Learning to do, doing to learn. Promoted by American educational icon John Dewey, and part of the FFA motto, this line is well known to all agriculture teachers in the United States. It is also a driving philosophy for teachers and educational programs across The Netherlands. The Aeres Group, a network of schools that teach “green-sector” studies to students ages 12 into adulthood, uses “doing to learn” as their official slogan. Many programs and teachers espouse this notion that if you allow students to perform a task, and allow them to safely fail at that task, then the student has made the act of learning a more concrete experience. Forgive the long-winded explanation of the line that needs no explaining; learning to do, doing to learn makes learning real and tangible for all students.
On March 16, I had the distinct pleasure of observing the technasium course at Cals College in Nieuwegien (Nu-ve-hine). Cals College is a VWO and HAVO school, which means that students range in age from 12-18, and are middle to upper level students. The students that graduate from Cals are able to apply to university and pursue a bachelor’s degree if they choose. In Dutch schools, VWO and HAVO students are expected to participate in Gymnasium, Atheneum, or Technasium. Not gym class and a library, rather Gymnasium and Atheneum are upper level arts and language-focused tracks where students take extra arts classes, ancient greek and/or latin, and engage with international experiences. Students that hope to go onto medical school or doctoral-level research will have taken part in Gymnasium as a young student.
Roughly ten years ago, a group of Dutch teachers came together and pitched the idea of Technasium to the Ministry of Education in the Netherlands. It is a project-based learning approach that addresses real-world problems with an actual company or university that is seeking innovative solutions. The Ministry bought-in to the idea that a new option other than Gymnasium and Atheneum were needed for students, and for addressing 21st-century problems. In “doing to learn” students are able to build 21st-century skills, too. An additional section of the Ministry was created to oversee and facilitate the Technasium program, and to ensure consistent lessons, funding, and management across all Technasium schools.
Technasium at Cals College is provided for students in the 1st year through their 6th year. The students in the first year have the opportunity to explore the three options, and then pick by the middle of 1st year. In years 2, 3, and 4 (ages 13-16), teachers will select the real-world problem for students to work on in groups. There is a new project each marking period, and a new teaming of students. In years 5 and 6 - after VWO students have decided to either graduate and move on to MBO, or stay - students are tasked with finding their own real-world problem to solve. This is an incredible opportunity for students, as some companies will like a student so much that they stick with the student until graduation and offer employment right after college. It is possible to be 12 years old and courted by your future employer!
As the students get older and wiser, the projects become more challenging and students are afforded more time in the technasium course. The businesses that suggest the problem to be answered are very involved in the process for the students. They pitch the problem, provide extensive background information to inform the problem, check in with students in the process and then arrive at the end of each marking period to evaluate the students’ work - and select a winner! Why on earth would they do this, and assist the schools in such a way? Because the companies are intrinsically motivated to foster, and take a role in, the new workforce. I was positively floored when I asked about the incentive for businesses, and this was the response. This is not the first time I’ve heard this response in a similar setting, and it goes to show how much the culture of the Netherlands influences education in such a positive way. In every experience I have had in the Netherlands, preparing the next generation seems to be a theme. I have not seen, in the US, such a strong desire of businesses to parter with educators in this capacity, for these reasons.
Technasium, at each school, is required to have its own space with various areas to inspire and provide materials to create, experiment, ask questions, fail and succeed. Teachers shift into the role of coaching and guide students by providing basic information on the front-end, and then loads of feedback as students develop their project. The technasium program coaches students through the problem-solving process. Michael, the technasium teacher that I shadowed, said that the program is the owner of knowledge and teaching the process, not the final product. When students are evaluated, it is on the following competencies: (I’m paraphrasing here)
Ability to collaborate
Dedication to individual work
Product-minded project Ability to go through a development process
Planning and Organizational skills
Seeking help when needed (and knowing you need help)
Knowledgable, student did their research
Creative and innovative result
In addition to meeting these competencies over the course of a year, students also have to choose a personal learning goal for each project, with the help of the coach, that relates to the competencies. I was fortunate to meet a lovely group of students that were very excited to show me their projects and talk about their experiences in technasium. So much so, that I was invited back to see their final projects for this term!
The areas of focus for the projects are in data sciences, medical, engineering, biology, chemistry, physics, technology, economics and management. In American edu-speak (argot), STEM. I love the inclusion of economics and management. Honestly, teaching those two topics to 14-year olds? Incredibly valuable. If we are trying to get students on a path to a career, then we should be teaching them about two of the biggest hiring sectors. The topic of each project has to shift, as well as the members of the team, with each new marking period. I asked Michael how teams are chosen and was ecstatic over his response. It is not self-selected and it is not teacher selected. Students take competency exams, like work placement inventories, to determine which student’s skill set will match best with their peers. Objective measurements to set students up for success! While in their teams, students will also have an assigned role, again based on the tests, and is evaluated on how well they fill the role. For example, the coach (teacher) will meet with a student and discuss their personal learning goal, address their project progress AND discuss how well they are fulfilling their position on the team.
So what does this mean for an American school? I cannot speak to the vastness of the program, but this is a do-able initiative one school at a time. Creating space to learn and providing coaching to support those efforts? I believe it is possible. Making community connections to bring in real-world problems? Not impossible. A colleague shared the term “maker spaces” with me - a movement in American education to give students room to tinker which sounds similar, but perhaps does not offer the same level of guidance and personal development that a technasium program provides. My host, Michael, shared that “this is the one place that these students get to fail. And that’s when they really learn.”
Boom.
Mic drop.