Primary school ‘Het Avontuur’ in Heemskerk is literally a Techport school from the very beginning. Since 2018, they have experienced a huge development in providing technical education. Their motto ‘Learning by daring & doing’ is already reflected in their lessons, but especially in the specially equipped technology classroom. This room is the permanent location of the ‘handyman's class of group 7/8’, where all pupils in group 6 get to work on subjects from the engineering curriculum: such as vibrations, balance and the electrical circuit. In addition, these pupils are introduced to different tools.
All students can handle tools
Headmaster Miedema: ‘Pupils coming out of our school can all handle tools. They know the difference between a screwdriver and an Allen key. And also how to use them. We teach children that technology is a means and not an end in itself. That is why all groups 5 to 8 also use the technology room during thematic work’.’
Not just learning to count and measure
Teacher Judy van Mourik adds: ‘Technology really helps to achieve certain learning goals. All the assignments I give to the handyman class are always linked to language, maths and general skills. Children not only learn to measure and calculate here, but equally they learn to cooperate and deal with setbacks. Because what do you do if something doesn't work right away? Do you give up or just try again, maybe in a different way? Sometimes children run up against their own perfectionism. What we want to teach them here is that ‘can't’ does not simply exist. Instead, we emphasise how something can be done. Meanwhile, we imperceptibly work on vocabulary or other language goals: for example, a pupil is given the task of repeating the explanation I gave to a fellow pupil. This way, summarising is practised. We see that the children's self-confidence is growing. An often-heard comment is: “Teacher, I didn't know I could do this!”.”
Tips for other schools
Do Miedema and Van Mourik have any tips for other primary schools that want to work (more) with technology? Miedema: ‘Structural solutions are unfortunately not always available when it comes to technology education, but don't let that stop you. We are lucky to have been able to recruit an extra teacher with NPO funds. Those are National Programme on Education funds to tackle coronary delays. And the teacher does not necessarily have to have a technical background. Van Mourik: ‘As a teacher, it is nice if you are a bit handy and creative, but what is especially important is that you enjoy teaching children in a different way. And above all, don't be afraid that you don't know something yourself. Just try; what applies to pupils also applies to teachers: learning by daring and doing!’
