The Enterprising University and Secondary Education: making the Connection.

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1 Petroleum - Gas University of Ploiesti Bulletin, Educational Science; 2010, Vol. 62 Issue 1B, p117 The Enterprising University and Secondary Education: making the Connection. Pieter de Vries Barbara Marx Delft University of Technology Pieter.devries@tudelft.nl, the Netherlands b.marx@tudelft.nl, The Netherlands Abstract The collaboration of Higher education (HE) and Secondary education (SE) should directly relate to the positioning of these institutions in the emerging knowledge society to improve the likelihood that students will have a successful career. The demands of this society influence largely the way we work, learn and socialize. The Delft University of Technology (TUD) has developed some connection programs to be better able to deal with these demands. One program concerns the preparation and support of SE students for their university career, which includes the collaboration between the SE and HE staff. The second is a Master in Science Education or Science Communication focusing on the technical theoretical insights and the theory of education or communication. The TUD has made some steps, but needs, as an enterprising university, to arrange for the ongoing changes and to continuously reflect on the positioning of this institution. Key words Higher education, Secondary education, third generation university, homo zappiens, masters Introduction Higher education (HE) is strained by the direct and indirect pressures of diminishing financial support, increasing student populations, fast changing training and learning demands, the abundance of new technologies and new educational concepts and practices. Higher education needs to change to be able to deal with these demands. The present situation can be qualified as a second generation university that came into being during the era of enlightenment, is research oriented, with low mobility, journal dissemination and subject to governmental rule. The claim for the third generation university is that sustainability is the issue with a focus on valorization, virtual mobility, open access dissemination and subject to market rule (Van der Zanden, 2009). For HE there is still a long way to go, but for many businesses and for many employees this is 1

2 quickly becoming a reality (Friedman, 2006; Senge, i.e. 2005; Veen, 2009). This includes the younger generation, which constitutes the core group in our institutions, living in a mixed reality of technology enhanced behavior and activities versus the requirements of today s educational institutions. This new era of emerging technologies affect all generations in the way they communicate, collaborate, work, buy things, organize their private lives and socialize. HE has difficulties to cope with this changing world. In the context of this paper an important question is how HE connects to the new generation of students as an important blood vessel that keeps her alive. This short paper is about the choices to be made and the experiences we have in Delft trying to deal with the challenge. The Enterprising University One of the issues is the positioning of the university in this brave new world of what is called the emerging information society. At the TU Delft (TUD) one believes that many of the issues can be dealt with by focusing on the institution as an enterprising university that tries to stay at the forefront of technological development. The university trains the engineers of tomorrow by means of its fundamental and applied research and educational programs and a broad knowledge base, worldwide connections and successful alumni. In this context the TU Delft wants to contribute significantly to the development of responsible solutions for urgent societal problems with a focus on sustainability, safety and economic vitality. In short the university is an environment where science and society should meet for the better of both. This positioning affects the value system of the university and the educational practices and learning approaches. For students this positioning only becomes a reality when they enter the university. Therefore it is crucial to connect to the actual environment of the prospective student to communicate the demands of the university in trying to inform the students at a level they can understand and relate to. If the prospective student arrives with the right expectations in mind, it will be a pleasure for both the students and the university. If not, time is lost and money spent that could have done well for others. Another topic to deal with is the preparation of the teachers in secondary education, because sending out folders or organizing information sessions is one thing. If the teachers are not familiar with and can not relate to the Delft program it continues to be difficult to attain a mind set that reflects reality close enough to make the transition from SE to HE successful. Therefore the TUD has developed several programs to improve this relationship in line with the goals of an enterprising university with the emphasis on openness, communication and collaboration. One initiative is the Connecting Secondary Higher education program, the second is the Masters program in Science education and Science communication. The right student in the right place The major goal of the special initiative called the Connecting Secondary Higher Education program (SE HE project) is to narrow the gap between SE and HE. 2

3 Communication is believed to be crucial to get the right student in the right place. Therefore it is tried to give prospective students a down-to-earth and inclusive picture of the studies and employment opportunities. For this reason the TUD collaborates directly with the secondary education schools. The interaction concerns students and teachers in both institutions, so also the TU Delft teaching staff is involved. For the SE students and staff the main goal is to depict a realistic and complete picture of study and profession. There is a range of activities for the first until the six year to get the pupils more profoundly acquaintance with technology, like there are: The Scholierenlab ( is an online support system run mostly by TUD students to assist SE pupils conducting their profielwerkstuk, which is a research report as part of their final exam. The purpose of writing a profielwerkstuk is to introduce pupils to the world of scientific research. SE-cases: pupils work two hours in their own classroom setting on a subject coached by a TUD student. The goal of these cases for pupils is to experience the use of their science knowledge taught in SE in an engineering setting in the outside world. Cases have been developed by a team of HE and SE teachers. Examples are cases on the World Solar Race and Kitesurfing. Workshops at the University for the SE-students on the topics of design, engineering and science Games on for example the development of a tin can rocket. There is a yearly competition for the best technical design in SE ( Training support for the final exam, delivered online. From a slightly different angel there are: Pre profile projects where pupils from the second and third year participate in workshops on campus to get familiar with the technology study and university life. This includes blogs from TUD students, about their student life and the so called Delft blauw questions and answers where celebrities ask questions on for 3

