Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 students help secondary schools in the region
Utrecht 木瓜福利影视 has begun an initiative to support secondary schools in the region. In the Student op School (Student at School) programme, Faculty of Science students assist secondary school teachers to reduce their workload, gain teaching experience - and earn a bit of extra cash. 鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to teach a class of 30 students, but with Sophie鈥檚 help there is more room to give students individual attention.鈥
Lots of spare time
Sophie Groenewoud doesn鈥檛 have much else to do at the moment. She鈥檚 in her last year of the Bachelor's programme College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, has passed all of our courses, but can鈥檛 start on her final internship because of the coronavirus pandemic. And the student life isn鈥檛 much to write home about. In fact, she鈥檚 temporarily traded her room in Utrecht for her parents鈥 home in Geffen, Brabant, because as she explains: 鈥12 square meters doesn鈥檛 leave a lot of room to move around.鈥
The hours are flexible, the students are fun, and I鈥檝e always enjoyed explaining things.
Having fun explaining science
Fortunately, Groenewoud has found a way to make herself useful. Since November 2020, she has supported Chemistry teacher Bob Lefeber in teaching his classes at the . She tutors students via Google Meet and joins classes (through an online connection) to help students when they get stuck. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great side job!鈥, she says with enthusiasm. 鈥淭he hours are flexible, the students are fun, and I鈥檝e always enjoyed explaining things. It wasn鈥檛 that long ago that I was doing my exams, and I had a lot of Chemistry courses for my Bachelor鈥檚 programme, so I know the subject.鈥
Raising the level of the class
For teacher Bob Lefeber, the student鈥檚 help was a godsend. His workload was already heavy, and it has only increased since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. 鈥淣ow that Sophie is here, it鈥檚 absolutely lightened my load鈥, he says with conviction. 鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to teach a class of 30 students, but with her there there is more room to give students individual attention. And the students鈥 level has definitely improved. They ask better questions, and they seem more self-confident. That鈥檚 another advantage to gaining experience dealing with someone from outside the school.鈥
The trick is to find out where you as a teacher need help.
Updating lesson materials
Lefeber has since called on more students for support, which doesn鈥檛 necessarily involve tutoring or helping in the class. 鈥淣ow I also have a student updating my lesson materials鈥, he explains. 鈥淚 never had the time for that before. Once every two weeks, we meet to see if things are going in the right direction. There are so many options available. The trick is to find out where you as a teacher need help.鈥
As of 1 March, 2021, secondary schools can apply for Student at School with all subjects at all levels. All college (HBO) and university students are also welcome to participate. Look here for more more information and registration details (in Dutch).