‘I can help people in their learning process’
• The five nominees for the election ‘best teacher of the year’ have been announced today.
• The college newspaper gauged their visions on the new education concept.
Michiel Visser (42), teacher at Educational Theory (division Health Care and Social Work)
“The new education concept gives a lot of opportunities and we use this for the development of the new study programme Social Work. The role of a teacher has many changes. You have to flexibly switch from expert to coach, to tutor, to mentor, and so on. The students’ (individual) needs are the main focus, the teacher has to join in on that. I believe I cannot teach anyone anything, but I can help a lot of people in their learning process.”
Marc van Breukelen (41), teacher Dutch at Education in Primary Schools (division Human Movement and Education)
“The new education concept is very important to Education in Primary Schools, together with our colleagues in Almere we are developing a new curriculum. Learning goes further than only theory: students have to develop a researching attitude and they have to explore the world to achieve a deeper form of learning. Our first years get a chance to do this in their own way in our Off Campus project.
We also want to research which skills are relevant for the future, because changes follow up on each other so quickly.”
Egbert Gorter (37), teacher at Architecture and Construction Engineering (division Engineering and ICT)
“Through the new education concept, my study programme Architecture and Construction Engineering cooperates with Traffic and Transport Management and with Civil Engineering. We would also like to cooperate with other study programmes in a multi-disciplinary way. This will be the future of education, research and the working field.
Students must have more opportunity to choose to learn what they want (mostly that is what they are good at), that gives motivation and better results. For the future, we must not respond to current needs but the needs that will be present in five years. That way we offer real added value to students and business alike.”
Bert Kunnen (57), teacher at Architecture and Construction Engineering in Almere (division Windesheim Flevoland).
“Windesheim Flevoland has been concerned with topics from the education concept for a while, such as education focused on the current practice and contact with businesses. In groups, our first and second years work together on cases presented by external organisations. We ask the students to come up with social and sustainable solutions, as valuable professionals.
My most important focus point is sustaining contact with the businesses. A field advisory could contribute to that, as a sounding board and with education, through, for example, guest lectures, excursions, projects, and with graduating.”
Guido Milet de St Aubin (57), teacher at Laws (division Business, Media and Law).
“The new education concept offers a framework to evaluate education thoroughly. Focus points would be for me, implementation and practical translation of the concept of a ‘valuable professional’ and the extensive flexibilisation within education. The environment is more complex, flexible and extremely digitalised. The new concept connects to that. The time that an HBO diploma was a starting qualification for a specific, unchangeable career, is behind us.”
(EM)