How Optimus Education gets the best out of their teachers

The world of education is changing rapidly. Five years ago there was still a debate about whether cell phones should be brought to school, now in many schools they are simply used in class. With these new technologies, it is important to keep developing as a teacher. This can be done with the online courses of SkillsTown.Optimus Education (a foundation for Catholic, Protestant-Christian and Interconfessional education) is one of the educational institutions using them. We spoke to Monique Stevens, head of HRM at Optimus, Lysanne Cobussen and Anja van Hintum, both teachers at an Optimus school, about their experiences with online learning.

Not time and place specific

A survey conducted by Optimus among teachers showed that 86% of participants felt that learning should not be time- and place-based. Therefore, Optimus started online learning in December 2015. Monique explains, "We noticed that there was a need among teachers for a contemporary way of development, in addition to classroom courses. As part of professionalization, we set up the Optimus Academy several years ago. We expanded the offer with master classes and conferences."

Teacher Anja agrees: "I work in a small school. Some periods we are very busy, others very quiet. I would like to keep developing myself, but taking a classroom course doesn't work for me. You are stuck with fixed days and when I have a lot of time, for example during the summer vacations, most courses don't take place. I can schedule an e-learning course myself and pick it up when I have time for it."

Learning motivation

When embarking on learning within an organization, motivation is an important component. Motivation can come about for a variety of reasons and ensures that employees learn more easily and consistently. To keep this motivation as high as possible, the threshold to sign up for the Optimus Academy has been kept low and the course material is provided with practical examples so that the knowledge learned can be directly applied in practice.

Monique explains the procedure: "All Optimus teachers can apply for the academy, whether they are in permanent or temporary employment. There is no obligation to follow specific modules or obtain a certain number of certificates. We really rely on the intrinsic motivation of participants."

Tip from Monique: "Make sure there are certificates to obtain that are accredited. The survey we conducted showed that teachers find it very important to have a tangible result of the course taken."

For teacher Lysanne, this way of learning works very well: "I like that I can take the courses at my own pace and in my own time. Because there are no compulsory modules, I only choose the subjects that seem interesting to me. Therefore, my motivation is higher than if something were imposed on me. The knowledge from some courses I can directly apply in my classes. Other courses are more background information and you take that knowledge into the development of your lessons or classroom management."

Anja also notices that the online courses are easy to apply in practice: "The other day I took the course that contained a number of tips that I now use constantly in class. I have taken a lot of courses in my career, but the knowledge ages or sinks in. With the online courses I can retrieve this knowledge in an easy way."