4 example medical instruments or the relation of sports with technology, which has been answered by TUD students. There is a possibility to do experiments at the TUD lab using tailored facilities. The Junior TU Delft is a five day program especially designed for talented pupils searching for more academic challenges than a regular SE school curriculum can offer. During their time at the university they follow a rigorous program in which they work on topics such as the floating city, virtual worlds and architecture. Proef studeren is an activity in which the prospective student spends a couple of days at the university, participates in classes and work groups on topics related to their choice of study. In addition the pupils receive general information about the university. The goal of the program is to offer a prospective student a real chance to experience of what the study is like and what they can expect if they enroll. Supporting SE-teachers Apart from the activities already mentioned before, teachers and other staff in secondary education are being supported by the TUD with several activities, collaboration and additional training. The issues are: the selection and the introduction of new topics, the development of lesson materials and new learning activities, and the presence of TUDstudents in the classroom to support labor intensive technical projects. There is also an element of coaching when it comes to the selection of a study profile for and by the pupils and the ad joint activities to get familiar with the consequences of a particular choice. A support tool is the online forum for SE teachers ( Part of this support is the post teacher training that is offered when new technical subjects are being introduced for SE. Is the TU Delft teaching staff prepared? The teaching staff at the university needs more than just names to comfort the novices in their new environment. It is clear that a better understanding of what students learned, how they learned, and what them motivated, is of great value to smoothen the introduction and avoid barriers for success. Secondary education in the Netherlands has been in transition from traditional, predominantly teacher led classroom sessions to more student led learning activities. So working in groups on particular activities and projects with shared responsibilities has become rather common. The main idea of this Studiehuis concept is the shift in didactics to active and independent learning which is more skills-centered than knowledge-centered. The pupils should become more self-determining to become better motivated and achieve better results, also in their university career. Teachers were trained, new learning materials were developed and buildings were adapted. The Studiehuis concept for the top layer of SE has been criticized and praised at the same time and there is a broad variety, because schools were free to make their own choices. If you ignore this reality as a university teacher you are missing out on opportunities and might bump into problems, which could have been avoided. Getting to know your target group is not just about educational models that have been used in their previous school life. It is also about the new generation of youngsters, often 4

5 qualified as the net generation, the digikids, the instant generation, the cyber generation, the generation Einstein or the Homo Zappiens as we like to call them. The actual influx of students into the university is a cohort of digital natives. They are born with a mouse in their hands so to say and therefore they are different. Not all students have this dedication for technology, but the technology definitely has a great impact on the way they behave, work, learn, sleep and eat. Traditional learning was very much a school thing, but schools and universities have lost value as knowledge institutes, because of the internet, Wikipedia and other available resources. This includes the multitude of social software tools widely available online and used for communication, information exchange, knowledge generation and distribution in a non scholarly way. This new generation of students should not be judged by our traditional standards otherwise we miss out on the emerging strategies for our own, digital future. The overall trend is that educational institutions will increasingly become facilitators of learning and therefore need to reconsider their teaching (Veen, 2006). Therefore it is a valid question to ask if the institutions are able to meet the expectations of the new generation. Research (Veen, 2006, 2009) shows that authenticity, professionalism, perspectives and growth as well as considered career planning are considered important issues for the new generation. As a consequence university education needs to zoom in on the craving for truthfulness of origins, attributions, commitments, sincerity, devotion, and intentions. Interactivity and integrated use of media is also part of the demands this new generation carries along. With the facilities and the tooling in the SE- HE program the TUD tries to connect to the prospective student and in this context the knowledge and experience of the SE teachers is invaluable. The Delft master in Science Education and Science Communication The TUD tries to connect to SE in a multilateral way with the focus on the preparation and support of students, teachers and university teachers to collaborate effectively to get 5

6 the right student at the right place. But there is more to it. Technology in general has suffered from a negative image in the Netherlands during the last decades, affecting the number of students that choose for a career in technology. The need for technologists has grown in general, but the developments in science and technology and their impact on society and industry, has also increased the demands for communication engineers, people who are able to communicate technology. As a result there are numerous career opportunities in industry, government, non-governmental organizations and, of course, at universities and other knowledge institutes. These are two good reasons for the TUD to develop a masters program in Science Education and Science Communication (SEC), which has been accredited in The MSc in Science Education and Communication (SEC) provides students with knowledge and skills to get the message across. The focus in this MSc program may be either on high school students, or on various other players in society, such as people in industry, in knowledge institutions, in politics, but also the general public. One track prepares for working in the educational system. The other provides theoretical background and skills for setting up science communication between experts in various fields of expertise. Based on the thorough knowledge of science and technology subjects through master courses, the student will be able to design and deliver effective communication and education. In this MSc program the student will become familiar with both technical theoretical insights and the theory of communication or education. One special characteristic of the SEC program is its multi-disciplinarity. Staff and students from various academic backgrounds join forces in education and research. Their objective is to design and deliver effective education and science communication in the science and technology domain. In this endeavor the natural sciences and the humanities meet as well as SE and HE in an effort to promote technology as a profession. Conclusion The way Higher education and Secondary education work together to improve the likelihood that students will have a successful career, should directly relate to the positioning of these institutions in society. It is not just about the exchange of information between the two institutions, it is about the demands of the knowledge society that influence the way we work, learn and socialize. Denying this demand for change and innovation will work out negatively and make the connection programs less fruitful or even counter productive. The TUD has made some steps forward, but need to continue the dialogue with the outside world to stay on track and improve. References Friedman, Th. (2006). The world is flat: The globalized world in the twenty first century. London, Pinguin Books. Senge, P.; Scharmer, C.; Jaworski, J. Flowers, B. (2005). Presence: exploring profound change in people, organizations and society. London, Nicholas Bradley Publishing. 6

7 Van der Zanden, P. (2009). The Facilitating University, positioning next generation educational technology. Delft. Eburon Veen, W. & Vrakking, W. (2006). Homo Zappiens: Growing up in a digital age. London, Network Continuum Education Veen, W. (2009). Homo Zappiens, opgroeien, leven en werken in een digitaal tijdperk (Homo Zappiens, living and working in digital area. Amsterdam, Pearson Education Benelux. 7