Connecting excellence in Secondary and HigherEducation: Junior College Utrecht

Presentation to the International Conference ‘Evoking Excellence in Higher Education and Beyond’October 4 & 5 in Groningen (the Netherlands)

Ton van der Valk, Freudenthal Institute for Science and Mathematics Education/ JCU

a.e.vandervalk@uu.nl ; www.uu.nl/jcu

My programme

• Introduction

• Theoretical framework

• Start of JCU (2004)

• JCU 1.0 (2004 – 2007)

• JCU 2.0 (2007 – 2012)

• JCU 3.0 (2012 - ??)

• Success factors/recommendations

Introduction

Critical reflection on a ‘good practice’

• Gap between secondary school and university

• Junior College Utrecht connects upper secondary to university education

• Partnership UU and 28 secondary schools

1. Science and Mathematics to 100 excellent grade 11 and 12 students, 2 years, 2 days a week

2. A working place for improvement of quality of education

• Has been successful since its start in 2004

� What are success factors of JCU approach?

Framework 1: stakeholders of excellence in secondary schools

• Talented students

• Their parents

• Their teachers

• Their schools; school principals

• Universities

• National policy

Teachers are main stakeholders in promoting excellence

They need to be empowered by other stakeholders

Framework 2: empowerment and support for excellence

• Excellence asks for ‘Empowerment’People feel challenged, part of a team, having valuable contributions

empowerment dimensions

– Competence

– Meaningfulness

– Impact

– Choice(Thomas & Veltman 1990; Frymier & Shulman 1996)

� JCU wants to empower all stakeholders

Start of JCU

• Initiative from staff of Utrecht University College

• Support from Executive Board of UU, staff and science education dept.

• Visits to principals and science depts. of secondary schools

• Financial support from Platform Science and Technology

� Initial empowerment, but also some resistance from school and university teachers

���� JCU 1.0: student programme

• In 2004: started with 22 students from 12 schools

• In 2005: 50 students from 26 schools

Activities JCU 1.02004- 2007

• Development of JCU programme (Maths, Phys, Chem, Bio)

• Syllabuses taught by selected upper secondary teachers (enriched, accelerated)

• ‘Modules’ and projects related to research taught by UU-teachers

• Community building

• Start teacher programme

• Frequent contacts with all stakeholders

� Students: good results; felt empowerment

� Growing enthusiasm stakeholders; resistance faded away

Developments 2007/08

• UU involved in Sirius project

• JCU embedded in Faculty of Science

• Introduction of new secondary science curricula, a.o. NLT

– Opportunities for making students acquainted with recent developments in science

• New insights of JCU staff:

– group of students is less homogeneous than expected (empowerment study: van der Valk et al. 2011)

– Growing readiness in school for sharing JCU experiences

� JCU 2.0

Activities JCU 2.02007 - 2012

• JCU embedded in Faculty of Science

• JCU teacher programme: testing and adapting NLT-modules

• Resulted in nation wide dissemination of 12 NLT modules (www.betavak-nlt.nl e.g. The Molecules of Life)

• Differentiation and choices in JCU curriculum

• Resulted in differentiation assignments (e.g. balancing bowls)

� Partner school teachers empowered

� School principals see opportunities for further development

� Faculties: experience impact JCU on schools and staff

Developments 2011/12

• Policy makers: promote excellence and science in secondary schools

• Schools:

– development excellence trajectories in all secondary grades

– Participate in JCU teacher professionalisation

• Matching for 1st year university honours

• Faculty of Science wants to contact more secondary students

• Hogeschool Utrecht wants to join

JCU 3.0: U-Talent2012 - ?

• Aim: development of excellence trajectories for science and maths in secondary schools grades 7 to 12

• Involvement of nearly all JCU partner schools

• Project with 5 parts

– Developing school programmes excellence/differentiation

– campus programme: 2 days at UU or HU for 600 selected students grades 9 – 11

– Teacher programme: teacher development teams; professionalisation course

– School principal development teams

– Research projects

JCU 3.0: how will it look like?

• Differentiated school programmes in JCU partner schools grade 7-12

• Campus programmes grade 7 – 10 (e.g. 2 days a year)

• New campus programme for grade 11/12 (e.g. 14 days a year)

Success factors/recommendations

• Empower all stakeholders of ‘developing excellence’ process

– Yes, we can!

– Yes, it’s meaningful

– Yes, we have impact

– Yes, we make our own choices

• The teachers are the key stakeholders

• The students are the best ambassadors

• Build learning communities for stakeholders

• Anticipate and attach to developments in national, regional and local policy in university and secondary education

• Make progression visible (posters); share, ask for feedback

Thank you for your attention

• a.e.vandervalk@uu.nl

Sites:

• www.uu.nl/jcu � English

• www.betadifferentiatie.nl

• www.vobouwstenen.nl

• www.betavak-nlt.nl � English