Martin Sand: Exploring teacher identity to empower new lecturers at TU Delft
By Heather Montague
Being a new university lecturer comes with its challenges. But Dr. Martin Sand believes that finding one’s teacher identity can help people to flourish in a teaching role. Through a faculty fellowship, he leads a project to help new lecturers identify their own identity narratives, empowering them to be better teachers. And as host of the upcoming second season of the Adventures in Teaching podcast, Sand hopes to elevate the conversation on teacher identity.
As a tutor or young scholar, autonomy is important to start being able to identify with what the course is about
Martin Sand
Teaching in context
While some people were born to teach, others who end up in front of the classroom might approach the role with some hesitancy and face challenges as new teachers. That was certainly true for Sand, Assistant Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of Technology at TU Delft’s Faculty of Technology, Policy & Management (TPM). “My path into teaching was a bumpy one,” he said. “I did not initially see teaching as a very important aspect of my academic life. During my PhD, I was more interested in writing and it took me some time to adjust, to embrace teaching responsibilities.”
As he reflected on his personal journey, Sand began thinking about teaching in a broader context. For example, he noted that new teachers need more autonomy when it comes to courses, which are often run by more senior professors. “As a tutor or young scholar, autonomy is important to start being able to identify with what the course is about,” he said. “Not simply adopting the teaching of other people, but trying to make it your own.” And he recognised the importance of understanding which contexts suit one’s individual teaching abilities, in which contexts one feels or doesn’t feel authentic and comfortable, and how to change abilities or contexts if needed. To Sand, that means finding a teacher identity.
The identity equation
There are different aspects that make up a teacher identity, said Sand. On one hand, it’s about what kind of person you are when you’re in the classroom and how you feel about that. For example, there are some who like to be more entertaining in the classroom while others like to be more conveyors of information or knowledge. The other aspect, said Sand, is how you identify with teaching as a part of your academic trajectory. It’s the story that you tell when someone asks you what your job is about. Sand noted that academics tend to say they’re writing papers and doing research, but few of them say they are teachers. “I think if we treat teaching in a more up-front way by asking ourselves what we like or dislike about it, how we can increase our confidence, how we can feel more natural and authentic in the classroom, then we would become better teachers, more productive, more effective, and we would get more pleasure out of the activity.”
I think if we treat teaching in a more up-front way [...] then we would get more pleasure out of the activity
Martin Sand
From podcast to project
As a participant in the first season of the Adventures in Teaching podcast, Sand noted that the identity topic kept coming up. That experience inspired him to try and help new lecturers find their identity and their role in teaching in a broader way. His enthusiasm was met with support from the Dean of TPM, Professor Aukje Hassoldt and Professor Neelke Doorn, TPM’s Director of Education who created a faculty fellowship, allowing Sand to realise a project.
Sand, who is a tenure tracker with a teaching emphasis, will conduct focus group interviews with new lecturers and will be involved in various onboarding events to increase enthusiasm for teaching. As part of this project, he also hopes to create a community platform for junior lecturers to exchange their teaching experiences and identity narratives. Ultimately, the project aims to supports teachers to develop a teacher identity, become more conscious and reflective of their strengths and weaknesses as a teacher, of their emotions in the classroom, and of their abilities and shortcomings. Sand thinks this will help teachers make better informed decisions in relation to their teaching trajectory and increase their confidence and teaching effectiveness.
I also want to initiate the debate on how the university can facilitate that people acknowledge the teaching role more
Martin Sand
Broadening the conversation
Passionate about the topic of teacher identity, Sand was invited to come back as the host of the second season of the Adventures in Teaching podcast, which launches on April 18, 2023. With a diverse range of guests, he will dive into individual perspectives and narratives of teaching experiences. This includes inspiring junior and senior scholars and teaching managers, including the Academic Director of the Teaching Academy, Annoesjka Cabo and the Vice-President of Education, Rob Mudde. They share their own visions on what it means to be natural in the classroom, what it means to flourish as a teacher, and how such reflections can be supported. “I hope this will resonate with the experiences of many of my colleagues at TU Delft and I hope we can build enthusiasm for the topic and trigger reflection and motivation,” he said. “But I also want to initiate the debate on how the university can facilitate that people acknowledge the teaching role more.”
