month (in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities), based on the job profile Assistant or Associate Professor. In addition, the University of Twente offers additional attractive employment conditions (8% holiday allowance, 8.3% end-of-year bonus, solid pension scheme, sabbatical leave, professional and personal development programs including facilities in acquiring a University Teaching Qualification, etc.).