2.5 Valuable (and values-based) education

Knowledge bites

The Knowledge Bites pilot project was launched in September 2020. A knowledge bite is a short video (no more than 6 minutes) explaining a specific theme, idea, or concept. It may involve the use of a speaker, an animation, or a combination. A knowledge bite is short, powerful, and a great opportunity to add variety to current educational offerings. During the pilot project, lecturers could have a professional animation developed with the help of student assistants. The range of knowledge bites available developed further in 2021. It offers lecturers the opportunity to develop professional knowledge bites without any major time investment, high costs, or knowledge of complex video editing. Support for these knowledge bites includes the possibility of educational guidance, application of the Tilburg University house style, professional voice-overs, and the option of subtitling. In 2021, 85 knowledge bites and 15 instructional videos were developed. In all, more than 90 lecturers for all Schools participated in the pilot project.

Irmgard Borghouts, one of our lecturers, talks about her experience: “I walked into the studio to make a professional video for the new Global Law Students. These recordings are more professional than those made with MyMediasite, and you don’t have to do any of your own editing, because that’s done by other people. I also participated in Tilburg University’s pilot project on Knowledge Bites. It requires an investment of time to formulate the script properly, and you have to give careful consideration to what the core message should be and how it can be translated into images and words. In the future, however, the materials can be used more often. I would recommend it to any lecturer! The variation in the use of knowledge bites, videos, and live classes (interactive online or on campus) gives more variety to my work as a lecturer.”

Tilburg Educational Profile

Within the context of the Tilburg Educational Profile (TEP), we regularly interview students, lecturers, and alumni who demonstrate what our educational profile stands for. This year, our interviewees include the Assistant Professor Natascha Kienstra (TST). Character building—an important part of the TEP—demands time and practice, but it also requires proper training (e.g., in the form of debating). Debating moral dilemmas has a positive effect on the development of various skills, including critical thinking, reasoning, and the examination of and reflection on complex situations. Kienstra uses the course guide entitled Teaching Ethics through Debate to promote these skills in students. This guide uses moral dilemmas formulated in collaboration with the Médecins Sans Frontières Holland Association. These dilemmas are based on actual situations that they have encountered in the field.

We also interviewed two students: Veerle Joosen and Soraya Corten. Veerle is a Bachelor’s student of Public Governance. From October through December 2020, she served an internship in the Municipality of Waalwijk, where she conducted research on youth participation. Soraya, a Law student, counselled four students at Lodewijk College in Zeeland at the end of the 2020/2021 academic year, as part of the StudentinzetopSchool project.