Education research in collaboration: video series
At Maastricht University, education research connects evidence with practice. By working together – researchers, teachers, students – we can better understand what works in teaching and learning, and why. This series presents three projects that show how collaboration strengthens research and directly improves education.
Understanding the international classroom
Carla Haelermans & Patrick Bijsmans
The international classroom is one of Maastricht University’s defining features. But does diversity really benefit all students? Researchers Carla Haelermans (SBE) and Patrick Bijsmans (FASoS) studied data, observed classes, and spoke to students and staff. Their findings show that international diversity supports learning – including for Dutch students – when classrooms are carefully designed and inclusive teaching strategies are used.
Guiding the thesis journey: Research-based tools for students and supervisors
Therese Grohnert & Laurie Delnoij
Writing a master’s thesis can be stressful for both students and supervisors. SBE researchers Therese Grohnert and Laurie Delnoij developed research-informed modules to help students write more independently, reduce stress, and make supervision meetings more effective. Their collaboration shows how education research directly improves one of the most challenging parts of academic study.
Moving beyond intuition: Education research in practice
Boukje Compen & Diana Dolmans
Teaching is often based on experience and intuition, but what really works for students? FHML researchers Boukje Compen and Diana Dolmans show how education research provides evidence to support teachers’ professional growth and improve student learning. Their work demonstrates how close collaboration with teachers and students turns research into practical improvements.
Why collaboration matters in education research
The projects highlight several reasons why collaboration strengthens education research:
- Education is complex. Students, teachers, curricula, and contexts interact in unpredictable ways. Collaboration helps capture this complexity from different angles.
- Evidence beats intuition. Everyone has personal experiences of education, but research – enriched by multiple perspectives – helps move beyond assumptions.
- Complementary expertise is needed. Combining big data, interviews, classroom observations, or course design insights makes research richer and more reliable.
- Context matters. What works in one faculty or subject area may not work elsewhere; cross-faculty collaboration reveals these differences.
- The impact is immediate. Education research is applied – findings feed directly back into teaching and supervision, shaping daily practice.
Education research at Maastricht University
At Maastricht University, education is organised around Problem-Based Learning (PBL), the core of our teaching model for more than 50 years. To keep PBL effective and responsive to new challenges, we study it carefully and reflect on how it works in practice. Education research examines what works, for whom, and why, providing evidence that informs real improvements.
Through this series, we show how research and collaboration strengthen UM’s educational model, keeping it innovative, effective, and supportive for both students and staff.