Talent development for secondary students and teachers: Junior College Utrecht

Presentation to the summer school Science and Mathematics Education 2013

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

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

The programme

• 11.00 – 11.40 Introduction: – Why special attention to talent development? – JCU: what is it, its activities, who are its stakeholders?– Developments in JCU, from 2004 to 2013

• 11.40 – 12.00: a look at JCU student material for upper secondary

• 12.00 – 13.00: Lunch• 13.00 – 14.00: Experiencing student activities for age 15• 14.00 – 14.30: the JCU teacher programme• 14.30 – 15.00: discussion: what components of the JCU

approach can be applied in your home countries?

Talent development in the classroom

• In Dutch science classes, teachers give much time and attention to the less able students

• However, the more able students can get bored by repeated explanations, too easy exercises etc.

• How to challenge them?

Change in teaching in needed: differentiation• From ‘everybody in the class should reach the minimum level’• To: ‘Everybody

– should optimally develop his/her talents – should spent an equal amount of time on school work– is entitled to get equal time and attention from the teacher’

The Dutch educational system

• three levels in secondary education:– VMBO = preparing vocational – HAVO = higher general – VWO = pre-university

• JCU focuses on VWO, grade 11, 12• Maths, Phys, Chem, Bio

optional in grade 10 – 12• Grade 12: national exams

give entrance to universities

Junior College Utrecht (JCU)

• What is JCU?– Partnership UU and 27 secondary schools– Science and Mathematics education to talented students

• Why JCU?– to connect upper secondary to university education– to support talented secondary school students in their

development towards excellence– to support their teachers and schools

• How does JCU work?– A working place for improving the quality of science

education– Including a teacher/school programme

JCU stakeholders

• Talented students (and their parents)– Challenging science education– Orientation to future science studies

• Secondary science teachers– Recognition of potentially excellent, motivated students– Differentiation and enrichment

• School principals– A school culture of excellence (instead of mediocrity)

• Universities, science faculties, university teachers– Better connection between secondary and university education– Selection for honours programmes– Higher efficiency rates; preventing drop-out

• National policy– Higher PISA scores; more science students

Empowerment and promoting talent development

• Talent development 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)

• Teachers – are main stakeholders in promoting talent development– empowering by other stakeholders needed

How has JCU empowered its stakeholders?

Three stages in the development of JCU:

• JCU 1.0: 2004 – 2007: start and settlement of campus programme

• JCU 2.0: 2008 – 2012: dissemination of JCU lesson materials; towards talent programmes in the schools

• JCU 3.0: 2012 - …. : connecting the campus and the school programmes

Start of JCU

• 2003: Initiative from staff of Utrecht University College• Support from Executive Board of UU, staff and FIsme• JCU director with connections to Executive Board• Visits to principals and science depts. of secondary schools• Financed by UU, schools• Support from gouvernmental organisations e.g. Platform

Science and Technology

Empowerment of school and university teachers, but also some resistance

JCU 1.0: student programme

JCU student programme 2004 – ‘13

• Selection of students: by school and by JCU• 2 day a week at the UU-campus, 3 days in their home

schools• 2 years: grade 11 and 12• Maths, Phys, Chem, Bio

• In 2004: start with 22 grade-11 students from 12 schools• In 2005: 50 students from 26 schools (+ 22 grade-12)• Since 2006: 50 grade-11 and 50 grade-12 students

• At the end: regular national examinations + a JCU certificate

Activities JCU 1.02004- 2007

• Programme development for Maths, Phys, Chem, Bio lessons• Syllabuses taught by selected upper secondary teachers

(accelerated)• ‘enrichment modules’, by UU-teachers (FoS; GEO, MED)• Research projects in UU science departments• Community building

• Adapting modules using student evaluations • Frequent contacts with Schools (teachers, parents), Faculties

and Platform about progress

Students: good results; felt empowered Growing enthusiasm of teachers; resistance faded away

Developments 2007/08

• UU – Faculty of Science starts honours education• Curriculum reform: introduction of some new subjects, a.o.

Nature Life and Technology (NLT)– Integrated science – Opportunities for making students acquainted with recent

developments in science

• New insights in JCU: – group of students is less homogeneous than expected

(empowerment study: van der Valk et al. 2012)– Growing readiness in school for sharing JCU experiences– JCU implementation strategy applied to NLT modules:

JCU tested on partner schools nationwide dissemination

JCU 2.0

Activities JCU 2.02007 - 2012

• JCU embedded in Faculty of Science• JCU teacher programme: testing and adapting NLT-modules• 12 NLT modules developed, tested and nation wide (e.g.

The Molecules of Life)• Differentiation and choices in JCU curriculum

– ‘differentiation assignments’ developed and implemented (e.g. balancing bowls)

– Choices between optional NLT-modules

Partner school teachers empowered School principals see opportunities for further development Faculties: experience impact JCU on schools and on

students

Activity: take a look at JCU teaching material

• Make your choice:NLT-modules – Geosciences: ‘the dynamic earth’– Biochemistry: ‘the molecules of life’

Optional assignments– Physics: Balancing Bowls– Chemistry: Molecule of the Month– Mathematics: Boardgame for Two

What characteristics of the material are suited for promoting talent development?

