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.
