Assistant Professor

Lesley de Putter-Smits

Department / Institute
Eindhoven School of Education
Group
Group Vermunt
Group Van der Veen

RESEARCH PROFILE

Lesley de Putter is an Assistant Professor and teacher educator. Her research interests are STEM education, teacher education and continuing teacher professional development. A particular focus of her research is on engaging, context-based science learning environments. Science education in secondary level is evolving towards student-centered learning, learning through scientific inquiry, blended or flipped classrooms and mobile learning. This trend is nurtured by and grounds for educational research.

Teaching people to become the best teacher they can be is my specialty. Educational research is my source. People are my drive.”

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Lesley de Putter obtained her MSc degree in Chemistry from Utrecht University in 2000, followed by a PDEng degree in Process and Product Design from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) in 2003. She was a physics teacher at Heerbeeck College, a high school in the Eindhoven area from 2003 until 2012, during which she started her PhD research (2007) at Eindhoven School of Education (ESoE) that was completed in 2011. In 2012, De Putter became a physics teacher educator at ESoE and in 2014 she was appointed Assistant Professor. From September 2019 untill December 2022 she was manager ESA for ESOE.  She developed chemistry courses for future teachers for Radboud University Nijmegen, next to her research and is now a chemistry teacher educator at ESoE.