Developments towards JCU 3.0

• Honours colleges in all UU faculties; from 1st Ba year on• Policy makers: promote excellence and science in

secondary schools• JCU schools:

– Start developing excellence trajectories in the school– Participate in JCU teacher professionalization course– Talent development for all ages and streams

• Matching for 1st year university honours• Faculty of Science wants to attract more students, in

particular the excellent

JCU 3.0: U-Talent

• Aim: talent development trajectories for science and maths in JCU schools grade-7 to grade-12

programmes• Grade 7 – 10: a school programme + a small campus

programme (one or two days a year)

• Grade 11 – 12: U-Talent Academy: a school programme + a 2-days-a-month campus programme

U-Talent Academy starts in 2013

• 23 schools have selected 100 grade-11 students• Increase: 2014 to 27 schools, 2016: 150 students

• School programmes including:– Differentiated teaching of syllabus topics (sciences, maths)– Enrichment ‘projects’ (60 hours a year)– Preparation for campus meetings– Community activities

• Campus programme of 2 days a month– ‘University’ modules – Research projects– Community activities

U-Talent for grades 7 - 10

• School programmes are being developed– Some schools: non-science subjects included– Other schools: not limited to the VWO-stream

• Campus programmes started in 2011– One or two days a year – Students can choose– University students are involved

• Activity for you: bacteria in the hospitalSome experiences:• Many students apply, more than expected• Enthusiastic reactions• More than 600 participants

Activity: identification of bacteria in hospital

• A U-Talent campus assignment, developed in 2013• For grade-9 students (age 14/15)• One out of five orienting assignments, done on the first day• On the second day: students do investigation on the topic

they have chosen.

• Workshop by Robert Tatsis

Characteristics of material suited for talent developmentIt should reflect the following phases in the teaching: 1. Making a choice: what topic would I like to go into? Give short

information about the options offered2. The assignment (3 is an optimal group size)

– orientation: what is the content, time, activities, ...?– Refreshing prior knowledge and application in a context– Gather new relevant knowledge (e.g. using Internet)– Apply new knowledge in an open setting (investigating,

designing, …)3. Completion: student groups

– make a ‘product’ (poster, ppt, demo experiment, ..)– Present it to classmates, parents, …– get ‘reward’ e.g. by meaningful feedback (teacher, peers)

The JCU teacher programmes

Presentation to the summer school Science and Mathematics Education 2013

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

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

Goal of the teacher programmes

• To empower science teachers in their teaching• To professionalise science teachers and their principals in:

– Recognising differences in abilities, interests and learning preferences in the classroom

– meeting these differences, in particular, meeting the needs of talented science students

– stimulating students to fully explore and develop their science talents

– acting in a inquisitive and reflective way– cooperating with their colleagues and principals in

realising these goal

What should a teacher programme include?

• Discuss with your neighbour:

• What should a teacher professionalisation programme about talent development include?

• Write down different topics/ideas/activities

• Select one very important one

Short plenary exchance

• Report your most important idea/topic/activity for the teacher course

Four programmes

• Teacher development teams

• Principal development teams

• U-Talent Academy workshops in the schools

• Course ‘promoting excellence in science classes’

Teacher development teams

• Teams of 10 – 15 teachers from different schools• guided by a staff member of JCU• Developing talent programme activities in their schools and

classrooms• Exchange experiences from school and from their lessons

• Frequency: 5 meeting a year

• Products:– Teaching materials– Posters for the annual JCU-teacher conference, e.g. a

poster about Archimedes in physics and maths lessons

Principal development teams

• Principals from JCU schools meet 5 times a year, for 2 hours• guided by a staff member of JCU• Discuss and develop common issues, in ‘12/13

– Differentiation– Learning community– U-Talent certificate

• Report to the JCU conference• E.g. poster working towards an excellence certificate

U-Talent Academy workshops in the schools

• JCU reforms its curriculum into ‘U-Talent Academy’• Schools have to develop a U-Talent Academy school

programme• To stimulate this development, JCU staff has given

workshops on all participating schools, about– differentiation in the classroom– realising a learning community– connection between school programme and campus

programme– enrichment projects

• Result: schools develop their U-Talent Academy school programme

Professionalisation course ‘promoting excellence in science classes’

• An intensive course (two 24-hours conferences and four full day meetings)

• Groups of ±20 science teachers from different schools• With guest speakers from the Netherlands and abroad• Topics:

– What is excellence, talent; how can you recognise it– How to start a talent-promotion trajectory in the school?– How to convince your colleagues?– Models for compacting and enriching– How to motivate your talented students?– Cooperation with institutions for higher education– Intensive exchange of experiences with peers

Thank you for your attention

• a.e.vandervalk@uu.nl

Sites:• www.uu.nl/jcu English• www.betadifferentiatie.nl• www.betavak-nlt.nl English