Prof. Wouter van Joolingen gave his inaugural speech on 4
February at the University of Twente. He argued strongly for
teaching secondary school pupils how to design their own models.
Engaging in modelling not only helps pupils improve their powers of
abstract thought, but it also teaches them more about the subject
of their models.
Science has infiltrated into the most minute fibres of society,
and modelling is central to the scientific method. Just consider
meteorological models, demographic models and economic models.
Models are used to make complex phenomena easier to understand, to
discover hidden links and to predict future events. The
ever-increasing power and speed of computers means the potential of
modelling continues to grow. We can now model far more events than
was possible in the past. Nevertheless, pupils in primary and
secondary education rarely use models. That is a missed
opportunity, according to Wouter van Joolingen. Using models has
been shown to be beneficial to pupils when it comes to
understanding subjects and learning while doing.
learning how to model
Modelling provides added value in education, but Van Joolingen
also says that pupils benefit even more when they learn how to
create models themselves. There are limitations to what pupils can
learn from a model due to the simplifications and choices
incorporated into it by the model's original designer.
Engaging in modelling not only helps pupils improve their powers of
abstract thought and grasp the essence of a system, but it also
teaches them more about the subject of their models.
This is why Van Joolingen calls for a move toward teaching students
to create models for themselves. Van Joolingen emphasizes that this
does not mean pupils will have another school subject to deal with.
"Modelling is not a separate subject. It should be seen as just the
ticket for helping pupils to identify with the regular
curriculum."
Modelling should not become too complicated for pupils. Van
Joolingen is developing computer-based methods that figure out the
basics of the model using drawings supplied by pupils. The computer
should recognize the pupil's drawings and be able to tell the
difference between an aircraft and a car.
CV
Prof. Wouter van Joolingen studied theoretical physics in
Leiden. He took his PhD in 1993 at Eindhoven University of
Technology. His dissertation was based on supporting learning with
computer simulations in scientific fields. From 1992 to 1998 he
worked in the Instructional Technology department of the University
of Twente. He then spent a year in the corporate world before
returning to the academy from 1999 to 2004, when he was associated
with the teachers training programme of the University of
Amsterdam. He returned to the Instructional Technology department
at the University of Twente in 2004. He has been a Professor of
Computational Modelling in Teaching Situations since 2009.
Note to the press:
Wouter van Joolingen gave his inaugural speech at the
Faculty of Behavioural Sciences of the University of Twente on 4
February 2010. Further information or an electronic version of the
inaugural speech is available on request.
