How to support the ‘At your own pace’ student path

Students wanting to study faster because they already have a lot of prior knowledge, or slow down because it’s more appropriate at this stage of their lives: these are examples of variations in study pace  we wish to make possible in Dutch higher education. In the publication How to support the ‘At your own pace’ student path the Making education more flexible zone explores the student route Own pace.

‘Own pace’ is an important part of flexible education, and also a theme that raises all kinds of educational questions. How do you ensure that students stay in touch with each other and with the study programme if they proceed at different speeds? What do differences in pace mean for the guidance of students and the role of lectureres? Do you have to take variations in study pace into account when designing your curriculum? Finding answers to these kinds of questions is important: flexible education is the future, and that realisation is widely shared in Dutch higher education.

In the publication, the zone highlights four facets for the student pathway Own pace: design, implementation, testing, and learning together. This is done on the basis of opportunities and challenges from an educational perspective.