Psychology lecturers awarded grant for ‘Family Dinner’ critical thinking app
Lecturers Zsuzsika Sjoerds and Sebo Uithol have been awarded a 100,000-euro Dutch National Education Institute (NKO) Scale-Up Grant for their ‘Family Dinner’ app. The app helps students develop critical reasoning skills by identifying fallacies and prejudices during a simulated family meal.
The idea for the app came about in 2023 when a student approached the lecturers after a class with a question about fallacies. They wanted to know how to respond when a family member makes an obvious reasoning error at the dinner table. This inspired Sjoerds and Uithol to create a digital learning environment where students can practise such conversations safely. In the app, students interact with virtual family members who bombard them with biases, rhetorical devices and logical fallacies.
100,000 euros to scale up
The 100,000-euro Scale-up Grant will allow Sjoerds and Uithol to further develop the app. They are partnering with an external software company to rebuild and host the app, so it can be used more widely. They are also working with the Leiden Learning and Innovation Centre (LLInC) on a comprehensive resource pack for lecturers. The LLInC already helped with the content development and technical design of Family Dinner.
Tailored to individual subjects
The next step is to make the app accessible to a wider range of degree programmes. Although the current version is aimed at psychology students, many of the scenarios are general enough to be used in other disciplines. There is also space for subject-specific examples: for example, enabling medical students to practise with more clinically oriented cases. In this way, lecturers can adapt the app to their own teaching, preventing it from becoming a one-size-fits-all solution.
More interaction
Looking ahead, Sjoerds and Uithol aim to make the app even more interactive. Whereas students currently answer multiple-choice questions, the team is considering adding questions. There are also plans to develop versions for secondary, vocational and higher professional education. The would allow the app to become an integral part of teaching materials, helping students put theory straight into practice.
Interested in trying out the app?
Teaching staff from other departments who are interested in the app are encouraged to contact Sebo Uithol or Zsuzsika Sjoerds. ‘We can’t wait to hear from interested colleagues’, they say. ‘How would they like to use the app and what features do they need? We’d love their input.’ The upgraded version is expected to be available from September for pilots within and outside Leiden University.