Fontys provides education and research in almost all sectors of society, which means that the higher professional education institution can call itself the largest public knowledge institution in the southern Netherlands. To make learning as optimal as possible among the more than 44,000 students, they came across tooling. The performance management technology from TruQu was in line with Fontys’ vision and thinking, therefore the collaboration started.
Business case
Fontys
Fontys and TruQu work together to optimize student learning and development.
Adri Cornelissen is part of the iFontys innovation network within Fontys University of Applied Sciences and notices that there is more and more talk about giving feedback and predicts that it will play a major role in education. “We have been saying for a long time that feedback is extremely important, but we did not much with it. Now it will become really important for the reason that more education will take place in groups. Students are increasingly in charge of their own learning process. Therefore, we want to support this with tooling. That is why we ended up with TruQu,” says Adri.
This is how we work
There was no specific plan for implementing a feedback culture at Fontys. Adri: “It was simply said: this is how we work. Try it and look for added value for education and the organization. ”Within a minor from Fontys, an education concept has even been developed, SEAL (Social Engaged Action Learning), which is all about giving feedback.
“You can’t do anything here without feedback. In fact, it is your burden of proof at the end of the ride. With this we show that we can no longer do without. If you do not have a tooling that reinforces the principle, then students rely on making complex reports.”
According to Adri you learn when you are aware of what you are doing. “Continuously working on your smart goals, discovering, trying out, making mistakes and starting over; that is learning. It is an ongoing process, something that is under daily attention.”
“Feedback is a part of education”
Part of education
Madelon Pijnenburg, teacher at the Fontys Paramedische Hogeschool, notices that her students are still in the compliment sphere and that giving critical feedback is still difficult. For that reason, giving and receiving feedback has become a lesson itself. “For us, feedback is a part of education,” says Madelon. “We provide theories on how to give feedback. Implementing the tool requires some attention.”
The teacher continues that she finds self-management very important for the student. “With the tool you are responsible for your own learning process and that is powerful.” As a result, assessment interviews have also been abolished within the university.” TruQu can mean a lot to us in this area.”
External
With the performance management software, employees can also request feedback from people inside and outside the organization. The only thing you need from the feedback provider is an email address. “External feedback is very important to us. We use that a lot. Now, our students can also request feedback from clients,” says Adri.
Collaboration
He says about the collaboration: “With TruQu we have the feeling that we can create something beautiful together. A week after we were enthusiastic, a product tour was given. The way in which the contract was formed was also nice. Also, the support in the software is super. It works very well, because I only have to ask something and I get an answer right away. That goes very fast.”
Consequently, the core for both employees is to make the development of the student or employee visible. Adri: “We think that feedback plays a major role in your development. It starts there.”